Please share this page on facebook, twitter, etc.:
|
The
Mandolin in Brazil
|
|
Translation from German to English by Pippa Spence On this page I have compiled a list of useful information on the topic of choro and bandolim I have been interested in choro music for many years now, but until recently the most I had heard of Jacob do Bandolim’s music came from just one CD. After a stimulating discussion of the book ‘Tocando com Jacob’, I decided to investigate choro more thoroughly. What I discovered came to form the basic outline of this page. If you search the internet you can find a lot of information about choro music, its musicians and composers, instruments, and recordings. Many musicians have made individual tracks from their CDs available for streaming, and sometimes you can even find sheet music. Choro music is a lot of fun and is above all a kind of music where the mandolin excels as a solo instrument. If you have a classical background and feel rhythmically secure, then a lot of choro pieces will be easy for you to perform. Other pieces, like Jacob’s recordings or those by the young Hamilton de Holanda, are greatly challenging, and even advanced players will require a lot of practice to perform them well. I hope that you find the information on this site useful, and that it helps to open up the world of choro music for you and other mandolinists. |
| --
google Anzeige -- |
Please share this page on facebook, twitter, etc.:
|
ChoroChoro is a musical style from Brazil in which typically a mandolin, clarinet or another lead instrument is backed up by plucked instruments like the guitar and cavaquinho (a small four-stringed guitar), and by percussion instruments such as the pandeiro (similar to a tambourine). The music is mostly virtuoso and rythmically complex. A master of the genre was the mandolinist Jacob Bittencourt, known as Jacob do Bandolim. His recordings are still listened to today and contemporary groups learn from them. Some mandolinists who come from classical or bluegrass backgrounds play Brazilian choro as well, for example Marilyn Mair, Caterina Lichtenberg with the Trio Delicado, or Mike Marshall. You can find more information about choro and its instruments here: |
My choro and bandolim links at pinboard.in:
| Choro Links (pinboard.in) |
| Brazilian music links (pinboard.in) |
| Bandolim links (pinboard.in) |
In
my blog www.mandoisland.com
I am frequently writing posts about choro and bandolim:Blog posts in my blog www.mandoisland.com about choro and bandolim |
|
Songbook Choro - 97 selected choros have been published in the Songbook Choro. I have started to present all those 97 choros with some additional information and selected youtube videos on the following page: Songbook Choro |
Listen to Choro - Some selected examplesSOASRADIO Podcast - A two-hour Podcast with a lot of Choro musichttp://soasradio.org/content/cas-309-choro Rádio UOL - Playlist ChorinhoA playlist with many great choros:http://www.radio.uol.com.br/#/editorial/chorinho SoundcloudOn Soundcloud you can find a lot of Brazilian Choro music - just search for "choro". Special tip: |
Youtube PlaylistsA great selection of playlists with Choro and Brazilian music can be found in the profile of Senhor Da Voz: |
|
Brazilian
Music Day is an online and live event offering thousands
of links, videos, radio programs, historical essays, galleries,
databases and discographies celebrating
Brazilian music and culture. Website: http://www.brazilianmusicday.org/ |
 |
BandolimBandolim is the name given to the Brazilian mandolin. Bandolims have a shallow build, side frames, and the shape of the body is almost completely round. The tone is mostly open and bright. To see examples, you can find pictures of bandolims on the homepages of the instrument builders listed below |
Jacob do BandolimJacob do Bandolim was born in 1918 as Jacob Pick Bittencourt. Initially he began playing violin, but he soon switched to bandolim, the mandolin that became his instrument. After hearing choro music for the first time, he became an avid fan of the style and soon played it so well himself that at just 16, he could be heard on the radio. He is known as one of the greatest Brazilian mandolinists, and his pieces have influenced numerous musicians right up until the present day. |
 |
Tocando com JacobThis book contains transcriptions for the 24 pieces on two LPs recorded by Jacob in 1961 and 1962. There are two CDs that go along with this, containing each piece in two versions: the first the one from the LP; the second a version without the solo mandolin. Jacob recorded the accompaniment first and added the mandolin part later. Since these original recordings are included, it is possible to play along with the original accompaniment – as long as you master the piece. The book Tocando com
Jacob was published in 2006 by |
|
|
 |
A major Brazilian manufacturer of instruments, strings and accessories is the Giannini company. They have several types of bandolim in their range.
|
 |
Joao Batista (Brasilian Homepage) |
|
|
Vergilio LimaVergilio Lima has been building instruments for 25 years now, including a 10-stringed mandolin. |
|
|
RoziniThese manufacturers provide various instruments including two types of bandolim. |
Hamilton de HolandaHamilton de Holanda is a fantastic mandolinist – he plays choro pieces, but stylistically his music tends towards jazz. Homepage of Hamilton de Holanda with events calendar. His performances are great fun to watch – he moves his head and feet along with the music, often sings or dances as he plays – these videos have made a huge fan of me! (If the link doesn’t work, just search for “hamilton holanda” on www.youtube.com.) |
 |
 |
Rodrigo LessaRodrigo Lessa plays guitar, bandolim (the Brazilian mandolin), and sings. At myspace you can listen to some tracks: http://www.myspace.com/rodrigolessa youtube channel: |
 |
Jacob do BandolimThe following homepage is dedicated to Jacob do Bandolim. There you can find a lot of pictures of Jacob, some transcriptions and audio samples, and also a short film with Jacob in it. www.jacobdobandolim.com.br www.jacobdobandolim.com.br |
|
|
Marco de PinnaMarco de Pinna by myspaceOn
MusicExpress’s homepage you can find a selection of
recordings by Marco de Pinna from three different CDs. The most
interesting is probably the CD Retratos
do Brasil. Three movements
from the Suite Retratos with strings
– a mixture of choro
|
Jorge CardosoBrazilian mandolinist and composer trained in classical mandolin in Italy at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi with Maestro Ugo Orlandi. A master's degree in musicology from the University of Brasília (2008). Search and dedicated to Brazilian music lectures and concerts in various countries. You can download sheet music for two of Jorge Cardoso's compositions at http://www.bandolim.net/. Jorge Cardoso's
academic research - master thesis (in Portuguese language): |
Jorge Cardoso's Blog:
http://jorgecardosobandolim. Myspace:http://www.myspace.com/youtube |
 |
Nordic ChoroI have met Jarmo Romppanen in Trossingen at the European Mandolin Academy. He plays the bandolim in his band Nordic Choro. myspace with some tracks: http://www.myspace.com/nordicchoro youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/jarmoromppanen Blog post in the choro-music blog: http://choro-music.blogspot.de/2010/08/nordic-choro.html Website Jarmo Romppanen: http://www.jarmoromppanen.net/ |
Danilo BritoDanilo Brito is one of the bandolim players that are regularly teaching choro music at the mandolin symposium in California with Mike Marshall. Website: http://www.danilobrito.com.br/en/Default.aspx |
 |
|
|
Choro Ensemble (New York)Audio samples and a detailed text about choro music. |
Ted FalconTed Falconplays many different instruments, but especially violin and mandolin. He composes original pieces and has just published a book about choro with many transcriptions. He has already played with David Grisman, Mike Marshall and the New Yorker Choro Ensemble.On his homepage there is a lot of interesting information, pictues, further links, and above all, some interesting audio samples as well. |
 |
|
|
caratingaThe group Caratinga consists of 6 musicians, including Anselmo Netto, who plays bandolim. So far they have produced one CD, and you can listen to audio samples from it on the homepage.
|
|
|
Johannes DeffnerJohannes Deffner plays Brazilian guitar, from choro through samba to bossa-nova and Brazilian waltzes; he also plays cavaquinho. In Germany he also plays with the Ensembles „conjunto regional de Choro” Bolinhos de Bacalhau, with the Germano-Brazilian formation Brasileirinho and in the project Choro para Carmen. On his homepage there is downloadable sheet music for some of his guitar pieces, and audio samples from his CD suite brasileira. |
 |
Frank de ViolaoAnother guitarist who is involved with Brazilian music and studied it in Brasil. |
Luperce MirandaLuperce Miranda (-> Wikipedia) was a Brazilian mandolinist and composer, who lived from 1904 to 1977. He can be heard on many recordings. His compositions are very interesting, especially his composition Quando me Lembro is a great piece. You can find more information in my Blog and in the choro blog. There is a book with 25 pieces by Luperce Miranda published by the publisher Da Fonseca. |
 |
ArmandinhoAnother bandolim player, who also plays unusual material, as you can see from the following video: Video with Armandinho (Ovation Mandoline) und Yamandu (Viola) |
|
 |
Dudu MaiaDudu Maia has an English language Homepage There are also some videos on youtube; I particularly like the video of Quando me Lembro, one of the best pieces by Luperce Miranda. In this piece there is a slow part in typical Duo-Style – the main voice as a tremolo on the E-string and fragmented chords as a second staccato-voice beneath that. youtube channel: Dudu Maia |
Wilfried BerkWilfried Berk was born in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiero as son of German immigrants. He grew up in Brazil and studied the clarinet in Rio and Berlin. In the late 60s he moved to Hannover, Germany where he teaches the clarinet. He playes as a soloist and with different ensembles. Recently Wilfried Berk and the guitarist Daniel Wolff have recorded the CD Coisas de Vida with Brazilian choro music . You can listen to some of the pieces from this CD on several myspace pages of Wilfried Berk: http://www.myspace.com/clarinetachorona |
 |
 |
Abdallah HaratiAbdallah Harati is a guitar player form Brazil who wants to make the choro music popular around the world. He has studies in Berklee, was in Granada in Spain, in Germany, in Dubai and currently lives in Vietnam. He has produced several videos to demonstrate the picking techniques of the Brazilian guitar for different choros. Those can be found on his homepage http://www.abdallahharati.com/ direct link: Choro-Classes |
 |
BrasileirinhoIf you are interested in
Brazilian choro music, don’t
miss this film -Basileirinho by Mika Kaurismäki. It should be
in
cinemas in Germany in 2006. You can find information about the film in
the News section on Mika Kaurismäki’s
homepage: www.mikakaurismaki.com |
|
The Trio
Madeira Brasil
contributed: |
 |
 |
Yo AsalOn Johannes Asal’s homepage there is a biography of the Brazilian composer Pixinguinha in German and additional interesting information. Of particular interest are the the long lists of links relating to Brazil und Brazilian music. In Freiburg there is also a society for Germano-Brazilian culture: dona flor |
SAMBA und ChoroThe homepage www.samba-choro.com.br
is, as the name
suggests, concerned with samba and choro. Particularly interesting is
the extensive archive of sheet music, which you can download (after a
free registration). |
|
Tip |
You can find transcriptions of a few choro pieces at the Tabedit files on www.mandozine.com |
Daniella Thompson - Blog about BrazilI have just discovered this blog from Daniella Thomson about Brazilian music. It includes a lot of CD reviews. It is best to enter the website via the following link: On this page you will probably find less recent entries. Via the link "A Brazilian folly by Daniella Thompson" on this page you can get to the current blog and other pages. A personal homepage is devoted to the Brazilian composer Ary Barroso. Le Bouef sur le ToitThe review of Darius Milhaud’s "Le Boeuf sur le Toit" is very nicely done. Milhaud spent some time in Brazil and developed many Brazilian tunes in this opus. Daniella Thompson identifies this and lets you hear examples from Milhaud’s work – and also, for comparison, many original recordings of the corresponding pieces. A lot of pictures illustrate this series of fascinating articles. On the homepage there is also a discography for "Choro", which is admittedly not completely up to date, but is certainly still interesting. In any case, I will take a closer look at these pages – I think I will find a lot more to read there. |
 |
| A homepage about the Pandeiro www.pandeiro.com - here you can order handmade Brazilian Pandeiros. |  |
 |
KALANGOIn Germany it is probably easier to order Brazilian percussion instruments, but also guitars and cavaquinhos, at Kalango. Perhaps you can even find Brazilian bandolims there. |
Where to by Brazilian sheet music and books in Germany |
Musicland Blasinstrumente has a big list of brazilian music: Choro Noten bei Musicland |
Where to by Brazilian sheet music and books in USA |
Atlantico BooksBom dia & Good Morning, Michael! I just came across MandoIsland, and I wanted to commend you on your very thorough and informative blog! I am a book-importer & seller here in New York City, specializing in Brazilian & Portuguese books, CDs, and DVDs. We work with a small but very enthusiastic group of choristas and sambistas, primarily in California and Washington States. They adore several of the books we work with: Thanks again for the great work you are doing with MandoIsland! |
Another book about the bandolim: http://www.lumiar.com.br/livro/bandolim.htm
| If
this page is
displayed without the left navigation frame
please click here to go to the MandoIsland homepage: |
 |
