Choro
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Brazil's oldest urban instrumental genre: fast, virtuosic and contrapuntal, built around a melodic lead (flute, bandolim/mandolin, cavaquinho or clarinet), the harmonic-and-rhythmic violão de sete cordas (seven-string guitar) tracing running basslines, and pandeiro percussion. Tempos are lively with intricate syncopation and modulations; the mood swings between merry, showy passages and the wistful lyricism the name 'choro' (to cry) implies. It demands improvisational skill and tight ensemble interplay, and it directly shaped samba.
History
Choro developed in later-19th-century Rio de Janeiro as musicians adapted European dances (polka, waltz, schottische) to African-Brazilian rhythm, coalescing into a distinct genre by the 1900s. Pixinguinha, its towering composer-instrumentalist, elevated choro in the early 20th century ('Carinhoso,' 'Um a Zero'), and later masters — bandolinist Jacob do Bandolim, cavaquinho virtuoso Waldir Azevedo and flutist Altamiro Carrilho — carried it through mid-century. After a dip, choro was revived from the 1970s (Paulinho da Viola, the Clube do Choro movement) and thrives today through virtuosos like Hamilton de Holanda and Yamandu Costa. It stands as the wellspring of Brazilian instrumental music.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Chris McGowan & Ricardo Pessanha, 'The Brazilian Sound' (choro chapter)
- Tamara Elena Livingston-Isenhour & Thomas George Caracas Garcia, 'Choro: A Social History of a Brazilian Popular Music'
- Britannica, 'Choro'