Texas Choral Directors Association
59th Annual Convention & New Music Reading Clinic
July 27 - 30, 2014 — San Antonio Convention Center
The Choral Music of Brazilian Composer Reginaldo Carvalho
Vladimir Silva, UFCG – Brazil
[email protected]
1. Life and works
1.1. Born in Guarabira-PB, 1932; died in João Pessoa-PB, 2013
1.2. Early musical influences at home, listening to the modal songs of farmers, washerwomen in the river and
the vaqueiros’ songs. Vaqueiro is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that originated on the
Iberian Peninsula. They usually sing, a cattle-calling song.
1.3. In early youth, around 1942, he moved to Lagoa Seca, where he studied music theory and joined the
school choirs at Ipuarana Convent.
1.4. During this period, he discovered the Gregorian chant, the music of Palestrina, Victoria, Bach, Schubert
and Wagner.
“One day while searching through one of the rooms of the Convent, I found a stack of 78 rpm discs from
Germany. I heard everything whenever possible. I fixed myself in Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and
Schumann mainly. I even find another collection, also huge, only with Wagner works, who became my
harmonic paradigm”. (CARVALHO, 2008, p. 3)
1.5. Lived and studied in different cities of the Northeast, including João Pessoa, Natal and Recife, important
cultural centers of the time.
1.6. In 1949, he moved to Rio de Janeiro. He attended the National Conservatory of Orpheonic Singing
(1950-1952), having studied with Gazzi Sá, Muricy Andrade, Paulo Silva and Adhemar Nóbrega, among
others.
1.7. It was at this time that he met Villa-Lobos, who became his teacher and urged him to study in France.
“In late 1952, I was living in Paris. He [Villa-Lobos] had sponsored my ticket, and wrote a letter to the
great French master Paul Le Flem, who was a disciple of Albert Lavignac and teacher of Tony Aubin.
Through him and Villa-Lobos I knew personally all the great musicians of the time: composers and
performers, conductors, singers and instrumentalists.” (CARVALHO, 2008, p. 4)
1.8. In 1956, back to Brazil, he served as professor and choir conductor in various educational institutions in
Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. This was a period in which Reginaldo Carvalho wrote many works and
arrangements for choir, both sacred and secular music.
1.9. First Brazilian composer to write concrete-electronic music (Sibemol, 1956)
1.10. In 1964, with a scholarship offered by the French government, he returned to study in France. There
was a frenzy of modernity and musical experimentalism in Paris. On this occasion, he worked at the
Centre Bourdan, Organization of Radio-Télévision Française (ORTF), under the direction of Pierre
Schaeffer.
1.11. His output includes vocal music (solo and choral), instrumental (solo, chamber, band and orchestral),
concrete, electroacoustic, as well as music for theater, film, radio, and television.
“As everyone knows, I love to write music. And I do it all the time, working for free, responding to requests,
which are many. Sometimes I write entire collections, always send the originals without keeping copies. I
believe that I am or have been very fruitful in production, but I'm the least performed composer in Brazil.
1 Often, people ask my music but not interpret it. They act the same way I do here at home. But I'm not
even care about it”. (CARVALHO, 2008, p. 10)
1.12. By the end of the 1960s, lived and worked in Brasilia, Federal Capital. Then, he moved to Teresina-PI
and stayed there for 40 years, moving back to João Pessoa only in 2011.
1.13. He wrote various books about music theory, conducting, and music history.
1.14. Sacred works
Year
1946
1946
1947
1952
1954
1954
1956
1956
1957
1957
1958
1959
1978
Place
Ipuarana, PB
Ipuarana, PB
C. Grande, PB
Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Juiz de Fora, MG
Paris, França
Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Juiz de Fora, MG
São Paulo, SP
Juiz de Fora, MG
Rio de Janeiro, RJ
S. J. D’El Rey, MG
Teresina, PI
Title
Santo! Santo! Santo!
Tantum ergo No 1
Tantum ergo No 2
Hino a Nossa Senhora
Oração para Antes da Refeição
Kyrie Eleison (Missa Brevis, No 2)
Glória a Deus
As Sete Palavras da Oração Dominical
Oferenda
Salmo de Davi
Missa Sertaneja
Ave, Maria!
Rezação
Bendito de São Benedito
O Salutaris Hostia
Comments
Traditional
Traditional
Traditional
Maria Villar
Alano Porto
Traditional
Lucas M. Neves
Traditional
Lucas M. Neves
Gilberto Villar
Traditional
Traditional
Composer
Traditional
Traditional
1.15. Secular works
Year
1947
1949
1949
1950
1950
1952
1955
1956
1958
1959
1990
Place
Ipuarana, PB
Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Paris, France
Marselha, France
Marselha, France
Recife, PE
Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Teresina, PI
Title
O meu Ranchinho
Trovas Populares
Se eu morresse amanhã
Embolada
Razão de Pranto
Canção 3
As Flô de Puxinanã
A cacimba
Iô Paranã
Confissão
Tempo
Cantiga
Desafio
Encanto de Existir
Encomenda
Irene no Céu
Não te esqueças de mim
Rondó do Capitão
Tempo Será
Passarela dos Santos
Text
J. Baptista Villar
Traditional
Álvares de Azevedo
Coryna Rebuá
Coryna Rebuá
Irineu Guimarães
Zé da Luz
Zé da Luz
Traditional
Manuel Bandeira
Carlos Drummond de Andrade
Manuel Bandeira
Manuel Bandeira
Hindemburgo Pereira
Traditional
Manuel Bandeira
Manuel Bandeira
Manuel Bandeira
João de Lima
2 2. Choral music
2.1. Choral compositions are mostly short and without many repetitions, sometimes through composed, others
with stanzas. Generally, the works are homophonic and written for mixed choir (SATB).
2.2. He wrote different versions of the same composition.
2.3. Trovas popular Nº 1, for voice and piano, and also for a cappella choir. The two pieces remain the same
harmonic, melodic, textual and formal structure, varying in minor details.
Figure 1: Trovas populares, m. 1-4, for voice and piano
Copyright 2008 Reginaldo Carvalho
Figure 2: Trovas populares, m. 1-6, for mixed choir
Copyright 2008 Reginaldo Carvalho
3 2.4. Santo!, Santo!, Santo! (Holy!, Holy!, Holy!), for female chorus, is one of the few works in which he employs
points of imitation. It was his first composition and is closely related to Schubert’s Heilig, Heilig, Heilig! (Eflat major, triple time, title, text).
Figure 3: Santo! Santo! Santo!, m. 11-14
Copyright 2008 Reginaldo Carvalho
2.5. Tantum ergo Nº 1, for male chorus, presents predominantly homophonic texture.
Figure 4: Tantum ergo No 1, m. 1-5
Copyright 2008 Reginaldo Carvalho
4 2.6. Various compositions are based in the Northeastern popular culture, connecting the composer to his
childhood and to the music of the place where he was "born and cemented his auditory memory with
great affection and enchantment". (CARVALHO, 2008, p. 4)
2.7. His cantata Rezação, published by FUNARTE in 1982, mixes regional (xote, a dance from the Northeast)
and universal elements (altered chords).
Figure 5: Rezação, m. 14-22
Copyright 2008 Reginaldo Carvalho
2.8. Rhythm
2.8.1. There are no time signatures
2.8.2. Quarter note is constantly the unit
2.8.3. Syncopation, triplets, appoggiaturas, crossed rhythms
5 2.8.4. Regarding the bar lines, he prefers writing them through the pentagrams, employing a technique
commonly used for editing Medieval and Renaissance music (mensurstrich) in order to minimize the
effects and the stiffness of the bar line, allowing a freer flow of the text.
2.8.5. An example of crossed rhythm can be found in his cantata Rezação.
Figure 6: Rezação, m. 1-10
Copyright 2008 Reginaldo Carvalho
2.9. Vocal lines
2.9.1. Comfortable range for all voices, exploring the high and low boundaries for expressive purposes
2.9.2. Spoken and/or sung voice, sounds and noises, chromatic versus diatonic lines
2.9.3. All parts have divisi, parallelism, chant-like melodies
6 Figure 7: Passarela dos Santos, m. 10-13
Copyright 2008 Reginaldo Carvalho
2.10. Harmony
2.10.1. First phase
2.10.1.1. Music based on standards – orthodox harmonies
2.10.1.2. Traditional progressions (Santo!, Santo!, Santo!), major and minor chords
2.10.2. Second phase
2.10.2.1. Unorthodox harmonies
2.10.2.2. Diminished and augmented chord, second and fourth harmonies
7 2.10.3. The comparison of As sete palavras da oração dominical (The Seven Words of the Lord's Prayer),
written in Juiz de Fora-MG (1956), with the Ave, Maria! (Hail Mary), composed in São João D'El
Rey-MG (1959), shows the connection between the two works, since in both Reginaldo Carvalho
uses similar harmonic and melodic material. This procedure seems to reiterate the musical, mystic
and religious link between the two texts of the compositions, which are actually the two best-known
prayers of the Roman Catholic Church (Our Father and Hail Mary).
2.10.4. Even in the sacred repertoire, Reginaldo Carvalho plays with the casual and the unexpected. The
cadence (Picardy) that concludes the Ave, Maria! seems to emphasize the expectations of the
afterlife and eternity.
Figure 8: As sete palavras da oração dominical, m. 1-3
Copyright 2008 Reginaldo Carvalho
Figure 9: Ave, Maria!, m. 1-3
Copyright 2008 Reginaldo Carvalho
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb-nf87kvvY&list=UUL6bqg07ZCa6wMwc3X6u9aw
TAMUC Concert Chorale sings Ave, Maria!
8 2.11. Text
2.11.1. Carefully observes the prosody and the relation between text and music
“I suffer greatly because of the mistakes of my fellow composers and lyricists, both scholars as popular,
thus compromising the quality of our music. It gives me great satisfaction to hear the singing with musical
prosody fully implemented and well understood.” (Carvalho, 2008, p. 11)
2.11.2. Reginaldo Carvalho highlights important semantic aspects of the poem. In this secular song, A
cacimba, the poem is written in Portuguese, although in the way it is spoken in northeastern Brazil.
The apocopation creates a very interesting percussive effect that combines with the main subject of
the text.
“Desejo, para que negar? Desejo ser um caçote, com dois olhos deste tamanho, para ver aquele magote de moça tomando banho.”
“Desej’… pra quê negá? Desej’ sê um caçote, cum dois óio dêx tamãe! Prá vê aquele magóte de moça tumado bãe!”
"I wish… why should I deny that? I wish to be a small bowl with two huge eyes, to see that crowd of young woman taking a shower."
MÚSICA HODIE 81
Figure 10: A Cacimba, m. 61-68
Copyright 2008 Reginaldo Carvalho
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl9E7PAhrVQ
Coro de Câmara de Campina Grande sings A Cacimba
9 2.12. Missa sertaneja (Mass of the Hinterland)
2.12.1. Like other Brazilian composers that wrote masses based on idiosyncratic elements of Brazilian
musical culture, Reginaldo Carvalho composed in 1958 the Missa Sertaneja (Mass of the
Hinterland) for mixed choir (SATB). It is a cyclic Mass that is divided into six parts. The initial theme
of each movement is built on the Mixolydian mode. Rhythmic vivacity is prevalent throughout the
work.
Figura 15: Missa Sertaneja: Senhor, Glória, CrenDeusPai, Santo,
Benedito and Cordeiro de Deus. Copyright 2008 Reginaldo Carvalho.
2.12.2. The text of the Mass differs from the canonical text of the Catholic Mass, recited in Portuguese, by
its popular tone, characterized by the use of colloquialisms.
2.12.3. Gloria: We thank God for the sun, rain and wind, which are essential for maintaining work and life.
2.12.4. Symbolism is another important aspect of the Mass.
2.12.5. Crucifixion: the choir sings in unison, in the lower range and the minor mode. In the resurrection,
the polyphony reappears; the choir sings in the middle register, a static chord of C, recitative.
Soprano, alto and tenor change positions and reach the climax (heavens). The rests (suspiratio) and
the fermata between bars 21-22 reinforce the expressiveness of the section, the temporary silence
of death.
10 Figura 16: Missa Sertaneja, Credo, m. 19-27
Copyright 2008 Reginaldo Carvalho.
3. Final words
3.1. Reginaldo Carvalho composed with simplicity and without populism, connecting national and universal
elements, the past and the present.
3.2. His style covers multiple tendencies that result from his training and musical tastes developed from
childhood, the family and school environment.
3.3. He was cautious about the influences of his teachers.
3.4. With Villa-Lobos, Messiaen and Paul Le Flem, he learned to remain always open to the new, eclectic,
never closing a single trend.
3.5. He did not adhere to any specific compositional aesthetic movement (twelve-tone or atonal, for example).
11 3.6. The vast majority of choral compositions have a strong didactic aspect. He wrote most of them for choirs
that he directed lifelong, continuing the Orpheonic Singing project initiated by Villa-Lobos.
3.7. His music can be included in the repertoire of amateur and professional choirs because of its variety. The
vocal extensions are comfortable, lush and sophisticated harmonies, despite numerous dissonances and
unusual progressions.
3.8. Rounded and light sound, with controlled breathing, to keep the legato of the melodic lines and tuned
vowels, especially in the highest parts, obtaining a uniform sound.
3.9. Because of the dissonances, vibrato has to be controlled. It is also necessary good articulation and
diction, paying attention to linguistic regionalisms that appear in some texts, especially because some of
them were collected orally and do not follow the standard Portuguese language.
3.10. The systematic use of the Northeastern modes and stepwise melodies contrasts with the polychords
and angular melodies of some compositions, characteristics that place him in line with his time and
modernity. He had a strong sense of social-cultural identity.
“I know the Northeast invades all my work, as people say. I make the music I make, I
like, I want, despite the countless wealth of information I have. The same way in music,
I'm so in philosophy, religion, politics, school of samba and soccer: independent, proud,
and responsible. I'm also a frequent and compulsive reader. I like music, like listening to
music. I can say that I know and love music. (Carvalho, 2008, p. 4)
4. References
CARVALHO, Reginaldo. Entrevista de Vladimir A. P. Silva e José Francisco Lima Silva em julho de 2008.
Teresina. Documento escrito. Universidade Federal do Piauí.
_____ . A Cacimba. Partitura para coro misto a quatro vozes. França: manuscrito, 1955.
_____ . As Sete Palavras da Oração Dominical. Partitura para coro misto a quatro vozes. Juiz de Fora:
manuscrito, 1956.
_____ . Ave Maria. Partitura para coro misto a quatro vozes. São João D’el Rey: manuscrito, 1959.
_____ . Passarela dos Santos. Partitura para coro misto a quatro vozes. Piauí: manuscrito, 1976.
_____ . Rezação. Partitura para coro misto a quatro vozes. Rio de Janeiro: FUNARTE, 1980.
_____ . Salmo de Davi. Partitura para coro misto a quatro vozes. Minas Gerais: manuscrito, 1957.
_____ . Santo! Santo! Santo!. Partitura para coro misto a quatro vozes. s/l: manuscrito, 1946.
_____ . Tantum ergo No 1. Partitura para coro misto a quatro vozes. Paraíba: manuscrito, 1946.
_____ . Trovas populares Nº 1. Partitura para coro misto a quatro vozes. Rio de Janeiro: manuscrito, 1950.
_____ . Trovas populares Nº 1. Partitura para solo e piano. s/l: manuscrito, s/d. COMPAGNON, Antoine. O
FERREIRA FILHO, João Valter. Catálogo de Obras de Espécie Vocal para Coral do Compositor Reginaldo
Carvalho. Teresina: Texto impresso, 2000. MÚSICA HODIE
MARCONDES, Marcos Antônio (Org.). Enciclopédia da Música Brasileira: erudita, folclórica e popular. 2. ed.
São Paulo: Art Editora, 1998.
SILVA, Vladimir A. P. e SILVA, José Francisco Lima e. Música brasileira para coro a cappella: catalogação e
edição da obra de Reginaldo Carvalho. Trabalho de conclusão do PIBIC. Teresina: UFPI-CNPQ, 2008a.
_____ . A obra coral de Reginaldo Carvalho: Catalogação e Edição. In: SEMI- NÁRIO NACIONAL DE PESQUISA
EM MÚSICA, 8. Anais do... Goiânia: UFG, 2008b. p. 315-317.
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