Domingos Caldas Barbosa
Encyclopedia
Domingos Caldas Barbosa was a Colonial Brazil
ian Neoclassic
poet and musician, famous for creating the modinha
. He wrote under the pen name Lereno.
Barbosa is the patron of the 3rd chair of the Academia Brasileira de Música (Brazilian Academy of Music).
, to a Portuguese
man and a liberated Angola
n slave woman. Trained at the Jesuit college in Rio de Janeiro, he developed a power of literary improvisation which he indulged at the expense of the Portuguese whites and thereby stirred them up against him. His enemies had him forcibly enrolled in a body of troops setting forth for the colony of Sacramento
, where he remained until 1762. Returning to Rio Janeiro he soon embarked for Portugal, and there obtained the patronage of two nobles of the Vasconcellos family, the Conde de Pombeiro and the Marquez de Castello Melhor. Taking minor orders he received a religious benefice, being attached as chaplain to the Casa da Supplicaçáo.
Although he was a mulatto, he obtained entrance into high society in the Portuguese capital: he could improvise cantiga
s and play his own accompaniment on the viol
. Hence the condescending nickname cantor de viola which was given to him. Well aware that his social status was uncertain, he retained his self possession even in the face of the insulting attitude of the poet Bocage
and others.
With most of the Portuguese poets of the time he had good relations, consorting with them in one or another literary academy. His cantigas acquired great popularity. He was a minor poet with facility, able to express himself simply, and to avoid bombast and sensuality. His poetical definition of the characteristically Portuguese quality of saudades remains famous.
Barbosa's poems were published posthumously, in 1825
, under the name Viola de Lereno (Lereno's Viol
).
Colonial Brazil
In the history of Brazil, Colonial Brazil, officially the Viceroyalty of Brazil comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to kingdom alongside Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.During the over 300 years...
ian Neoclassic
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
poet and musician, famous for creating the modinha
Modinha
A modinha is a type of sentimental love song. The modinha is of uncertain origin, but it may have evolved in either Brazil or Portugal. Around the end of 18th Century, Domingos Caldas Barbosa wrote a series of modinhas that were extremely popular, especially in salons, and so can be termed salon...
. He wrote under the pen name Lereno.
Barbosa is the patron of the 3rd chair of the Academia Brasileira de Música (Brazilian Academy of Music).
Life
Barbosa's date of birth is unknown. It is most accepted to be in 1739, in Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, to a Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
man and a liberated Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
n slave woman. Trained at the Jesuit college in Rio de Janeiro, he developed a power of literary improvisation which he indulged at the expense of the Portuguese whites and thereby stirred them up against him. His enemies had him forcibly enrolled in a body of troops setting forth for the colony of Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
, where he remained until 1762. Returning to Rio Janeiro he soon embarked for Portugal, and there obtained the patronage of two nobles of the Vasconcellos family, the Conde de Pombeiro and the Marquez de Castello Melhor. Taking minor orders he received a religious benefice, being attached as chaplain to the Casa da Supplicaçáo.
Although he was a mulatto, he obtained entrance into high society in the Portuguese capital: he could improvise cantiga
Cantiga
A cantiga is a medieval monophonic song, characteristic of the Galician-Portuguese lyric. Over 400 extant cantigas come from the Cantigas de Santa Maria, narrative songs about miracles or hymns in praise of the Holy Virgin...
s and play his own accompaniment on the viol
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
. Hence the condescending nickname cantor de viola which was given to him. Well aware that his social status was uncertain, he retained his self possession even in the face of the insulting attitude of the poet Bocage
Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage
Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage was a Portuguese Neoclassic poet, writing under the pen name Elmano Sadino.-Biography:...
and others.
With most of the Portuguese poets of the time he had good relations, consorting with them in one or another literary academy. His cantigas acquired great popularity. He was a minor poet with facility, able to express himself simply, and to avoid bombast and sensuality. His poetical definition of the characteristically Portuguese quality of saudades remains famous.
Barbosa's poems were published posthumously, in 1825
1825 in literature
The year 1825 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Henri Boulard dies, leaving behind one of the greatest book collections in history, with a library containing more than half a million books.-Fiction:...
, under the name Viola de Lereno (Lereno's Viol
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
).