Música Popular Brasileira
Encyclopedia
Música Popular Brasileira (ˈmuzikɐ popuˈlaʁ bɾaziˈlejɾɐ, Brazilian Pop Music) or MPB designates a trend in post-Bossa Nova
urban
popular music. It is not a discrete genre but rather a constellation that combines original songwriting and updated versions of traditional Brazilian urban music styles like samba
and samba-canção
with contemporary influences: from folk
, to rock
, to pop
, and to jazz
. Signifying much more than the sum of the three words would indicate, MPB is a contemporary trend that has brought the world many renowned Brazilian artists, whose individual styles generate trends within MPB. The term can mean either any kind of music with Brazilian origins or a voice and guitar style that arose in the late 1960s. MPB can also be influenced by newer, non-traditional musical trends.
As much as bossa nova, MPB was born out of an attempt to produce a Brazilian "national" music, thus revitalizing traditional styles. MPB made a considerable impact at that time, boosted by several televised music festivals, where the acronym was popularized. The beginning of MPB is often associated with Elis Regina
´s interpretation of the mysterious Arrastão, by Vinícius de Moraes
and Edu Lobo
. In 1965, one month after celebrating her 20th birthday
, Elis appeared on the nationally broadcast
Festival de Música Popular Brasileira interpreting this song which won the first prize Gold Medal and Elis won the singing prize. Elis recorded Arrastão which became the biggest selling single in Brazilian music history at that time and she became the number one singer, literally overnight. These events officially thrusted MPB as a form before the Brazilian national audience and it was accepted by the public and elaborated on by many artists that followed the trend over the years.
The earliest MPB borrowed elements of the bossa nova and often relied on thinly-veiled criticism of social injustice and governmental repression, being based on progressive
opposition to the political scene characterized by military dictatorship, concentration of land ownership, and imperialism
. A variation within MPB was the short-lived but influential artistic movement known as tropicália.
Bossa Nova
Bossa Nova may refer to:*Bossa nova, a style of music*Bossa Nova , a dance form associated with the music*Bossa Nova , a 2000 film*Bossa Nova - album by John Pizzarelli...
urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
popular music. It is not a discrete genre but rather a constellation that combines original songwriting and updated versions of traditional Brazilian urban music styles like samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
and samba-canção
Samba-canção
Samba-canção is a kind of slow samba music from Brazil. It appeared in the late 1940s. During the 1950s several stars used to sing it including Dalva de Oliveira, Nora Ney, The Batista Sisters, Jamelão, Maysa, Dorival Caymmi and many others...
with contemporary influences: from folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, to rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, to pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, and to jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. Signifying much more than the sum of the three words would indicate, MPB is a contemporary trend that has brought the world many renowned Brazilian artists, whose individual styles generate trends within MPB. The term can mean either any kind of music with Brazilian origins or a voice and guitar style that arose in the late 1960s. MPB can also be influenced by newer, non-traditional musical trends.
History
MPB, loosely understood as a "style", debuted in the mid-1960s, with the acronym being applied to types of non-electric music that emerged following the advent, ascension and evolution of bossa nova. MPB artists and audiences were largely connected to the intellectual and student population, causing later MPB to be known as "university music" c. 1970.As much as bossa nova, MPB was born out of an attempt to produce a Brazilian "national" music, thus revitalizing traditional styles. MPB made a considerable impact at that time, boosted by several televised music festivals, where the acronym was popularized. The beginning of MPB is often associated with Elis Regina
Elis Regina
Elis Regina Carvalho Costa, known simply as Elis Regina was an important singer of Brazilian popular music. She became nationally renowned in 1965, after singing Arrastão in the first edition of TV Excelsior festival song contest, and soon joined O Fino da Bossa, a television program on TV Record...
´s interpretation of the mysterious Arrastão, by Vinícius de Moraes
Vinicius de Moraes
Marcus Vinicius de Moraes , known as Vinicius de Moraes and nicknamed O Poetinho , was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Son of Lydia Cruz de Moraes and Clodoaldo Pereira da Silva Moraes, he was a seminal figure in contemporary Brazilian music...
and Edu Lobo
Edu Lobo
Eduardo de Góes "Edu" Lobo is a Brazilian bossa nova singer, guitarist, and composer. He achieved fame in the 1960s as part of the bossa nova movement...
. In 1965, one month after celebrating her 20th birthday
Birthday
A birthday is a day or anniversary where a person celebrates his or her date of birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party or rite of passage. Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders , Christmas – which is celebrated widely by...
, Elis appeared on the nationally broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
Festival de Música Popular Brasileira interpreting this song which won the first prize Gold Medal and Elis won the singing prize. Elis recorded Arrastão which became the biggest selling single in Brazilian music history at that time and she became the number one singer, literally overnight. These events officially thrusted MPB as a form before the Brazilian national audience and it was accepted by the public and elaborated on by many artists that followed the trend over the years.
The earliest MPB borrowed elements of the bossa nova and often relied on thinly-veiled criticism of social injustice and governmental repression, being based on progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
opposition to the political scene characterized by military dictatorship, concentration of land ownership, and imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
. A variation within MPB was the short-lived but influential artistic movement known as tropicália.