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Essay / The Growth of Portuguese Music - 1823
Portugal has a rich musical culture, with roots stretching back to the Provençal troubadours, followed by ballads and fado, and, more recently, incorporating the rhythms of former Portuguese colonies from West Africa. Each of these elements is still alive in current Portuguese music, such as the French Provençal influence in the folk music played at festivals in the north of the country, as well as the rock and jazz most prevalent in the larger cities. An additional element is added by a multitude of singer-songwriters, most of whom come from the extremely political "New Song" movement. This movement began to grow in the 1970s, when the country shook off a thirty-year dictatorship under Salazar and was forced to withdraw from its colonies. In Portuguese folk music there is a wide variety of instruments. Among the most common are bagpipes, harmonicas, accordions, flutes, drums (adufes, bombos, caixas, pandeiros, sarroncas) and many percussion instruments (ferrinhos, genebres, reco-reco, trancanholas). However, Portugal is best known for its stringed instruments: violins, twelve-string “Portuguese guitar” and six variations of “viola guitars” unknown in other European countries. The design, character and tuning are unique to each viola guitar. The best known is the small four-stringed cavaquinho. The others have elaborate combinations of single, double and even triple strings. One of the most common instrument combinations is the zes-pereira. Consisting of a large bombo, a caixa and a bagpipe or fife, they are often used to announce special occasions. Another combination of traditions popular throughout the country is the rancho, consisting of violins, guitars, clarinets, harmonicas and ferrinhos, later joined by the accodion. The Porgtugal singers are excellent. In every town there is an amateur choir. It is customary for someone to begin an a cappella after a good meal, and other people at the table join in. It is not at all unusual, if you attend a fado show, to find the entire staff of the participating establishment, from the owner to the person who works the cloakroom. To listen to a vocal ensemble of three women from Manhouce, or a choir of men from Alentejo, is to hear a truly popular...... middle of paper...... Her work is full of uneven swaying and sudden changes of direction. More recent folk music is known as Musica Popular, which owes its renewed popularity primarily to the singer-songwriters who devoted themselves to it and to the musicians who made records devoted to these unique folk instruments. Among the instrumentalists, perhaps the greatest guitarist Carlos Parèdes. he explores both the folk and classical sides of the Portuguese guitar, with surprising results. Another excellent instrumentalist is Julio Pereira, who started out as a songwriter but became interested in traditional stringed instruments and has recently been experimenting successfully with combining them with synthesizers, drum machines and samplers in compositions inspired by popular tradition. As we examine here, it is clear that the history and music of Portugal had great influences on each other, particularly during the transition period that took place when Portugal became a democracy and abandoned a thirty-year dictatorship. It is also important to note that traditional Portuguese music still lives on in contemporary Portuguese music..