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Rhythms of Resistance: African Musical Heritage in Brazil

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Peter Fryer is a scholar and this book on the African influence on musical arts in Brazil demonstrates his thorough research. Essentially a history from the first import of slaves into Brazil until the early 20th century, he presents example after example of observations by 18th- and 19th-century European and American travelers on the music, instrumentation, ceremony, and dance forms of the Africans, who came from not only Angola but Nigeria and Benin, explaining in part some of the regional differences. For instance, the 12-beat patterns of West Africa entered the candomblé rites of Salvador, while Kongo-Angola 16-beat music led eventually to the samba of Rio de Janeiro. Portugese folk elements themselves, which had a smaller role in Brazilian forms, had an earlier Moorish Iberian and Galician basis. Additionally, European Baroque music was performed by slave orchestras, and Brazilian composers were the first to bring African-distilled music into the classical repertoire. The book is supported by maps, illustrations, a detailed appendix on African musical instruments in Brazil, a discography, a small section on Cape Verde music and dance, extensive notes, and a fine, useful index. Fryer's book is the necessary introduction to Hermano Vianna's book The Mystery of Samba, which continues the story from more recent times. The evolution of Brazilian music, instrumentation, and dance is rich and complex. This book makes it all clear and fascinating.