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DOI: 10.35699/2317-6377.2022.38325

eISSN 2317-6377

Folkloric Nationalism and Essential Nationalism in José

Siqueira’s Loanda and Maracatu: elements of the Maracatu

tradition and interpretative suggestions

Marcel Ramalho

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8932-7437

Augusta Univeristy, Department of Music

mramalhodemello@augusta.edu

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE

Submitted date: 10 fev 2022

Final approval date: 01 apr 2022

Abstract: This article describes how Brazilian composer José Siqueira (1907-1985) used musical elements from the

tradition known as Maracatu in the composition of the songs titled Loanda and Maracatu. A secondary goal is to

suggest interpretative performance approaches that take into consideration the musical, textual, and sociocultural

aspects of these songs. The methodology for the analyses was based on the categories and terms for examining the

musical frameworks of art songs outlined by Carol Kimball in her two books about art song, as well as Siqueira’s own-

devised Trimodal System. In Loanda and Maracatu, the composer uses several rhythmic cells that are characteristic of

the Maracatu tradition, as well as a clear twentieth-century musical language, confirming Siqueira’s two aesthetic

orientations: Folkloric Nationalism (when the composer uses the pure elements of folklore) and Essential Nationalism

(when the composer draws inspiration from folklore to create his own musical language).

Keywords: José Siqueira; Brazilian art song; Oito Canções Populares Brasileiras; Loanda; Maracatu.

TÍTULO: NACIONALISMO FOLCLÓRICO E NACIONALISMO ESSENCIAL EM LOANDA E MARACATU DE JOSÉ SIQUEIRA:

ELEMENTOS DO MARACATU E SUGESTÕES PARA INTERPRETAÇÃO

Resumo: Este artigo descreve como o compositor brasileiro José Siqueira (1907-1985) utilizou elementos do Maracatu

na composição das canções intituladas Loanda e Maracatu. O objetivo secundário é sugerir abordagens interpretativas

que levem em consideração os aspectos musicais, textuais e socioculturais destas canções. A metodologia utilizada

para as análises foi baseada nas categorias e termos para análise de canções de câmara descritos por Carol Kimball

em seus dois livros sobre canção de câmara, assim como no Sistema Trimodal desenvolvido por Siqueira. Em Loanda

e Maracatu, Siqueira usa várias células rítmicas típicas do Maracatu, assim como uma linguagem musical claramente

pertencente ao século XX, confirmando as duas orientações estéticas do compositor: Nacionalismo Folclórico (quando

o compositor usa os elementos puros do folclore) e Nacionalismo Essencial (quando o compositor se inspira no folclore

para criar sua própria linguagem musical).

Palavras-chave: José Siqueira; Canção de câmara brasileira; Oito Canções Populares Brasileiras; Loanda; Maracatu.

Per Musi, no. 42, General Topics, e224212, 2022

Ramalho, Marcel. 2022. “Folkloric Nationalism and Essential Nationalism in José Siqueira’s Loanda and Maracatu: elements of the Maracatu tradition and

interpretative suggestions”. Per Musi no. 42, General Topics: 1-24. e224212. DOI 10.35699/2317-6377.2022.38325

Folkloric Nationalism and Essential Nationalism in José

Siqueira’s Loanda and Maracatu: elements of the Maracatu

tradition and interpretative suggestions

Marcel Ramalho, Augusta University, mramalhodemello@augusta.edu

1. Introduction

José Siqueira (1907-1985) was a famous Brazilian composer, conductor, educator, and an important

advocate for the inclusion of Northeastern music into Brazilian concert music. Like other composers of his

time, Siqueira was strongly influenced by the Brazilian Modernist movement that was the consequence of

the Week of Modern Art of 1922 and its idea of a uniquely Brazilian cultural identity. The composer went on

expeditions looking for musical elements of Brazilian folklore

and popular song traditions from several

regions of Brazil, and incorporated those elements into his more than three hundred compositions. Among

these is the song set titled Oito Canções Populares Brasileiras (Eight Popular Brazilian Songs), published in

1955 and based on Northeastern, Native Brazilian, and popular urban musical traditions. This article presents

analyses of two songs from the aforementioned song set, Loanda and Maracatu, showing how Siqueira used

musical elements from the Northeastern tradition known as Maracatu in the composition of these songs.

The methodology for the analyses was based on the categories and terms for examining the musical

frameworks of art songs outlined by Carol Kimball in Song: A Guide to Art Song Style and Literature (Kimball

2005) and Art Song: Linking Poetry and Music (Kimball 2013):

• Styles of text setting: declamatory (speech-based), syllabic, melismatic, recitative, arioso,

Sprechgesang, use of embellishments, text painting, treatment of prosody;

• Melody: melodic contours (scalar passages and extended intervals), phrase length, tessitura, range,

use of chromaticism, dissonances, motives;

• Harmonic vocabulary: diatonic, chromatic, tonal, atonal, modal, chord preferences, key schemes,

modulations, text illustration through harmonic means;

• Rhythm: tempo, metric organization (simple meters, compound meters, irregular meters,

nonmetric/improvisatory meters), polyrhythms, cross-rhythms with the voice, patterns (simple,

difficult, ostinato);

Though currently the concept of folklore is a problematic one (Fonseca, 2014; Benjamin 2011; Soares, 2010;

Alcoforado, 2008; Carvalho, 1991), this paper uses the term “folklore” because it was largely employed by

José Siqueira himself, and the analyses presented here are based on the composer’s beliefs and assumptions,

in vogue at the time these songs were written.

Ramalho, Marcel. 2022. “Folkloric Nationalism and Essential Nationalism in José Siqueira’s Loanda and Maracatu: elements of the Maracatu tradition and

interpretative suggestions”. Per Musi no. 42, General Topics: 1-24. e224212. DOI 10.35699/2317-6377.2022.38325

• Accompaniment: predominant figures, block chords, arpeggiated figures, shared materials with the

voice, use of motives (rhythmic, melodic), preludes, interludes, postludes;

• Form: strophic, modified strophic, through-composed, binary, ternary (usually ABA), combinations of

these;

• Text illustration in piano patterns: mood/atmosphere, emotional content, musical texture (sparse,

thick).

In the composition of the Oito Canções Populares Brasileiras, José Siqueira largely employed his own-devised

Sistema Trimodal (Trimodal System), as claimed by the composer himself in his book O Sistema Modal na

Música Folclórica do Brasil (The Modal System in Brazilian Folk Music). In this publication, Siqueira explains

his theoretical system, its origins and applications (Siqueira 1981, 2). In that sense, a discussion on the

musical aspects of Loanda and Maracatu requires an understanding of Siqueira’s system.

This article also suggests interpretative performance approaches that take into consideration the musical,

textual, and sociocultural aspects of the songs, and provides phonetic transcriptions and English-language

translations of the texts.

2. Siqueira’s Trimodal System

Riding on the waves of the nationalist artistic movement prevalent in Brazil in the first half of the

twentieth century, Siqueira begins O Sistema Modal na Música Folclórica do Brasil by discussing the

search for what can be considered Brazilian music, and what specific elements characterize it. In his

opinion, composers have tried to characterize Brazilian music through several compositional procedures,

such as:

• The use of rhythmic cells that can be considered Brazilian, usually of African, Portuguese, Spanish

or Indigenous origin.

• The use of themes from Brazilian folklore.

• The use of accompaniment or specific contrapuntal techniques found in Brazilian popular music,

especially in the guitar or cavaquinho.

• The use of percussion instruments that can be considered Brazilian.

• The use of texts of Indigenous or African origin in vocal music (Siqueira 1981, 3).

The composer recognizes the existence of Brazilian music “in substance”, but questions the validity of

rhythmic, melodic, polyphonic, and harmonic aspects of the music from the Southern part of Brazil, used

frequently by Brazilian composers. For Siqueira, these elements are not enough to give Brazilian music its

own unquestionable character. Clearly reflecting ideals of localism, he claims that the folk traditions from

the Northeastern region “present features that make them the purest and most beautiful of the country”

(Siqueira 1981, 01).

A type of ukulele used typically in the Samba music genre.

Ramalho, Marcel. 2022. “Folkloric Nationalism and Essential Nationalism in José Siqueira’s Loanda and Maracatu: elements of the Maracatu tradition and

interpretative suggestions”. Per Musi no. 42, General Topics: 1-24. e224212. DOI 10.35699/2317-6377.2022.38325

After performing field research in several states of the Northeastern region, Siqueira noticed the frequent

use of three different musical modes in the folk music of the region. According to the composer, “when

used systematically, these modes give the melody its own color, completely altering the harmonic system

that is the base of modern tonality on which classical music has been based, since the seventeenth

century”

(Siqueira 1981, 2). He also claimed that the use of modes as the basis for a new harmonic

practice will lead to atonality, but without the “violent, sometimes unacceptable processes” (Siqueira

1981, 2) that were in vogue at the time the book was first published, in 1946. Siqueira recognizes that he

did not create a new system; he only systematized in theory the musical practices that he observed in

music of the Northeastern region:

I do not have the intention to create anything new, neither do I want to undo what already

is known about the subject. What I did was organize the use of these three Brazilian modes,

so usual in the Northeastern region, to which I pay this humble homage, at the same time

that I hope to have contributed to the fixation of norms that will be imperative for the

formation of Brazilian Music (Siqueira 1981, 2).

The basis for Siqueira’s Trimodal System are three modes which he named I Modo Real (I Real Mode,

Figure 1), II Modo Real (II Real Mode, Figure 3), and III Modo Real (III Real Mode, Figure 5). In Siqueira’s

System each of these modes has its own Modo Derivado (Derived Mode), which starts a minor third below

its Real Mode counterpart – analogous to the relationship between major and minor modes in the tonal

system. These are shown in figures 2, 4, and 6. From this point on, this article will use the following

abbreviations, as suggested by Siqueira:

• I M.R. - I Real Mode

• I M.D. - I Derived Mode

• II M.R. - II Real Mode

• II M.D. - II Derived Mode

• III M.R. - III Real Mode

• III M.D. - III Derived Mode

Figure 1 - I M.R

“Esses modos, usados sistematicamente, dão, à melodia, uma cor própria, alterando, por inteiro, o sistema

harmônico, base da tonalidade moderna em que se apóia a música erudita, desde o século XVII.” (Siqueira

1981, 2).

“Não tenho a pretensão de haver criado algo novo, nem de desfazer o que existe de concreto sobre a

matéria. O que fiz foi, apenas, ordenar o emprego desses três modos brasileiros, tão comuns dos povos do

Nordeste, a quem presto essa singela homenagem, ao mesmo tempo em que espero haver contribuído para

a fixação de algumas normas que serão definitivas à formação da Música Brasileira.” (Siqueira 1981, 2).

Ramalho, Marcel. 2022. “Folkloric Nationalism and Essential Nationalism in José Siqueira’s Loanda and Maracatu: elements of the Maracatu tradition and

interpretative suggestions”. Per Musi no. 42, General Topics: 1-24. e224212. DOI 10.35699/2317-6377.2022.38325

Figure 2 - I M.D

Figure 3 - II M.R

Figure 4 - II M.D

Figure 5 - III M.R

Figure 6 - III M.D

I M. R. and II M. R. are the Mixolydian and Lydian Medieval Church modes, while I M.D. and II M.D. are

the Phrygian and Dorian Medieval Church modes. Siqueira claims that the III M. R. has no historical

counterpart, and for that, it should be considered the “National Mode par excellence” (Siqueira 1981, 7).

However, the composer and theorist Herman Rechberger describe its frequent use by Hungarian

composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945), such as in the sixth movement of his Romanian Folk Dances (1915)

and his Concerto for Orchestra (1943). French composer Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) also used this mixed

scale in some of his works, such as the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (1930) and Shéhérazade,

ouverture de féerie (1898). It is also known as Lydian Dominant, Mixolydian #4, and Overtone scale.

According to Rechberger, the name Overtone scale “refers to the natural harmonic, that is contracted to

heptatonic scalar system” (Rechberger 2008, 73). Interestingly, the contraction of the natural harmonics

is the acoustic reason given by Siqueira for the development of this scale (Siqueira 1981, 8).

Siqueira then sets new guiding rules for the use of his Trimodal System, as well the nomenclature that

should be used:

• The major and minor scales, diatonic or chromatic, shall be replaced by the Real and Derived

modes.

• The traditional identification of the scale degrees (tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant,

dominant, submediant, and leading tone) shall be replaced by 1

, 2

, 3

, 4

, 5

, 6

, and 7

degrees, respectively.

• Intervals shall not suffer any nomenclature changes.

Ramalho, Marcel. 2022. “Folkloric Nationalism and Essential Nationalism in José Siqueira’s Loanda and Maracatu: elements of the Maracatu tradition and

interpretative suggestions”. Per Musi no. 42, General Topics: 1-24. e224212. DOI 10.35699/2317-6377.2022.38325

• A chord will be defined as an assembly of two or more pitches heard simultaneously, and it shall

be classified according to the number of notes it contains—two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight

notes, and so on. There shall no longer be dominant 7

chords, major 7

chords, minor 7

chords,

dominant 9

chords, major 9

chords, or minor 9

chords, since these titles and functions shall

disappear. Hierarchy disappears, and a piece of music can start and end with any chord.

• Chord progressions can be free or follow the rules in the traditional way, as long as they are done

through the modes.

• Harmonic cadences shall disappear; any chord will serve to finish a phrase or period.

• Modulations shall no longer exist, since modulating means to go from one key to another, and in

this system there is no such thing as tonality. There are modes. The passage from one mode to

another is called “transport” or “change” (Siqueira 1981, 9-10).

Siqueira presents examples of new chords (Acordes Novos) that can be formed through the stacking of

eight types of intervals: major and minor 2

(M2 and m2); perfect, augmented, and diminished 4

(P4,

A4, d4); perfect, augmented, and diminished 5

(P5, A5, d5).

Though the composer did not create a system with completely new material, his Trimodal System can still

be considered innovative due to his efforts in systematizing the musical practices of traditions of the

Northeastern region of Brazil, by way of devising harmonic procedures in the modes described earlier.

3. Loanda and Maracatu in context: poetry and tradition

Siqueira credits the texts of Loanda and Maracatu to Brazilian poet Ascenso Ferreira (1895-1965) (Siqueira

1955), who became known for integrating the ideals of the Brazilian Modernist movement into poetry,

focusing on regional themes from his home state of Pernambuco (a neighboring state of Paraíba, where

Siqueira was born). During the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, it was common for

Brazilian intellectuals and artists to highly value European culture and look down upon the Brazilian popular

cultural traditions, considering them to have no cultural importance. The Brazilian Modernist movement

sought to change that, and Ascenso Ferreira was a major Brazilian poet who brought the Northeastern

regional culture to Brazilian literature. Ferreira’s aim was to reflect the culture of the Northeastern region in

his poetry, and his aesthetics combined the Modernist rhythmic freedom in poetry writing with regional

themes (Ramos 2013, 44).

His first book of poems, Catimbó, was published in 1927, followed by Cana Caiana

(1939) and Xenhenhém (1951). In them, the author unveils aspects of Northeastern popular culture through

the combination of poetic language charged with regionalist ideas to the precepts of the Brazilian Modernist

movement (Ramos 2013, 8).

Siqueira’s settings of Loanda and Maracatu are written in the musical style of Maracatu, a cultural

manifestation that originated in the state of Pernambuco, associated with Carnival festivities. It

encompasses dance, music and a parade representing characters such as king, queen, prince, princess,

ambassadors, ministers, vassals, court people, and slaves, who dance to mainly percussive music with no

specific choreography. There are two types of maracatu: the Maracatu-Nação (also called Maracatu de

Baque Virado) and the Maracatu Rural (also known as Maracatu de Baque Solto). The Maracatu-Nação

shows African influence, having its origins in processions for African kings. The Maracatu Rural shows more

Ramalho, Marcel. 2022. “Folkloric Nationalism and Essential Nationalism in José Siqueira’s Loanda and Maracatu: elements of the Maracatu tradition and

interpretative suggestions”. Per Musi no. 42, General Topics: 1-24. e224212. DOI 10.35699/2317-6377.2022.38325

influence of Native Brazilian culture, and it differs from Maracatu-Nação through the absence of the

characters of king and queen, the use of colorful costumes, the use of brass instruments, and the use of a

faster tempo that alternates instrumental and sung sections. A Maracatu ensemble is formed by

approximately forty people who sing chants and play percussion instruments such as caixa-de-guerra

gonguê

, alfaia marcante

, and alfaia repique

. The character of the caboclo de lança is certainly the most

recognizable figure and the highlight of a Maracatu ensemble. It wears a colorful costume and their goal is

to open space through the crowd for the parade by dancing and making frenzied movements with its almost

seven-foot-long wooden spear (lança) adorned with colored ribbons (Pereira 2007, 72-77).

4. Loanda

4.1. Text, phonetic transcription and English-language translation

While the poem titled Maracatú has indeed been published in Ascenso Ferreira’s Catimbó (1981, 41), the

poem titled Loanda, although credit to Ascenso Ferreira in Siqueira’s score (1955, n/p) is not present in any

of Ferreira’s books. It is, however, mentioned (with some ortographic difference) in Luís da Câmara

Cascudo’s Made in Africa: Pesquisas e Notas: “In the tempestuous Maracatus from Recife, shaking the crowd,

the rumble of contagious drums, the great unison voice roars, inexhaustible in intinstive and playful

solidarity: Rosa Aluanda, qui tenda, tenda, Qui tenda, tenda, qui tem toróró” (Cascudo 1965, 90)

. The text

of Siqueira’s Loanda does not seem to provide a plot, a story line, or a poetic idea/moral to be told. It appears

to serve simply as a mere accompaniment to the main feature of the song—the rhythm.

Oh! Zaloanda, que tenda, que tem tororó!

[o za.lu.ˈã.dɐ ki ˈt.dɐ ki ˈt:j tɔ.ɾɔ.ˈɾɔ]

Oh! Zaloanda, what a tent, there’s a tororó

[nearby]!

Oh! Zaloanda lêlê! Oh Zaloanda lálá!

[o za.lu.ˈã.da le.ˈle o za.lu.ˈã.da laˈla]

Oh! Zaloanda lêlê! Oh Zaloanda lálá!

4.2. Musical features

Caixa-de-guerra: snare drum smaller in size when compared to the European snare drum. It has an

aluminum shell with tension rods going from one hoop to the other, which give the instrument a clearer,

drier, higher pitched, and more precise tone.

Gonguê: type of cowbell that measures between eight and twelve inches, played with a metal drumstick.

Alfaia marcante: wooden bass drum made of animal skin, measuring between sixteen and twenty-two

inches in diameter, played with thick wooden drum sticks.

Alfaia Repique: two-headed bass drum with a diameter of 18”.

“Nos tempestuosos Maracatus do Recife, sacudindo a multidao, estrondo de tambores contagiantes, a

grande voz unissona atroa, inesgotavel no solidarismo instititvo e ludico: Rosa Aluanda, qui tenda, tenda,

Qui tenda, tenda, qui tem toróró.” (Cascudo 1965, 90).

Water fountain/spout.

Ramalho, Marcel. 2022. “Folkloric Nationalism and Essential Nationalism in José Siqueira’s Loanda and Maracatu: elements of the Maracatu tradition and

interpretative suggestions”. Per Musi no. 42, General Topics: 1-24. e224212. DOI 10.35699/2317-6377.2022.38325

Loanda, subtitled Maracatu, is comprised of forty-nine measures, and the form of this song is a simple

repeated binary form with a coda. The vocal melody and modes employed in this song are the main elements

that determine its form.

Tab. 1 - Form of Loanda

Section

Measures

Features

1 - 14

II M.R. of A (A Lydian)

14 - 22

III M.R. of A (Mixed Mode)

A’

23 - 36

II M.R. of A (A Lydian)

B’

36 - 44

III M.R. of A (Mixed Mode)

Coda

44 - 49

III M.R. of A (Mixed Mode)

In Loanda, the main (and unifying) feature is certainly the rhythm, syncopated, with clear markings on the

score for stress on weak beats of each measure.

The song starts with an accented upbeat, and this pattern

is present throughout the entire piece, in both vocal and piano parts. It is in the rhythmic aspect of the piece

that Siqueira pays homage to the Maracatu tradition. In Loanda, the rhythmic cell shown in Figure 7 is

presented several times in its original form and with variations, in both vocal and piano parts. In a Maracatu

ensemble, this rhythmic cell is usually played by the gonguê. It is important to emphasize that this is just one

of dozens of rhythmic cells that are played in a Maracatu ensemble, resulting in the characteristic

polyrhythm of this musical tradition.

Figure 7 - Maracatu rhythmic cell (Pereira 2007, 72; Guerra-Peixe 1955, 77)

In Loanda, the main variation is related to where the rhythmic cell begins—the upbeat. Siqueira adds a

quarter note to the beginning of this rhythmic cell, which together with the accents of the weak beats

displaces the accompaniment in relationship to the vocal line (Figure 8, piano part).

In Section A, the right hand of the piano plays as ostinato a chord formed by one P4, one M2, one m2, and

one m3, which conforms with the chord building process suggested by Siqueira’s Trimodal System (Figure 9,

blue box). The bass line on the left hand outlines A - D♯ - E, always on the weak beat of each measure (Figure

9, red box). The key signature and the vocal line outlining the key of A major (Figure 9, green box) clearly

show that the centric tone of this song is A. However, the raised fourth of A major (D♯, played in the left

hand of the accompaniment), suggests that this section of the song is actually in the II M. R. of Siqueira’s

Trimodal System (or A Lydian).

As in the use of the term “folklore”, concepts such as “syncopation” and “weak beats” mentioned in this

text are based on assumptions held by Siqueira, in vogue at the time these songs were written. For a

discussion on syncopation in Brazilian music, see Carlos Sandroni’s Feitiço Decente (2014).

Ramalho, Marcel. 2022. “Folkloric Nationalism and Essential Nationalism in José Siqueira’s Loanda and Maracatu: elements of the Maracatu tradition and

interpretative suggestions”. Per Musi no. 42, General Topics: 1-24. e224212. DOI 10.35699/2317-6377.2022.38325

Figure 8 - Maracatu rhythmic cell in Loanda

The vocal melody of Section A consists of a quick ascending arpeggio outlining A major, followed by a

descending line comprised of stepwise motion and a few narrow leaps. This descending line is then followed

by an octave leap that goes back down to conclude the melody. This melody starts on the upbeat of m. 4,

and in m. 7 presents the syncopation that appeared first in mm. 2 and 4 of the piano prelude (Figure 9). After

a piano interlude which presents the same material as the prelude (this time twice as short), this vocal

melody is repeated. The range of the vocal line of Section A is a major ninth (E4 - F♯5), while the tessitura is

of a perfect fifth (A4 - E5).

Figure 9 - Loanda, A Section, elements of II M.R. of A