Folkloric Nationalism and Essential Nationalism in José Siqueira’s Loanda and Maracatu

Elements of the Maracatu folkloric tradition and interpretative suggestions

Abstract

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