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The batuque (in Cape Verdean Creole: batuku /bɐˈtuku/ or batuk /bɐˈtuk/) is a music and dance genre from Cape Verde. Cape Verdean Creole is a language spoken on the islands of Cape Verde. ...
As a music genre
As a music genre, the batuque is characterized by having an andante tempo, a 6/8[1] measure and traditionally it is just melodic, i.e., it is just sung, it has no polyphonic accompaniment. When compared with the other musical genres from Cape Verde, the batuque has a call and response structure, and it is the only genre that is polyrhythmic. In fact, analyzing the rhythm, one finds out that it is a 3-beat rhythm over a 2-beat rhythm. The first two measures of Mozarts Sonata XI, which indicates the tempo as Andante grazioso and the metronome marking as = 120. (Metronome markings were not used in Mozarts day. ...
In musical notation, a bar or measure is a segment of time defined as a given number of beats of a given duration. ...
Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Polyphony is a musical texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). ...
In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first. ...
Polyrhythm is the simultaneous sounding of two or more independent rhythms. ...
Rhythm (Greek = flow, or in Modern Greek, style) is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events. ...
See also the beat disambiguation page. ...
In its traditional form, the batuque is organized as if it were an orchestral crescendo. It possesses two movements (if we may call them like so): In music, dynamics normally refers to the softness or loudness of a sound or note, but also to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic (staccato, legato etc. ...
In music, a movement is a large division of a larger composition or musical form. ...
In older times the music began with an introduction on the cimboa that provided the base musical line. Nowadays the usage of that instrument is extinct. The first movement is called, in Creole, galion /ɡɐliˈõ/. In this movement one of the performers (called batukaderas /bɐtukɐˈdeɾɐs/) executes a polyrhythmic hit, while the others execute a 2-beat hit, clapping hands or slapping a cloth. The lead singer (called kantadera proféta /kɐ̃tɐˈdeɾɐ pɾoˈfɛtɐ/) sings a verse that is immediately repeated (called ronca baxon /ˈʀõkɐ bɐˈʃõ/) in unison by the remaining singers (called kantaderas di kunpanha /kɐ̃tɐˈdeɾɐs di kũˈpaɲɐ/). These verses, improvised proverbs that talk about a variety of subjects such as praising personalities, social criticism, quotidian scenes, are called finason /finɐˈsõ/. This call and response structure goes on until the second movement. The cimboa /sĩˈboÉ/ (also known as cimbó /sĩˈbÉ”/) is a musical instrument from Cape Verde. ...
For other uses, see Unison (disambiguation). ...
The second movement is called txabéta /ʧɐˈbɛtɐ/. This movement corresponds to an orchestral climax in which all the players execute the same polyrhythmic beat, and all the singers sing the same verse in unison that works as a refrain. Look up Climax in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
A refrain (from the Old French refraindre to repeat, likely from Vulgar Latin refringere) is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the chorus of a song. ...
Nowadays, recent composers have composed the batuque in a different way. The music leans on a polyphonic support (chord sequences), and shows a similar structure to the other musical genres in Cape Verde, in which the musical strophes alternate with a refrain. Typical fingering for a second inversion C major chord on a guitar. ...
As a dance As a dance, the traditional batuque follows a precise ritual.
In a batuque session, a group of performers (almost always just women) gather themselves in a circle in a scenario that is called terreru /teˈʀeɾu/. This scenario does not have to be a precise location, it may be a back yard in a house or it may be a public square, for instance.
The musical piece begins with the players (that may be simultaneously or not batukaderas and kantaderas) executing the first movement, while one of the players goes to the center to perform the dance. In this first movement the dance is made only with body swinging, with an alternate movement of the legs playing the downbeat.
In the second movement, while the players perform the rhythm and sing in unison, the dancer changes the dancing. Now, the dancing (called da ku tornu /dɐ ku ˈtoɾnu/) is made with a hip swing managed through the quick flexion of the knees, accompanying the rhythm.
When the song is over, the dancer pulls back and another takes her place, and a new song begins. These performings may last for hours until the end of the batuque session.
History The batuque is probably the oldest musical genre in Cape Verde, but there are written records of it only from the XIX century. Presently it is found only in Santiago, however, there are clues that it existed in all the islands of Cape Verde..[2] Santiago (Portuguese for Saint James), or Santiagu in the local Bádiu language, is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nations population. ...
According to Carlos Gonçalves[3], the batuque is not a musical genre that originated in the African continent. It would be an adaptation of some African dance (which one?) that later has developed its own characteristics in Cape Verde.
The Portuguese administration and the Church have always hostilized the batuque, because it was considered “African”, but during the policy of Estado Novo this hostilization was stronger. The batuque has even been forbidden in urban centers, and it managed to be a dying musical genre from the fifties.
After the independence there has been an interest in the revival of some musical genres. But it is in the nineties that the batuque has experienced a true rebirth with young composers (such as Orlando Pantera, Tcheka, Vadú) doing research work and giving a new form to the batuque, being sung by also young singers (such as Lura, Mayra Andrade, Nancy Vieira). Lura Township is a township in Faribault County, Minnesota, United States. ...
Mayra Andrade (born in Havana, Cuba in 1985) is a Cape Verdean singer who lives and records in Paris, France. ...
Meaning In ancient times the batuque had a precise social meaning. It was performed in holy days, in certain ceremonial occasions, in feasts, before and during weddings. There are some scholars who speculate that the dance movement of the batuque has a sexual meaning and the goal was to promote the fertility of the bride.
Nowadays the batuque has lost its original meaning. It has been transformed in a stage performance[3], and it is performed in official acts, in parties or it is used by some groups to give an example of Cape Verdean folklore.
References - ^ Brito, M., Breves Apontamentos sobre as Formas Musicais existentes em Cabo Verde — 1998
- ^ Lopes da Silva, B, in Claridade, Revista de Artes e Letras, N.º 7 — 1949
- ^ a b Gonçalves, C. F., Kab Verd Band — 2006
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