Traditional folk music from Northeast Brazil. The expedition in 1938 and the make over of 2004 (part 2).
The well-known poet and important Brazilian musicologist Mário de Andrade was head of the Culture Department in São Paulo (Southern Brazil) during the 1930’s. On his initiative a delegation consisting of four famous researchers was put together, who were then dispatched by Andrade with an immense task: all music and dance traditions in the northern part of Brazil had to be recorded on film, photo and audio.
This legendary expedition, that started in 1938, is still known today as the so-called Missão de Pesquisas Folclòricas, literally translated: the mission for folkloristic research.
In 2003 and 2004 a much larger group of researchers led by Carlos Sandrini decided to follow the footsteps of dé Missão, the group of field workers that had delivered such a magnificent archive in the late 30’s. However this recent search was limited to the northeastern states Pernambuco and Paraíba. There, through the same routes as in 1938, the traditional music of the local population was recorded once again. But thanks to the technological improvements the result was given a completely new look….
