Luso-Brazilian Mechanical Recordings (1902-1927) in the José Moças Collection at Aveiro University: An Overview

Abstract

This article presents the partial results of a postdoctoral study focused on musical dialogues between Brazil and Portugal from the José Moças Collection at the University of Aveiro (Portugal). Comprising six thousand shellac 78 rpm disc records, this archive is considered the most important sound collection in Portugal and is currently being catalogued and digitized by the University. The article presents an exploratory study of the mechanical recordings that reflect the flows and exchanges between Brazil and Portugal. The study focuses on “national genres”--such as fado and maxixe–recorded in Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro by artists who were part of a common entertainment system (made up of theatrical revues and the music publishing and recording industries) in both countries. In light of a review of “Black Atlantic” (GILROY, 2001) and “the ecology of musical knowledge of the South Atlantic” proposed by Sardo (2013), we intend to contribute to the understanding of the performers and phonograms to construct an imaginary sonority between both countries.

Keywords

• Gravações mecânicas. Música popular brasileira. Música popular portuguesa. Diálogos luso-brasileiros.