Noel Rosa

Noel Rosa was a well-known and celebrated composer while alive, but is more and more popular as time passes. When active, popular music in Brazil was mainly "country" music, sertaneja music. But he felt free to offer his true-spirited samba in a new way, his way: sophisticated melodies conjugated with unusual lyrics, ranging from amorous metaphysics through a vivid picture of social life and relations in a poetic Rio of the '30s. Although his carnival marches knew instant national-wide success year by year, his elaborate songs only began to receive popular acclamation within...