Many modern admirers of music and dance have heard of such a concept as “Bosanova”. This musical direction comes from sunny Brazil, where carnivals are held annually. However, this musical style, unlike traditional samba, has received its development relatively recently. And not everyone knows on what basis this style was created in due time.
Bosanova - what kind of music style is this?
In general, just like all other Latin American styles of music, Bosanova, precisely as a style of music, involves a combination of jazz harmonics with national rhythms.
It is not surprising that in the music itself it is most often possible to meet dimensions that seem to be even (say, 4/4 or 2/4), but with a clear share of the so-called swing (shift of the shares), when all kinds of syncops are present in the rhythmic part, moreover, as it seems to many, in the most inappropriate places for this. Often in each measure you can find trioli, which automatically leads the dimension of the composition to 12/8. Sometimes you can even hear completely non-standard sizes like 7/8 or 9/8.
More broadly, Bosanova is the sister of styles such as salsa, samba, rumba and bayou. And, as is already clear, this music is inextricably linked with dance schools (however, like all other Brazilian branches). Brazilians themselves do not imagine the sound of music without certain movements in the dance.
Music and dance are one inseparable
If you look at the musical essence of the style, it is easy to predict that Bosanova is both a style of music and dance.
The movements, as in all other dance schools, are honed and graceful, choreography emphasizes the softness and flexibility of the body. What is most interesting, Bosanova can be danced both in pairs and independently, without a partner or partner. Although there is a basic set of movements that focus on the movement of the legs, arms and hips, variations in the dance can be thought of as many as you like.
In this sense, Bosanova is closely intertwined with other Latin American dance styles, however, she became the most popular in Brazil and Cuba.
History of occurrence
Some mistakenly believe that Bosanova is a style that emerged exclusively under the influence of African immigrants to South and Central America. Not at all!
The style of Bosanov’s music arose only in the 50s of the last century, at the junction of jazz and national traditions. Then it was called bossa nova, which could be interpreted as “new style” or “new chip”. True, at first such music sounded only at home concerts held in Rio de Janeiro, when the musicians tried to combine traditional Brazilian samba with American jazz. In fact, jazz gave Bosanow those very non-standard musical dimensions.
Brazilian Bosanova
Now a little about the homeland of this direction. Since its inception, the style of Bosanov received the greatest development in the 60s, when many performers took the canons of a new direction as a priority.
However, do not forget that even world ballroom dance festivals today include tango, salsa, cha-cha-cha, and Bosanova in the compulsory program. Brazilian dance technique is not available to everyone. According to the inhabitants of this country themselves, you need to be born a Brazilian in order to have a tendency to perform all movements since childhood.
Even annual carnivals, despite the fact that they are mainly represented by samba schools, are not without Bosanova. It seems to fit organically into the mainstream, and sometimes even prevails. In general, it is very difficult to draw a clear line in these dances and music, because the national color often involves the use of completely different elements from the same different dance schools and musical directions.
The most famous artists
In the 50s, no one was left indifferent by the new style. It was Bosanova. The performers tried (as it seemed at that time) to combine the incompatible. Nevertheless, the reference point is considered to be the output of the play “Pretty Sad” (Chega de Saudade), and then the composition “Girl from Ipanema”. The godfathers of the new direction were Juan Gilbert and Antonio Carlos Jobim.
In 1958, building on the success of the new style, Jobim, together with Elizabeth Cardozo, recorded the album “Song of Too Strong Love”, where a lot of hits were presented. Apart from “Girls from Ipanema,” we can separately note the song “Recklessness” (“Insensatez”), with which in 1962, Jobim and V. di Morais conquered the famous Carnegie Hall in the USA. By the 70s, Bosanova firmly took the place of the visiting card of Brazilian music.
Modernity
Unfortunately, today Bosanova as a style of music is used only in dance schools, and contemporary performers can be found only in Latin American cafes. The professional scene, like popularity, remains only in memories. It's a pity. After all, Bosanova is very bright music, conveying subtle shades of the soul and human experiences, sometimes overwhelming emotions, joy and sadness, love and jealousy. And if all this happens in tandem with the dance, the degree of tension generally rolls over.
But here is the interesting thing. Even manufacturers of musical instruments such as Yamaha or Casio, who produce keyboard synthesizers with auto accompaniment, without fail include in their set of styles Bosanova in its various interpretations.
And all this only speaks of the fact that Bosanova has become a kind of classic in music, which cannot be done without studying and understanding in contemporary art.