UNIVERSIDADE DO RIO DE JANEIRO

CENTRO DE LETRAS E ARTES

MESTRADO EM MSICA BRASILEIRA

THE EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC OF HERMETO PASCOAL & GROUP

(1981 1993): CONCEPTION AND LANGUAGE

by
LUIZ COSTA-LIMA NETO

RIO DE JANEIRO, 1999

THE EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC OF HERMETO PASCOAL & GROUP

(1981 1993): CONCEPTION AND LANGUAGE

by
LUIZ COSTA-LIMA NETO

Thesis submitted to the Programa de Mestrado em Msica Brasileira (Program

for Masters Degree in Brazilian Music) of the Centro de Letras e Artes (Center of Arts
and Literature) of UNI-RIO, as a partial requirement for obtaining a Masters degree,
under the orientation of Prof. Dr. Martha Tupinamb de Ulha.

RIO DE JANEIRO, 1999

ABSTRACT

In this study, we looked for the genesis and the conception of the experimental
elements in the musical language of Hermeto Pascoal's composer and instrumentalist.
We take as our object of analysis a certain repertoire recorded between 1981 e 1993 by
the composer and the group that accompanied him in this period: Itiber Zwarg, Jovino
Santos, Antnio Santana, Carlos Malta and Mrcio Bahia. For clarifying how certain
harmonic, melodic, rythmical and timbre elements were constituted, at the level of
language, we searched, through time, the roots of Pascoal's musical conception, since
his childhood. We went on his musical development up to the point we got in touch
again with the period we had stressed, at beginning. In our research, it is of special
relevance, the relationship between sound and image and certain non-conventional
sound patterns, musically merged by Pascoal since a child, such as the sounds of
percussed metals, sounds that belonged to nature, to animal and human voices.
By investigating the borders of interpretation, improvising and composition and
in order to verify Pascoal's and group work dynamics, we still rebuilt the process of
creation and research in each analysed composition, up to its recording at studios.

Costa-Lima Neto, Luiz.

The Experimental Music of Hermeto Pascoal & Group (1981 1993): conception
and language / Luiz Costa-Lima Neto. Rio de Janeiro, 1999.
vii, 214p.
Thesis Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martha Tupinamb de Ulha.
Dissertation (Master) Universidade do Rio de Janeiro. Mestrado em Msica
Brasileira.
Bibliography: p. 209-212.
Discography: p.212-214.
1. Msica instrumental. 2. Msica Popular. 3. Etnomusicologia. 4. Hermeto Pascoal.
I. Ulha, Martha Tupinamb de. II. Universidade do Rio de Janeiro (1979 - ).
Programa de Ps-Graduao em Msica. III. Ttulo
Translation: Laura Coimbra and Prof. Dr. Tom Moore
Music revisor: Prof. Dr. Tom Moore

DEDICATION

To Zlia, Henrique, Luiz, Rebeca and Daniel, my

family, and to Cristiane, for their support, love and
patience.
To all of Hermeto Pascoals fans, and especially to
those that on any night between 1982 and 1992
were at the Parque Lage, Circo Voador or Teatro
Rival, and thrilled to the shows presented by
Hermeto, Itiber, Jovino, Pernambuco, Carlos
Malta and Mrcio Bahia.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank:

The Conselho Nacional de Desenvovimento Cientfico e Tecnolgico (The
National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) CNPq for my
scholarship during the period from 1996 to 1998.
Professors Jos Maria Neves, Elizbeth Travassos Lins, Carol Gubernikoff,
Ricardo Tacuchian and Antnio Guerreiro, my classmates and staff at UNI-RIO, and
Professor Rodolfo Caesar of the Escola de Msica of the U.F.R.J., for their help and for
our enriching personal and academic relationship.
Professor Dr. Elizabeth Travassos Lins and Professor Dr. Maurcio Alves
Loureiro, who were brilliant members of the examining board when I defended my
thesis, presenting several important contributions to my work.
Mauro Wermelinger, for kindly allowing the use of his archives of news reports
about Hermeto Pascoal.
Hermeto Pascoal himself and musicians Itiber Zwarg, Jovino Santos Neto,
Antnio Luis Santana, Carlos Daltro Malta and Mrcio Villa Bahia, for the interviews
they gave me and for the kind collaboration in the collection and correction of the
manuscripts of the musical parts. Without their help, this work would not have been
possible.
My special thanks to pianist and composer Jovino Santos Neto for his solicitude,
always being available for interviews and countless consultations for over two years,
and for his generosity in putting at my unrestricted disposal his personal archive of
scores composed by Hermeto.
The kindness of Laura Coimbra and Tom Moore for carefully translating my
work into English.
My final thanks go to my thesis supervisor, Professor Martha Tupinamb de
Ulha, for her constant advice and countless corrections and suggestions, and for
embarking with me on a seductive but unpredictable journey.

II

Summary
PREFACE ............................................................................................................................................. VII

1.

2.

3.

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1
1.1.

THE CONCEPTION AND LANGUAGE OF HERMETO PASCOAL: FIRST CONSIDERATIONS....................................... 4

1.2.

THE AMAZING NATIVE VERSION .................................................................................................... 6

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 15

2.1.

FROM AN ERUDITE VIEW POINT ................................................................................................... 15

2.2.

FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF JAZZ .................................................................................................... 20

2.3.

CONCLUSION REGARDING THE PAPERS DISCUSSED ABOVE .................................................................. 26

2.3.1.

JAZZ? ................................................................................................................... 27

2.3.2

CONCRETE MUSIC ? .................................................................................................. 28

2.4.

SOUND AND MUSIC ................................................................................................................... 32

2.5.

SYNESTHESIA ........................................................................................................................... 34

THE CREATIVE PROCESS OF HERMETO PASCOAL & GROUP .......................................................... 41

3.1.

FROM L AGOA DA C ANOA TO THE U.S.A., FROM THE U.S.A. TO THE WORLD : A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF

HERMETO P ASCOAL IN SEARCH OF HIS MUSICAL CONCEPTION ...................................................................... 41

3.2.

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA ON THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP .................................................................. 64

3.2.1.

I TIBER L UIZ Z WARG ................................................................................................ 64

3.2.2.

JOVINO S ANTOS N ETO .............................................................................................. 65

3.2.3.

CARLOS ALBERTO DALTRO MALTA ............................................................................... 66

3.2.4.

MRCIO VILLA B AHIA ............................................................................................... 67

3.3.

HERMETO E G RUPO FROM 1981 TO 1993 .................................................................................... 69

3.3.1.

WORKING TOGETHER , METHODOLOGY OF REHEARSING AND APPRENTICESHIP ........................... 69

3.3.2.

THE PROCESS OF REHEARSING AND CREATION OF MUSIC: IMPROVISED COMPOSITION AND WRITTEN

IMPROVISATION ?

.................................................................................................................. 73

3.3.3.

P ARTICIPATION OF MUSICIANS IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS ................................................... 77

3.3.4.

FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT HERMETO S SCHOOL , AND THE ROLE OF THE G ROUP IN CONSOLIDATING

ITS LANGUAGE ...................................................................................................................... 80

3.3.5.

E ND OF A CYCLE /BEGINNING OF ANOTHER ....................................................................... 83

III

4.

5.

REFLECTIONS ON ACOUSTICS AND PSYCHO-ACOUSTICS .................................................................. 84

4.1.

A CONSTANT NOISE .............................................................................................................. 84

4.2.

SPECTRAL TYPOLOGY ................................................................................................................ 89

4.2.1.

HARMONIC SPECTRUMS ............................................................................................ 91

4.2.2.

I NH A R MO NI C S PE C TR A ........................................................................................... 92

4.3.

S PECTRAL MORPHOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 97

4.4.

T HE UNITARY SOUND ............................................................................................................... 98

4.5.

H ERMETO S EXTENDED PERC EPTIO N ........................................................................................ 100

SELECTED ANALYSES ............................................................................................................... 110

5.1.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE REPERTOIRE ......................................................................................... 110

5.2.

G RAPHIC AND CONVENTIONAL SCORES ..................................................................................... 112

5.3.

M USICAL ANALYSES ............................................................................................................... 116

5.3.1. SRIE DE ARCO (HOOP SERIES), LP HERMETO P ASCOAL & G RUPO (SOM DA G ENTE, 1982) .......... 116
5.3.2. BRIGUINHA DE MSICOS MALUCOS NO CORETO (CRAZY MUSICIANS QUARRELING ON THE BANDSTAND),
LP HERMETO P ASCOAL & G RUPO , (SOM DA G ENTE, 1982)....................................................................... 126
5.3.3. MAGIMANI SAGEI, LP HERMETO PASCOAL & GRUPO (SOM DA GENTE, 1982) ......................................... 131
5.3.4. CORES (COLORS), LP HERMETO PASCOAL & GRUPO (SOM DA GENTE, 1982) ......................................... 139
5.3.5. DE BANDEJA E TUDO (WITH TRAY AND ALL), LP HERMETO PASCOAL & GRUPO (SOM DA GENTE, 1982) .......... 155
5.3.6. PAPAGAIO ALEGRE (MERRY PARROT), LP LAGOA DA CANOA, MUNICPIO DE ARAPIRACA (SOM DA GENTE, 1984) .....
........................................................................................................................................... 163
5.3.7. ARAPU, LP BRASIL UNIVERSO (SOM DA GENTE, 1986)...................................................................... 173
5.3.8. AULA DE NATAO (SWIMMING LESSON), CD FESTA DOS DEUSES (POLYGRAM, 1992) ................................ 185

6.

7.

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 191

6.1.

SUMMARY OF THE MUSICAL ANALYSES ........................................................................................... 191

6.2.

THE TRAJECTORY OF HERMETO PASCOAL & GROUP: FINAL CONSIDERATIONS .......................................... 195

6.3.

A FINAL INTERVIEW WITH HERMETO PASCOAL ................................................................................. 201

SOURCES ................................................................................................................................... 209

7.1.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................ 209

7.1.1. MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS WITHOUT ENTRY BY AUTHOR OR DATE.......................................................... 211

IV

7.2.

INTERVIEWS ............................................................................................................................ 212

7.3.

DISCOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 212

7.3.1. HERMETO PASCOALS SOLO ALBUMS ................................................................................................ 212

7.3.2. ALBUMS AS PERFORMER AND ARRANGER ........................................................................................... 213
7.3.3. SOLO ALBUMS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP .................................................................................. 214
7.3.4. OTHER ALBUMS ........................................................................................................................ 214

INDEX OF EXAMPLES
Example 1: "Ilha das gaivotas" (harmony for the solo) ........................................................................... 23
Example 2: Ilha das gaivotas (second bar) .......................................................................................... 23
Example 3: The harmonic series ............................................................................................................ 91
Example 4: Spectrum of the Winchester Cathedral tenor bell ................................................................ 95
Example 5: "Ferragens" (1st bar)......................................................................................................... 101
Example 6: Ferragens (1st bar, first measure) ................................................................................... 105
Example 7: Ferragens (1st bar, fifth measure) ................................................................................... 106
Example 8: 2nd Bar .............................................................................................................................. 106
st

Example 9: (bar 2, 1 measure) ........................................................................................................... 107

Example 10: (bar 2, 2nd measure) ........................................................................................................ 107
Example 11: 1st bar, passage of a(0.00- 0.05)............................................................................... 119
Example 12: 2nd bar, continuation of a ( 0.6 - 0. 11)..................................................................... 120
Example 13: passage of b(0. 16- 0.19) .......................................................................................... 121
Example 15: 8th bar, continuation of c (0.37- 0.42) ...................................................................... 121
Example 14: passage from c ( 0.32- 0.37) ..................................................................................... 121
Example 16: 10th and 11th bars, passage from d (0.47- 0.56) ....................................................... 122
Example 17: 4th bar (0.16- 0.19) .................................................................................................... 122
Example 18: 6th bar (0.27- 0.32) .................................................................................................... 123
Example 19: 1st and 2nd bars (0.00 0.10) .................................................................................... 124
Example 20: A, 34th bar (2.26- 2.28) ............................................................................................. 125
Example 21: (0.0 - 1.01) ................................................................................................................. 129
Example 22: rhythmic-melodic phrases............................................................................................... 135
Example 23: A. (1.44- 2.24 and 2.54- 3.12) .............................................................................. 137
Example 24: (4.03- 4.31) ................................................................................................................ 138
V

Example 25: (0.11- 2.08) ................................................................................................................ 144

Example 26: Bar 5............................................................................................................................... 146
Example 27: Bar 7............................................................................................................................... 146
Example 28: b. 11 and 12 of the theme (1.22- 1.44) ....................................................................... 148
Example 29: (2.08 - 2.17) ............................................................................................................... 149
Example 30: (2.18 - 2.25) ............................................................................................................... 150
Example 31: Rhythm of piano 1 in B .................................................................................................. 151
Example 32: (3.32- 4.07) ................................................................................................................ 151
Example 33: (4.29- 4.36) ................................................................................................................ 152
Example 34: Chord formed by the partials of the iron plate ................................................................. 152
Example 35: Piano before the Climax .................................................................................................. 152
Example 36: Climax (4'57'' - 5'.10'') ..................................................................................................... 154
Example 37: Theme, b.1 to 8 (1.15- 1.45 and 2.02 - 2.32) .......................................................... 159
Example 38: (5.14 - 5.43) ............................................................................................................... 162
Example 39: (0'.10" - 0'.26") ............................................................................................................... 166
Example 40: (0.26- 0.42) ................................................................................................................ 167
Example 41: Superlocrian scale in b .................................................................................................. 168
Example 42: (0.43- 0. 58) ............................................................................................................... 169
Example 43: Symmetrical scale ........................................................................................................... 170
Example 44: (0.59 - 1.15) Theme 'c2'.............................................................................................. 171
Example 45: (0.59 - 1.07) ............................................................................................................... 172
Example 46: bs. 1 to 17 (0.00 - 0.23) ............................................................................................. 176
Example 48: b. 1 - 16 .......................................................................................................................... 178
Example 47: b.1 .................................................................................................................................. 178
Example 49: b. 23 and 24 (0.35- 0.38) ............................................................................................ 179
Example 50: b. 57 to 60 (1.28 - 1.34) .............................................................................................. 180
Example 51: B, b. 99 to 102 (2.31 - 2.43) ........................................................................................ 181
Example 52: B, b. 108 and 109 (3.00 ............................................................................................ 182
Example 53: A, b. 84 to 97 (6.17 - 6.35) ........................................................................................ 183
Example 54: Final chord ...................................................................................................................... 184

VI

PREFACE

From approximately 1984 to 1992, we were present at practically all the

shows and appearances of Hermeto Pascoal & Group in Rio de Janeiro. The
performances were extraordinary and unforgettable. Unique. Leading a group of
exceptional musicians was a creative and charismatic multi-instrumental virtuoso, as
well as a very good-humored entertainer: Hermeto Pascoal.
Entertainment was guaranteed. Invariably, the shows went way beyond
conventional time limits, lasting for three, four or more hours. Its very hard to describe
exactly what went on there, but one thing was clear: it was a fantastic band, led by one
of the greatest musicians of our time.
The use of superlatives is not an advisable rhetorical effect in a thesis. We shall
consider this short preface as an exception that Hermeto Pascoal & Group deserve.
Hermetos qualities are not restricted to the fact that he is a magnificently skilled
performer, technically speaking, and unbeatable improviser. Hermeto is also a unique
composer. His repertoire offers a highly varied range of stylistic possibilities, from the
xote and baio to an experimentalism only to be found in contemporary erudite music.
Hermeto was as fascinating as he was intriguing.
How, we asked ourselves then, had Hermeto turned into that incredible
phenomenon, leading such a good band? And what kind of music was that, how was it
made and conceived?
These questions, formulated years ago in a state of complete musical ecstasy, are
due to the perplexity that the music of Hermeto Pascoal & Group aroused in us.
This thesis is a result of that perplexity. In it, we try to understand Hermeto
Pascoals conception and language, especially in their experimental aspects.

VII

1. INTRODUCTION
Hermeto Pascoal, with a 50-year-long career, 13 solo albums to his credit,
and 31 other ones where he functions as producer, performer, arranger and
composer1, is today an important name on both the national and the world scene.
This study focuses on some aspects of his conception and language, and,
towards that end, we shall analyze a certain repertoire composed and recorded by
Hermeto in the period between 1981 and 1993. In this period, a quintet of
musicians accompanied and was led by Hermeto, combining an excellent standard
of individual performance with the unique esthetic conception of the composer
from Alagoas.
We use the words language and conception in their usual meaning.
Language is the general term that comprises the systems of signs, i.e., the nonnatural elements (the sounds that integrate a musical scale do not naturally belong to
it; those that form a word have no natural meaning) through which man expresses
himself and communicates. Conception is the act of originating, creating. Here, we
deal with analyzing the conception of a musical language.
Therefore, we are motivated by two questions. The first, of a more general
nature, is with respect to Hermetos experimental conception: how it was elaborated,
its origins and its most important features. To answer that, we go back to the
composers childhood, and then follow him through his professional trajectory. The
second question refers to how that conception was transformed into musical
language by Hermeto himself and by the quintet that accompanied him in the
aforementioned period. We try to answer this second question by reconstituting the
1

Approximate data based on the discography organized in 1999 by Mauro Wermelinger, a friend of
Hermeto and Group. Because the works of certain Brazilian musicians are not satisfactorily catalogued, a
complete discography of Hermetos works demands a research that goes beyond this thesis, and is
certainly much more extensive than the one we present.

process of creation and rehearsal of the compositions we have chosen, up to the

moment when they were recorded in a studio.
The repertoire selected for analysis is a sampling of the work developed by
Hermeto Pascoal & Group, and the compositions we chose are especially appropriate
for the objective of the present study, for, to us, they seemed to be examples that were
rich in diverse experimental aspects.
The definition of experimental music that we used is based on the one
presented by Paul Griffiths in his book Enciclopdia da Msica do Sec.XX:2
(...) one uses the word experimental for music that significantly strays from the
expectations of style, form or type sanctioned by tradition except the experimental
tradition. Some composers, especially at the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s,
when experimental music was at its height, drew a useful distinction between the vanguard,
which worked within the accepted tradition and the channels of communication (opera
houses, orchestral concerts, universities, radio networks, recording companies), and the
experimental composers, who preferred to work in other ways. (...) Actually, the
experimental work was more characteristic of American and English music than of
continental Europe. (GRIFFITHS, 1995: 150)3

Griffiths is referring to the artistic world of classical music, but his definition
applies perfectly to the tradition of popular music. The distinction between vanguard
and experimental is interesting, because, as argued by Howard Becker in his seminal
article Mundos artsticos e tipos sociais 4 the vanguard, in spite of facing serious
difficulties in seeing their work realized, which sometimes may even not occur
2

So Paulo: Martins Fontes, 1995

The genesis itself of the concept of experimental music, such as it is presented by Griffiths, has
many points of contact with Hermetos trajectory. His emergence as a composer (which occurred
with the issuing of his first solo record in 1971) happened exactly at the height of experimental
music and, symptomatically, in the USA, which, according to Griffiths, was, much more than Europe
(with the exception of England), the main scene of experimental music. Cf. Michael Nyman,
Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond. London: Studio Vista, 1974.
4

In Gilberto Velho (org.), Arte e Sociedade ensaios de sociologia da arte. Rio de Janeiro: Jorge
Zahar, 1977, p. 9-25.

(p. 15) usually ends up by being absorbed by tradition and its conventional channels.
This because, according to Becker: the nonconformists came from an artistic world,
were trained in it, and, to a considerable degree, are still attuned to it. The
nonconformists intention seems to be to force his artistic world of origin to accept him,
demanding that, instead of his adapting to the conventions imposed by that world, it is
that world that should adapt to the conventions that he himself established to serve as a
basis for his work. And this is because the nonconformists do not renounce every, and
not even many, of the conventions of their art" (ibidem).
The concept presented by Griffiths seems appropriate for Hermeto, not only
because he definitely possesses an experimental style, which moves away from tradition
and convention, but also because the milieu in which he chooses to act is not the milieu
of the classical-music vanguard, nor of the popular one. Tropicalia, which is an
example of the vanguard in Brazilian popular music, was a movement with which
Hermeto had very little connection.
Hermeto had to and has to build his own space (that of self-taught
experimenter), in order to realize his artistic project, even in the field of instrumental
music, which also includes choro, jazz, etc.5
We have analyzed the following compositions: Srie de Arco, De
bandeja e tudo, Magimani Sagei, Briguinha de msicos malucos no coreto,
Cores from the LP Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo (Som da Gente, 1982); Papagaio
alegre, from the LP Lagoa da Canoa, Municpio de Arapiraca (Som da Gente, 1984);
Arapu, LP Brasil Universo (Som da Gente, 1987) and Aula de Natao from the
CD Festa dos Deuses (Polygram, 1992).6

5
6

See especially chapter III, for historical-biographical depth.

Besides these compositions, in chapter IV we briefly analyze the piece Ferragens, for piano and
solo. Ferragens was composed but not recorded in the period under study.

This repertoire was studied not only with regard to its structural aspects
(revealed through the analysis of the scores and the recordings), but also from
the viewpoint of the process of its genesis and creation, as well as the different nuances
of performance (captured through the transcription and description of the recorded
performances).
1.1. THE CONCEPTION AND LANGUAGE OF HERMETO PASCOAL: FIRST CONSIDERATIONS
In a position that defies limiting labels and boundaries, Hermeto Pascoals
language places him between popular and erudite music. Sometimes he is too
innovative according to the formulaic parameters of popular music, sometimes he is too
popular according to the structural parameters of erudite music. Thus, Hermeto
Pascoals experimental project is unique.
(...) I cant say what type of music I make. I make music, thats all. I play
an infinity of rhythms, of sounds, of harmonies, of types, of styles ... I adore playing
classical music (I label it because thats what people like. I hate that) and suddenly
I change to a carnival frevo from Recife or a baio from the Northeast. (HERMETO,
Jazz Magazine: 1984)

Hermeto is, in fact, the creator of a very personal language, in which the
dissonant harmonies of jazz are merged with popular rhythms and melodies, often
from the Brazilian Northeast, the region where he was born in 1936. Nevertheless,
his language is multidirectional, also containing elements that are common to
contemporary erudite music, such as polychords, polyrhythms, the non-conventional
use of conventional instruments and the exploration of noise and new possibilities of
timbre through a varied arsenal of percussion, comprising the most various soundproducing objects.
Improvisation is another important feature of Hermeto Pascoals music. The
influence of American jazz is undeniable, although the improvisation practiced by

Hermeto is not limited (as usually happens in traditional jazz 7) to the capacity for
melodic reinvention based on only one harmonic structure. He can, for example, (as
in Magimani Sagei), superimpose drum and bass ostinati, dogs barking, someone
saying disconnected words, and consider all this the harmonic basis on which
several flutes will improvise freely, and at the same time merge their timbres with
the dogs barks and the onomatopoeias and grunting voices through frullati,
glissandi and other resources, such as singing inside the flutes as the notes are
emitted.
In order to try to discover how the composer experiments with and innovates
in his use of musical language, one must also perceive his limits. As an example, we
can mention Hermetos refusal to accept technological advances, rejecting
synthesizers, computers, samplers, and such. Although he is a pioneer in the search
for new timbres and sonorities, he is very suspicious of sound technology, adopting
a position that might be considered conservative, since he restricts electronics in his
music only to amplified instruments, such as the electric piano and bass.
What Hermeto seems to hate in synthesizers is the perverse possibility of
standardization taking the place of creation, since in most electronic keyboards the
timbres are pre-set, that is, are set at the factory. A possible alternative to this
limitation imposed by keyboard technology - the creation of timbres through
computers - does not seem to be an option chosen by Hermeto.
On the other hand, his arsenal of timbres is greatly varied, and not a bit
conservative. It consists of acoustic objects such as pans, kettles, coffee pots, pails,
basins, bottles, sewing machines, hubcaps, bells, a horn used to call cattle in the
fields, horns, noise-making toys, etc., etc.
In addition to the always-varying instrumentarium, the use of the sounds
from the most diverse animals, in tune with the music, is also one o f Hermetos
7

See chap. III for the relation established by Hermeto with American jazz.

stylistic trademarks. As an example, we can mention the grunting of hogs in the LP

Slave Mass (WEA, 1977), the barking of dogs and the shrilling of cicadas in the LP
Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo (Som da Gente, 1982), the screams of parrots in the LP
Lagoa da Canoa, Municpio de Arapiraca (Som da Gente, 1984), the cackling of
cocks and hens in the LP Brasil Universo (Som da Gente, 1985), the buzzing of bees
and the braying of donkeys in the LP 8 S no toca quem no quer (Som da Gente,
1987), the songs of several different birds in the CD Festa dos Deuses (Polygram,
1993), as well as others. The limits that Hermeto established for himself through his
rejection of new technological resources do not seem to have affected his capacity
for invention and experimentation.
But how exactly did Hermeto conceive and consolidate in his language the
features of his experimental music that we have mentioned above?
1.2. THE AMAZING NATIVE VERSION
At first, to explain Hermetos amphibious characteristics, we imagined that he
had been in close touch with erudite music. This hypothesis, however, was vehemently
denied in our first interview with Jovino dos Santos Neto, a pianist in Hermetos band
in the period 1981-1993:
No, no, no, no, I mean, what I know about this story (Hermeto being in touch with
contemporary erudite music) is that when he played at the Radio Jornal do Comrcio in
Recife, there was a pianist who played classical music very well, and he kept watching the
guy rehearse (...) I mean, he never had a structural analysis of contemporary music (...) I
know that when he was with Edu Lobo out in Los Angeles, Edu kept showing him some
Stravinsky scores and he always says: Oh, I really wasnt very much interested in that.
(JOVINO, 1997)9

Beginning with this LP, issued in 1985, the records made by Hermeto Pascoal & Group at the Som da
Gente recording company up to Festa dos Deuses (Polygram, 1992), were simultaneously issued as CDs.
9

In a later interview, on 03/06/1999, we asked Hermeto about that experience with Stravinskys music,
and he spoke about it with some interest. The question seemed important to us because, in spite of

Jovinos revelation was amazing. We had taken Hermetos contact with

classical music as a given, something simply required verification as to dates, people
involved, teachers, schools etc. We were mistaken. Jovino suggested that we search
for the origins of Hermetos conception in his childhood in Lagoa da Canoa, in the
municipality of Arapiraca, in the distant hinterland of the state of Alagoas.
It is possible that, with Hermetos sharp perception and auditory retention,
these brief contacts with contemporary erudite music were sufficient for him to
incorporate them into his repertoire of sound. However, our initial hypothesis,
linking Hermetos experimental language to a presumable contact with erudite
music, had become, in view of Jovinos testimony, an inconsistent possibility. Let us
see, then, why Jovino stressed the importance of our going back to the composers
childhood in order to understand his musical conception.
According to Jovino, Hermetos harmonic language is cannot be summarized
by, but is almost totally based on, triadic structures superposed in a non-functional
manner. Jovino raises the possibility that this harmonic procedure originated in the
eight-bass accordion (also called p-de-bode literally goats hoof -

in the

Northeast) that was Hermetos first instrument after the flutes made of branches
from the castor-oil plant and the pieces of iron used for percussion. The goats hoof
has two systems of buttons. The first system produces notes and is used for the
execution of melodies. The second one produces major, minor and dominant chords
used as accompaniment. Since it is not chromatic, the eight-bass accordion does not
possess all twelve tones, and is, therefore, a very limited instrument. Jovino told us
that, as a child, Hermeto would go to his blacksmith grandfathers junkyard and,

Jovinos statement that Hermeto showed little interest in Stravinskys music, we had noticed the
resemblance of some chords present in Hermetos music to those of the Russian composers. Although he
had heard Stravinsky only once, Hermeto showed that he had understood very well the manner in which
Stravinsky worked, , superimposing tonalities and, even though admitting some harmonic similarities, he
did not admit to being at all influenced in his language by Stravinsky.

hitting different pieces of iron, he sought their notes on the accordion, as well as the
partials that they produced.
So he would take those pieces of iron and hit them, they went (imitating the sound
of the iron), and he would seek the harmonics of those pieces of iron on his little accordion,
what notes are those, because a bell, a piece of iron, when hit produces several notes, the
main one, the fundamental, and a whole harmonic series that, depending on the
characteristics of the iron, will be totally atonal or not. (JOVINO, 1997)

We must now make a brief interruption to elucidate some problems regarding

acoustic terminology.
When a sonorous body vibrates, it produces not only a single note, but a
series of other sounds, called sine waves or partials. The note we hear is only the
lowest frequency of other frequencies (the harmonics or partials), usually with less
amplitude (volume) than the lowest frequency.
Harmonic and inharmonic partials are sine wave components. We distinguish
one term from the other according to the type of sound spectrum that they belong to.
Spectrum is the name given to the set of sound components that consists of the
lowest frequency and its harmonic or inharmonic partials. We shall use the term
harmonics when dealing with sounds that have a spectrum by that name
harmonic spectrum and inharmonic partials with regard to sounds whose
spectrum is inharmonic.
Sine waves are sounds that are neither harmonic nor inharmonic, for their
sound waves lack partials. That is also why sine waves are called pure sound.
However, as soon as this pure wave is transformed into an atmospheric vibration,
distortions are added to it, caused by the diffusing instrument, by the reflection from
the place where it is heard and by the organ of hearing itself. That is, simple
atmospheric propagation and auditory reception modify the pure sine wave, which
makes it, in a way, an acoustic abstraction. As sounds that are absolutely defined

with regard to pitch, sine waves are at one end of the sound continuum, with white
noise (which will be explained further on) at the other extreme.
Most musical instruments in the Western world, with the exception of some
of the percussion instruments, have a harmonic spectrum. In this type of spectrum,
the harmonics are related in simple proportions to the fundamental frequency. This
is why, in harmonic sounds, we hear the fundamental clearly, and at a very definite
pitch. The harmonics merge with it, modifying only its color, its timbre. The timbre
of a sound depends on the material that constitutes its source of emission, and on the
forms of attack, as well as the relation between its spectral components.
On the other hand, in inharmonic sounds, such as those produced by bells,
pieces of iron and metallic objects, the partials that comprise their spectrums do not
have a relatively simple proportional relation between them, as the harmonic sounds
do. Here the proportions between the partials are more complex, and because of this,
the inharmonic spectrum is formed of groups of frequencies that are different from
the harmonic spectrum. The ear is no longer easily able to clearly identify the lowest
frequency of the spectrum, for in the case of inharmonic sounds the partials do not
merge with the lowest frequency, as they do in harmonic sounds.
If the complexity of the relation of the partials to the lowest frequency is
increased, we will have what is known in acoustics as noise. In noise, the
inharmonic partials are so irregularly disposed that the identification of a definite
pitch (as occurs in harmonic spectrums) or even the perception of indefinite pitches
and partials (as occurs in the inharmonic spectrums of bells, iron and metallic
objects) becomes impossible. Noises, in turn, also have different types. The notion
of color in sounds is connected to the frequency regions present in them. A larger
frequency ambience produces white noise, which, when filtered into narrower
frequency bands, becomes colored noise.

10

Thus, we can understand sound as a tripartite continuum: the sounds as sine

waves; those with a harmonic spectrum; and those with an inharmonic spectrum. 10
As he tried to reproduce the inharmonic sonorities of the pieces of iron with
the triads and isolated notes from the eight-bass accordion, Hermeto began to
develop, according to Jovino, his harmonic language. This prematurely experimental
idiom not only combined notes and chords in unorthodox ways, it also brought
together harmonic sounds (from the accordion) and inharmonic ones (from pieces of
iron, animals and nature).
Beginning from these childhood experiences, Jovino believes that Hermeto
developed and consolidated a harmonic language partially based on triads, which he
superimposes on each other, generating vertical groupings of greater or lesser
complexity and intervallic tension.

In this process, you have elasticity of the chords, where you can take an
absolutely square, normal chord and you [imitates the sound of something tearing]
open it (...) You can prolong this chord until it becomes absolutely atonal, and
return. (JOVINO, 1997)

The superimposition of triadic structures is not exactly an original invention.

Both classical music, through polytonality, and jazz make use of this procedure. If,
however, we agree with Jovino, the path Hermeto followed to its discovery, as well
as the use he made and makes of it, are uniquely part of his personal trajectory.
In jazz, the use of this harmonic tool comes up against many limits related to
the tensions available in the chord scales. The forbidden notes, considered as such

10

According to the terminology proposed by Dennis Smalley in Spectro-morphology and Structuring

Process, The Language of electroacoustic music, Simon Emmerson (editor). London: Macmillan Press,
1986, p. 69-93. We have delved more deeply into acoustic and psycho-acoustic considerations in chap. IV
of the present thesis.

11

because they produce dissonances that deprive the melody and the harmony of their
characteristics, result in a considerable reduction of this idiom, as we can see from
the following quotation taken from Ian Guests method of popular arrangement:
The chord scales (used in the triads) are deduced from the harmonic
analysis and from the melodic notes. (...) We recommend that the passage chosen
for TSS (triads of superior structure) should be the climax of the arrangement,
and only for a limited time. It is appropriate for moments of great harmonic
richness and little melodic activity. (GUEST, 1999: 35/36) 11

Art music, however, has made a much more ample use of them since
the time of Debussy and Stravinsky, and their use was decisive for the later
emancipation of dissonance. The famous Petrushka chord is the superposition
of two perfect major chords, C major and F# major, and in the Omens of Spring,
from the Sacre du Printemps, the E major chord is superposed on the
E-flat major with an added seventh. (Barraud, 1968: 51/53)
Though Stravinsky uses this technique in passages that last for several bars,
Hermeto does not do the same. In Hermeto, this technique leads to constant
superimpositions in almost every measure, which would be enough to define it not
as polytonal but rather polychordal. The individual chords of these superimpositions
vary so frequently that they do not establish either tonal or polytonal centers.
As Persichetti explains:
Polyharmony is rarely polytonal. Polytonality is present only when the
individual chords that comprise the structure belong to separate tonal centers.
Non- polytonal polychords are considerably more flexible and versatile; the
11

Ian Guest is referring to a specific arrangement technique, TSS, in which each note of the melody
is harmonized en bloc with triads. These triads are called triads of superior structure because they
are played by the strings, the woodwinds or brasses, above the harmonic base, usually played by the
piano. It is important to observe that, according to Ian, the TSS are deduced from the chord scales of
the harmonic base, and cannot contain notes that are foreign to it. This orientation establishes the
limits of its use in jazz and in popular music.

12

harmonic areas of the individual chords that comprise them alter very frequently.
(PERSICHETTI, 1985: 138)12

Thus, Jovino suggested the possibility that Hermeto might have constructed
certain musical elements of his language common to contemporary erudite music
autonomously, independent of real contact with classical schools and teachers.
Hermetos autodidactic learning of music is, actually, a concrete fact, as we
shall see throughout this thesis. This fact can be explained by the visual deficiency
caused by Hermetos albinism, which, while keeping him since childhood from
learning to read music, also kept him away from teachers and schools, making him
develop his own language and conception.
In any case, we must consider that the virginity of the first musical
experiences that occurred in Hermetos childhood and their undeniable importance
for the understanding of his future musical conception, must have been consolidated
and expanded with the passage of time, during his professional trajectory after he
left Lagoa da Canoa. To that end, chapter III will present a brief biography of
Hermeto (and the members of the Group that accompanied him from 1981 to 1993),
in order to perceive how his musical conception was formed throughout the phases
of his career, up to the recording of the repertoire that we shall the n analyze.
Before doing so, however, we shall begin a bibliographical discussion of the
aspects that interest us with regard to Hermeto, with the aim of enriching and
expanding the issues that were initially addressed. We shall return to the interview
with Jovino during the discussion that follows.
In it, we comment upon the masters degree theses: Msica de Inveno
defended by Pretextato Taborda at UNI-RIO in1998; and Um estudo da
improvisao na msica de Hermeto Pascoal: transcries e solos improvisados,
12

Save when mentioned, all the translations are ours.

13

defended by Jos Carlos Prandini at UNICAMP in1996. We also look at various

news stories and reports covering Hermeto, and then finally go back to Jovinos
interview in order to expand the discussion.
The three chapters that follow are, in fact, only one long analytical chapter
that tries to put the object into perspective in complementary ways.
In chapter III, we approach our object based on information gathered through
interviews conducted by us, and we present a brief biography of Hermeto 13 and
Group up to the beginning of the group under study (1981). We describe the creative
process of the compositions selected for analysis, and examine the relation between
Hermeto Pascoals writing and improvisation.
Chapter IV introduces the chapter that follows it. In this chapter we delve
more deeply into some acoustic notions that will be used in the analysis. Noise is
dealt with as a social metaphor, as a well as an acoustic phenomenon. We shall
briefly analyze the piece Ferragens, as an example of how Hermeto dialogues with
harmonic and inharmonic sound spectrums in his musical language. 14
In chapter V, the information obtained from the interviews dealing with the
creative process of each one of the compositions chosen for analysis is compared to
their scores, transcriptions and recordings. The analyses we perform are aimed at
perceiving the musical structure of the repertoire we have chosen (its form,
instrumentation, rhythmic-harmonic language, etc.), without, however, losing sight
of biographical aspects and related concepts.
After interviewing 15 the composer and the group, discussing the bibliography
pertinent to the theme presented in masters degree theses, news stories and reports,
culminating in the analysis of the scores and recordings of the compositio ns
13

With help from a few bibliographical sources that will be cited opportunely.

14

Composed, but not recorded, during the period under study.

See bibliography.

15

14

selected, in chapter VI we shall offer our answers to the questions presented in the
introduction.

15

2. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DISCUSSION
Academic papers on Hermeto Pascoal are rare, and it can be said that his
extensive works have as yet gone unexplored by musicology.16 In contrast the number
of articles, news items and reports about Hermeto in the Brazilian and international
press is considerable.
Nevertheless, there is a growing interest in Hermeto in academic circles, as
attested by some recent masters degree theses.
We shall now discuss this recent academic production, as well as examine
newspapers and magazines, presenting excerpts from several interviews given by the
composer.
2.1. FROM AN ERUDITE VIEW POINT
In his masters degree thesis, Msica de inveno (Music of Invention)
defended at UNI-RIO in 1998, Tato Taborda analyzes the production of some Brazilian
artists, in order to illustrate his hypothesis relative to the formation of a hybrid territory
(the territory Taborda calls music of invention), established mainly by the contact
between the erudite and the popular universes.
Taborda relates some aspects of the conception and language of Hermeto
Pascoal to Luigi Russolos futuristic noisism and to Pierre Schaeffers concrete music.
The researcher points out several features that Hermeto and Schaeffer have in common:
the research on several everyday acoustic objects, the acceptance of new sounds, the
attraction to noises, etc.
16

The exact number is unknown. Jovino Santos Neto, pianist and composer, has around 1200
compositions by Hermeto. But, since 1993, when Jovino left the band, how many more compositions has
Hermeto produced? In 1997, for example, Hermeto accomplished his project of producing a new
composition every day, to celebrate the birthday of everyone in the world. We mention this project, not
because of its picturesque quality, but merely to show how impossible it is to evaluate the true extent of
Hermetos production.

16

The comparison that Taborda draws between Hermeto and Schaeffer effectively
underscores some features of Hermetos conception.
An important similarity between Schaeffers Musique Concrte and Hermeto,
which was aptly observed by Taborda, is the rejection of synthesized sound. In fact,
during the period on which our study is based (1981-1993), Hermeto restricted the use
of electricity in his band to the piano and the bass. A sampler with pre-recorded sounds
of pigs, hens, dogs, and other animals was tested by Hermeto, but without much
success.
I am trying out the instrument (the sampler), but it isnt measuring up. It
only works as a recorder of animal sounds, Ive already recorded the goat, the sheep,
the bull. But, when it comes to recording a higher sound, the sampler reproduces
that horrible synthesizer sound, that doesnt synthesize anything at all. (...) I dont
call it a sampler, I call it a keyboard recorder. Ive even used the keyboard recorder
in some tracks of the record Im making, but I dont mention it in the credits because
it doesnt do anything, just records the sound. If its an instrument, its supposed to
be used by me, not the other way around. Im not going to give the manufacturer
any publicity. (HERMETO, O Globo: 05/19/98)

In another passage of his thesis, and based on a quotation from Schaeffer,

Taborda draws an interesting parallel between the French composer and Hermeto:
March Back in Paris, I begin to collect objects. I go to the Sound Effects Service
at the French Radio and find clapperboards, coconut shells, bicycle pumps. I organize a
scale with pumps. (...) I leave the place as joyful as a child, with my arms full of stuff.
April 4 Sudden enlightenment: merge an element of sound to the noise, that is:
associate the melodic element to elements of percussion. Thus, the idea for pieces of wood
cut at different lengths and tubes more or less tuned in a scale. First attempts. (Schaeffer in
TABORDA, 1998)

Schaeffers ludic behavior in looking for sonorous objects (I leave the place
as joyful as a child, with my arms full of stuff), can, in fact, be related to Hermeto,
a confirmed stealer of his grandchildrens noise-making toys and of the pots and
pans from his wife Ilzas kitchen.

17

Jovino, the pianist, had already admonished us, as mentioned in chapter 1,

that the roots of Hermetos musical conception should first be sought in his
childhood, in the inharmonic experience with the sounds of his blacksmith
grandfathers pieces of iron, in the flutes made out of branches from the castor-oil
tree, in the sounds of the birds and the animals, in the northeastern music of his
accordionist father, etc.
As Taborda aptly describes it, Hermetos experimentalism is deeply related to
spontaneity and pleasure. In our view, this is due to the fact that Hermetos
exploration of sound is strongly connected with childrens play. Music has always
been, ever since his days in Lagoa da Canoa, Hermetos main toy. Forbidden to play
in the sunshine with the other children, Hermeto seems to have channeled all his
ludic feelings into play with sound. Even today, Hermetos search for the unusual is
joyful, without the seriousness of some contemporary movements, which overrationalize the experimental. On the back cover of the LP Crebro Magntico (WEA
Brasil, 1980), where there is a drawing made by Hermeto, he writes:
(...) After finishing the recording of this LP, everything stayed in my mind:
sound, colors, lights, musical notes, kernels of corn, drum leather, bulls horn, stones,
water, voices, keys, strings, buttons, sharps and faces (...) So I decided to draw what I
photographed in my mind, and that is the cover of this LP. (HERMETO, 1980).

Mixing forms that suggest colorful little trains, fish, kites and flags,
Hermetos drawing brings together childrens play and fantasy. The position of these
and other elements floating freely in space and the use of vivid, bright colors seem
to suggest the lightness, the movement and the gracefulness of a childs drawing.
In the drawing there appear musical notes written on a system of seven lines in
which the absence of a clef prevents one from identifying their pitch. The notes are
always disposed in thirds. 17

17

See chaps. IV and V with regard to the melodic-harmonic use of triads in Hermetos music.

18

The mental landscape painted by Hermeto, in an attempt to represent the

sounds and images of the newly recorded LP, also points to another important
feature of his conception: the relation between sound and its written expression.
Hermetos attitude towards writing similar to Schaeffers, according
to Taborda:
In traditional musical composition, one starts from a mental configuration of
the sound, later represented on a graphic support through a score or diagram, and
finally materialized as sound through the process of execution. In Concrete Music,
however, the process is inverted, beginning with a so-called concrete material sound,
collected directly from reality through microphones and later manipulated, through an
explicitly experimental process, until it finally arrives at its definitive sound form,
without the indispensable help of graphic representation. Hermetos sound discourse is
also a musical discourse of objects, detached from their original, everyday attributes
through the same tool that, in the set of values originated by Schaeffer, also occupies a
privileged position: Loreille. These objects are selected and individualized through
unique and irreplaceable characteristics, which make that specific pan, that sewing
machine, that pair of clogs, that electric train, or that particular pig an absolutely
unique sonorous object. (TABORDA, 1998: 105)

Taborda is right when he compares the Schaefferian process of collecting,

and creating with, sonorous objects to Hermetos research in and use of certain
sounds. It is interesting to discover, however, what motivation Hermeto had for the
intention of listening that led him so spontaneously to the non-conventional, for we
found no indication of his having had any effective contact with Schaeffers music.
We have discovered, through several interviews with Hermeto and the group,
that, due to the visual deficiency caused by albinism that has already been
mentioned, and the ensuing refusal (that took place ever since his childhood in
Lagoa da Canoa) of the teachers to give musical instruction to a boy who had great
difficulty in reading, Hermeto , instead of giving up music, took the unfavorable
situation as a stimulus, and became a self-taught virtuoso multi-instrumentalist, as
well as a composer and arranger. Thus, not only did he prove, to those who doubted

19

his capacity, that he could play as well or better than anyone else, but, since then, he
also began to question the boundaries of that written music whose doors had been
closed to him.
In a recent interview, many years after having been refused by teachers who
thought that only those that could read music were fit for it, Hermeto still seems to
be addressing musicians who think the same when he says: Music isnt theory.
Theory is a writing. If you dont have music in your mind, you cant write music,
music isnt supposed to be understood, its supposed to be felt. How are you going
to understand the wind? (Backstage, 1998)
This nonconformity with regard to convention and patterns makes Hermeto
seek for the most diverse sounds and timbres, exploring conventional instruments in
a non-conventional manner (for instance, playing the baritone sax near the snares of
the snare drum, or playing the flute underwater) or the opposite (tuning plastic food
containers, playing the berrante [a horn used to call cattle in the fields] with a bass
sax mouthpiece), not to mention the sounds of animals.
Lately, he has begun to use the human voice as musical raw material,
considering it a melody to be duly harmonized and arranged by the composer.
Hermeto calls this type of composition aura music, and one of his first attempts,
Tiruliluli in the LP Lagoa da Canoa, Municpio de Arapiraca (Som da Gente,
1984) has been analyzed by Taborda in his thesis. The apparent simplicity of the
procedure that characterizes aura music, however, is very revelatory of Hermetos
conception. With aura music, he shows how far-reaching the sound limits of his
esthetic territory are: when we speak, we sing, so we all make music all the time.
Tabordas study is very helpful, for, through comparisons with the (pre)concrete music of Pierre Schaeffer and the noisism of Luigi Russolo, he draws an
esthetic profile of Hermeto Pascoal, pointing out some of his important features.

20

Before going deeper into our conclusions about Tabordas thesis, we shall proceed
to another thesis.

2.2. FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF JAZZ

Um estudo da improvisao na msica de Hermeto Pascoal: transcrio de
solos improvisados (A study of improvisation in the music of Hermeto Pascoal:
trancriptions of improvised solos), the masters degree thesis defended by Jos
Carlos Prandini at Unicamp in 1996, analyzes some solos improvised by Hermeto.
The analytical methodology employed by the researcher intends not only to
transcribe these solos or to consider them only from their harmony-melody (solo)
relation, but also to analyze them in order to verify the construction and structuring
of internal elements, motifs or even smaller units of text (Prandini, 1996: 18). That
is, the researcher proposes to deal with the improvisation not merely by transcribing
it or analyzing it solely through the use of tools of the chord/scales type (see
functional harmony), but rather by considering it as a composition with specific
motifs, variations, modified repetitions, developments, etc.
Introducing the notion of improvisation as a non-written composition is
undoubtedly an interesting proposition. Although we do not wish to criticize such a
notion in detail, but rather would wish to expand its limits, with a view to a better
understanding of the meaning of the concept of improvisation with regard to
Hermeto Pascoal, even so, we might question how far improvisation, as Prandini
understands it, can and should be considered a structure similar or equal to the
musical structure elaborated through writing. In our view, writing is a medium that
affects the construction of a work, for it allows several ways of manipulating the
musical material (such as variations, retrogrades, condensations, sequencings,
repetitions, etc.) which are less easily used when the composer-performer depends
solely on his memory, such as occurs during the improvisation.

21

In her text, Escuta e eletroacstica: composio e anlise18, Carole

Gubernikoff seems to agree with our line of reasoning, when dealing with the
role of writing in western music:
The civilization that calls itself western, beginning at a certain point in
time during the Middle Ages, believed that it was necessary to find a form of
writing the memory of sound, evanescent by nature (...) Not only was it necessary
to create a continuum, but also to define measures and distances, to transform a
sense of sound, without image or concept, into a graphic representation that
introduced a new path in musical thinking. Instead of passing from the ear to the
mouth through memory, which could be called vocality, the intermediation of
the eyes and of the hands invented new dimensions, curiosities, intellectual games. (...)
The very idea of musical form, certainly based on the reiteration of auditory elements,
on the recognition of configurations through memory, but also on the manipulation
of the musical elements observed through the notation, allowed the idea
of development, [...] and the appearance of the major forms. (italics ours)
(GUBERNIKOFF, 1997: 29)

That is why we believe an analysis that examines a type of musico-oral

discourse solely with the same tools used in the evaluation of notation to be only
partially advantageous. In our opinion, the efficacy of this type of analysis will
depend upon the musician - that is, on how the improvisations are developed by
each performer; as well as the duration of the improvisation which, in turn, will
affect the capacity for memorization of the performer and the use of recurrent
musical elements; the space where the improvised solo took place and the
participation of the public (with shouts, whistles, applause, etc.) which might
suggest to the musician some material that was entirely unanticipated at the start,
etc. That, however, is not the issue that interests us at the moment.

18

In Detalhes, Cadernos do Programa de Ps-Graduao em Msica, 1st number. Rio de Janeiro: Centro

de Letras e Artes UNI-RIO, 1997.

22

Let us see how Prandini initially differentiates improvisation in modern

popular music (that is, in jazz) from the improvisation practiced during the baroque,
classical and romantic periods:
When making a bibliographic search for the vocabulary entry improvisation,
we found references to the subject with relation to the baroque, classical and romantic
periods. These references treat the term as a set of techniques of musical construction
basically aimed at what is conventionally called ornamentation. In this type of
improvisation, the performers creativity is quite circumscribed to the modification
(variation) of a known melodic text. On the other hand, in the panorama of modern
improvised popular music, we have observed that this approach is only one of the
possible techniques in the creation of an improvised solo, and is used rarely or in short
passages throughout the work. (...) What is much more frequent is the creation of
entirely new melodies, through the invention of a whole collection of new motifs,
variations and developments. This set of procedures [practiced nowadays in popular
music] goes a few steps beyond the previous procedure. (PRANDINI, 1996: 10/13)

Thus, in an attempt to treat Hermetos improvisation as the creation of an

entirely new melody, Prandini transcribes and analyzes the solos from four
compositions recorded by Hermeto Pascoal & Group in the period 1985-1992: Ilha
das Gaivotas, O tocador quer beber, Ginga carioca and Surpresa.
In Ilha das gaivotas, Prandini transcribes the solo, analyzing it as
a composition and in the manner we have already described. He identifies
six motifs in it, certain repetitions and developments which we shall not stop
to consider, for his harmonic analysis will be more useful for us to understand
the limits of his approach.
Prandinis analysis is restricted to the models of functional harmony and
their intersections with the conception of melody as a development of the harmonic
bases, a perspective adopted by the American schools of jazz.

23

For instance, the ostinato motif that is the harmonic basis for the solo in Ilha
das gaivotas is mistakenly analyzed by Prandini as: a single chord, with a tonic
function: F-sharp minor with seventh, ninth and eleventh (PRANDINI, 1996: 31).
Example 1: "Ilha das gaivotas" (harmony for the solo)

Limited by traditional harmonic formulas, Prandini perceives only one

suggestion of cadence to the dominant in the phrasing of the bass (bar 4), but actually,
the harmonic situation suggests an additional interpretation. The ostinato remains
unaltered on the right hand with the notes A2, B2, E3, G-sharp3, but the bass proceeds
chromatically and dissonantly bending

19

the right hand chord. Besides the chord

mentioned by Prandini, we have another one in the second bar, also used by Hermeto in
other compositions, such as Cores, Briguinhas de msicos malucos no coreto and
Ferragens. In Ilha das gaivotas, the chord is written on the staff, but in the other
pieces it appears in shorthand as

. 20

Example 2: Ilha das gaivotas (second bar)

19

In the vocabulary used by popular musicians, to bend means to introduce notes that are foreign to a
specific harmonic or melodic context.
20

The interval structure of this chord is maintained throughout the transpositions, see chapter V.

24

This type of figure used by Hermeto, with two superposed chords, occurs in
non-conventional harmonic situations and has the advantage of indicating an exact
positioning of the notes in the figures.

an interval structure that

is

idiomatic in Hermeto Pascoal, consists of the notes F and D in the bass (left hand of
the piano) and A, B, E and G-sharp in the right hand. We might think of a
polychord, D minor (with bass note F) + Mi major, or else a single chord, F major
with augmented sixth, major seventh, ninth and eleventh.
As we can see, Prandini did not consider the ambiguity of the harmony in
ostinato, of the riff 21 created by Hermeto:
(...) Restricted to only one chord (...), the piece offers limited possibilities for
the melodic construction (...) and, throughout the whole piece (the improvised solo),
the frankly diatonic and horizontal intention of the composition is evident, from
the constant use of the three minor scales of F-sharp minor. (The underlining and
the explanation in parentheses are ours). (PRANDINI, 1996: 31)

Prandini does not identify the constant play of tension, dissonance and
relaxation provided by the relation of the three minor scales (natural, harmonic and
melodic) of F-sharp minor used in the solo, continuously harmonized with F-sharp
minor 7 9 11 and F/6 + A2 5 7M in the accompaniment. In our view, the whole solo
should be analyzed based on this light/shadow, bright/dark relation suggested by
the harmony, which Prandini disregarded. Hermetos so-called jazz conception is
complicated by the fact that he makes use of a shifting harmonic basis that goes
beyond the limits of conventional jazz.
In O tocador quer beber, Prandini makes a good analysis of Hermetos
accordion solo, pointing out the unity of his motifs, the modal characteristics of
melody and harmony, etc. But his analysis of Hermetos solo is interrupted exactly
at the best part, when the musician decides to make dissonant the simple harmony
21

We shall explain the term riff further on.

25

(IV7-I) of his forr, while saying: This is an uppity accordionist who wants to play
modern, look at his left hand, a real uppity accordionist (HERMETO, 1985) 22.
At that point, unfortunately, Prandini interrupts his analysis, though the solo
has not yet finished. Hermeto continues improvising, accompanied by several cocks
and hens that, according to him, are in tune with the instruments. 23 At first, he
maintains the same Mixolydian scale on top of the new harmony, and then he
bends his own solo, introducing glissandos, puffs in clusters from the accordion,
very brief rhythmic-melodic designs, chromatic and in 4ths, etc. The forr becomes
free jazz, and the uppity accordionist finishes his solo in an atonal duo with the
hens and cocks.
Although Prandinis analysis of most of Hermetos solo was satisfactory,
by interrupting it exactly at the point when the solo departs from the stylistic scheme
of the forr , he misses observing an important feature of Hermetos solos, as
well as of his conception: the way in which the elements of Brazilian and
northeastern popular language (modality, instrumentation with regional sonority)
combine with the elements of American jazz (dissonant re-harmonizing) and
free jazz (aleatoricism, atonalism). The use of sounds of animals such as cocks
and hens in tune with the instruments constitutes, in turn, as we said in the
previous chapter, a stylistic signature of Hermetos, added to the other animal
sounds already used by him.
One must question the concept of improvisation employed by Prandini,
extending it beyond a performers capacity for creating new melodies from a preestablished harmonic scheme. And when there is no pre-established harmonic
scheme (as in the case of forr free jazz)? Or when the harmonic scheme itself is
shifty, consisting of polychords (as in Ilha das gaivotas)? The improvisation
22

LP Brasil Universo, O tocador quer beber track, Som da Gente 1985.

23

Cf. the insert in the CD of Brasil Universo.

26

practiced by Hermeto in both the examples above surpasses the limits established by
Prandini himself.
In our view, Hermetos improvisation should be understood not only in the
context of performance, but also on a compositional and esthetic level. 24 Because
one of Hermetos main features, as Taborda so aptly observed, is his systematic and
joyful search for the unexpected, the surprise. And this remarkable feature is
reflected not only in his performance as an artist, but also in his performance as a
composer.
As he used to say to his musicians: its necessary to compose and write as if
it were an improvisation, and to play an improvisation as if it were written (Jovino,
1997). More than the capacity for creating new melodies from an x, y or z harmonic
scheme, improvisation, for Hermeto, is a guarantee of organicity and musical
fluidity, and more than being a stylistic resource, it has existential status.25

2.3. CONCLUSION REGARDING THE PAPERS DISCUSSED ABOVE

Our conclusion with regard to the two masters degree theses is, in a certain
measure, only one: Hermetos conception and language are truly challenging,
because they are manifold. By questioning both the labels of the cultural industry
and the limits of the classical and popular universe, Hermeto challenges those who
wish to study him, raising doubts about his own ability to explain and define
himself, (although, in the following quote, he ends up by partially doing so):
Im a versatile musician and no one can define me. Not even I, myself, am able
to explain the work that I do. Because I dont do just one kind of thing. (...)
A presentation of mine is the possibility of meeting up with several kinds of music,

24

For a deeper study of the relation between improvisation and writing in Hermeto Pascoal, see
the next chapter.
25

Ibidem previous.

27

from the classical to the coco, from all of the universes. Nothing is premeditated.
(HERMETO, Manchete Magazine: 1985)

By combining signs from different codes, Hermeto creates a language that

permanently establishes noise26 in the communication of his message, and, in
consequence, the phenomenon of its interpretation becomes problematical. Let us
see the problems that Hermeto Pascoals conception and language generate.

2.3.1. JAZZ ?
Prandinis work only partially fulfills its promise, not only with regard to the
solo-harmony relation, but also with regard to the analysis of Hermetos improvised
solos with the same tools used for the analysis of the motifs of written compositions.
The researcher transcribes Hermetos solos from recordings, and then
proceeds to analysis of their specific motifs, developments, the relation between
melody and harmony, etc. But many difficulties are found in this analysis. They
begin with the superficiality of the harmonic analysis (see, for instance, Ilha das
gaivotas), and continue with the free atonal solos (O tocador quer beber), where
the usefulness of the chord scales simply disappears, which makes Prandini abandon
the analysis of the solo before it ends, instead of extending his own analytical tools.
Another observation that could be made about Prandinis work concerns the
appropriateness of the repertoire that he chose for analysis. Why did he not choose
solos based on more dissonant, or even atonal, harmonic schemes (as, for example,
the one in Arapu), or else solos recorded live (and not in the studio)? 27 Hermeto

26
27

See the notion of noise in Jacques Attali in the next chapter.

Hermetos only live recording was made at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Perhaps because of the
fact that Hermeto was accompanied by another group of musicians, different, in part, from the 1981 1993 period, Prandini may not have wanted to use the solos recorded in that album, which, however,
is a pity, because Hermeto and the musicians presented a truly historic performance, with memorable
improvisations. In Montreux, Jovino Santos, Itiber Zwarg and Antnio Santana, musicians who

28

himself has declared that he preferred to emphasize the arrangement rather than the
improvisation in the studio recordings made during the period chosen by Prandini. 28
Undoubtedly, the solos improvised live by Hermeto are quite different from the ones
recorded in a studio; to begin with, they are of longer duration, and Hermeto himself
is more spontaneous, even exploring his voice concurrently with his instrument,
soloing alternately on different instruments, and being influenced by the ambient
sound and the occasional interference and reaction of the audience, etc. While these
circumstances and characteristics, so peculiar to the popular universe, might make
Prandinis task more difficult, at the same time they certainly might enrich it, by
extending his approach and interpretation.
The final impression of Prandinis work is that he tries to fit Hermeto into a
perspective similar to that of certain American schools of jazz, but the harmonicmelodic elements of Hermetos language resist such a perspective as they would a
straitjacket, seeming always to escape the limits it imposes.

2.3.2 CONCRETE MUSIC ?

Tato Tabordas thesis, Msica de Inveno (Music of Invention), draws a
very interesting profile of Hermeto, emphasizing, as we have said, some of the
musicians significant features. The difficulty seems to be in how Hermeto reached,
through his music, a degree of experimentalism similar to that found in erudite
music, without having depended on an effective contact with erudite tendencies,
such as concrete music or futuristic noisism.
The main element that formed the territory of music of invention is,
according to Taborda, the contact between popular and erudite musicians.
were also part of the group under consideration (1981-1993), already belonged to Hermetos band.
See discography.
28

Which was not common at the beginning of his career, when his recordings were much more
improvised. See chapter III.

29

The intervention of contemporary erudite musicians, subsidizing popular

musicians with techniques and concepts, is the most important element in the formation
of this borderline territory, here called music of invention. (TABORDA, 1998: 119-120)

The quartet of influential agents: H.J. Koellreutter, concretists from the state
of So Paulo, Hlio Oiticica, and Latin American Contemporary Music Courses are,
according to Taborda, the main genealogical tree from which several artists
descend, including those that are discussed by Taborda.
Hermeto, however, is the only one of the four musicians chosen Caetano
Veloso (in Tropiclia and in Ara Azul), Jards Macal and Chico Mello are the
other three who represents an exception in this most important element of the
music of invention.
Caetano first came in touch with erudite music through the Bahia Seminars,
and through H.J. Koellreutter and Walter Smetak. Later, during the Tropiclia phase,
the erudite-popular contact came about with Caetanos involvement with the
Campos brothers, with concrete poetry and with classically-trained musicians, such
as Rogrio Duprat, Damiano Cozzela, etc.
Macal, simultaneously with the rock influences of the 60s, had lessons with
composers Edino Krieger and Esther Scliar, former members of the group Msica
Viva, through whom he extended his knowledge of classical musical language,
especially of the contemporary type. (p.73)
As for Chico Mello, his classical training comes from composition classes
under Jos Penalva, in the Latin American Contemporary Music Courses, and,
mainly, from a prolonged contact with H. J. Koellreutter. (p. 90)
But what about Hermeto? Whose pupil was he? His autodidactic and
popular education, unlike that of the other musicians mentioned, does not seem
to be related to contact with H. J. Koellreutter, the Latin American Contemporary

30

Music Courses, the Msica Viva group, the Campos brothers, and, even less,
to the Tropiclia movement. These people, groups and movements had no direct
influence on Hermeto. That is why, in order not to totally abandon the
main element for the formation of the territory of music of invention, which
is contact with classical musicians providing popular musicians with techniques
and concepts, Taborda links Hermeto mainly to Pierre Schaeffer and also to
Luigi Russolo.
By creating an interesting, but biographically unjustified, connection between
Schaeffers music at the beginning of the research that would lead him to concrete
music and the (not less) playful Hermeto, Tabordas work acquires a hypothetical
character. Even though Taborda points out that the comparisons he makes do not
mean the establishment of direct causality between the work under study and the
work referred to, and that they will mainly help to exemplify that the attitude of
disposability created by experimentation can lead creators from different
environments to produce very similar sound results, although obtained through very
diverse methods and paths (p. 7), would it not be more appropriate for Taborda to
find the influences on Hermetos inventive language in something closer to him, as
he did with Caetano Veloso, Jards Macal and Chico Mello? In the universe of
popular music, for instance, through Hermetos activity as an arranger, or in free
jazz, which, as the most experimental segment of jazz (p. 17), is included by
Taborda himself in the space of music of invention, as one of its analogous
territories (ibidem).
Taborda, however, does not emphasize the biographically-justified relation
between Hermeto and free jazz, preferring to link him to concrete music. Although
Tabordas choice is not gratuitous, since the parallel drawn between Schaeffer
and Hermeto proves to be useful, why not include in this field of possibilities
other composers with whom Hermeto shares certain similarities, such as

31

the iconoclastic Charles Ives (who had experiences with the inharmonic sounds
of metallic objects in his childhood), Bla Bartok (influenced by the rhythms,
melodies and harmonies of Hungarian popular music), Scriabin (the synesthetic
relation between sounds and colors), Stravinsky (polytona lity), Messiaen (the use
of animal sounds), and others?
For, if there are similarities between Schaeffer and Hermeto, there are also
marked differences, such as, for instance, the latters refusal to process the sonorousmusical objects electronically, as well as not isolating noises in the Schaefferian
manner, instead combining them with the sounds of the instruments.
Hermetos musical conception is so contemporary that it allows the
most diverse comparisons. It is necessary, however, that its specificity
be understood correctly, so that the comparisons that are made do not reduce
the intrinsic features to Hermeto himself, but reveal, through the comparison,
what is peculiar to those features.
The characteristics of free jazz, which will be studied more extensively
in the next chapter, were: free entrance into atonality; dissolution of the meter,
of the beat; research with timbres and noises; collective and ecstatic improvisation;
abolition of form; etc. Hermeto assimilated some of the above-mentioned
procedures, perhaps even all of them, in the 70s, when he traveled to the United
States and lived there. He seems to have found, in the effervescent world
of experimental American jazz, a territory where he could develop his own
language, without, however, losing touch with Brazilian music, especially the
northeastern music of his childhood.
But the connections, coincidental or not, with experimental techniques and
concepts were not restricted to free jazz. Just as the pioneer of free jazz, saxophonist
Ornette Coleman, already had his own peculiar manner and language before he met
classical musician Gnter Schuller, who then began to influence, and be influenced

32

by, Coleman, Hermeto also possessed a whole range of musical information,

assimilated long before his contact with American jazz and free jazz. And it was, in
fact, the musical baggage that Hermeto took to the United States that allowed the
rich dialogue between his music and that of some very important American jazzmen.
Hermetos trip to the U.S.A. and his relation with jazz will be addressed more
completely in the next chapter.
Let us now return to the interview with Jovino, briefly touched upon in the
introduction, in order to address two other aspects correlated to Hermeto Pascoals
conception and language and prior to his trip to the U.S.A. In this manner we shall
extend the bibliographic discussion previously begun. The first aspect is his opening
up to the world of sound not traditionally considered musical, and the second is his
search for musical inspiration through synesthetic correspondences with the other
senses, mainly the sense of sight.

2.4. SOUND AND MUSIC

So all these things (the sound of that bell ringing, hammock creaking, bird
singing, person speaking, or even a priest praying) are elements that inspired, still inspire
him (Hermeto) to create something musical, unlike other musicians who are inspired
to music by music. So he always compares the fact of a painter who wants to make
a painting, and instead of going to a beautiful landscape, in a wood, or a river, or
the sea and painting it, he looks at another painting and paints what he sees
in the other painting. And its the same thing with music, if all that inspires you
to music is music, then youre too limited, because music is a picture of all thats
going on in the world, in the lives of us all, and each one has his own experience.
(JOVINO : 1997)
Music is everywhere, everything is music. A slamming door, a knife spreading
butter on a cookie, a blow on the table. That doesnt mean that you just have to make
a noise to make music. Being a musician is knowing how to use those noises.
(HERMETO, Jazz Magazine: 1984)

33

According to Jovino, Hermetos attitude in extracting material from the

everyday universe of sound for his musical language leads him to the development
of a conception that, originating in popular music, merges with contemporary
classical music. Jovino states that Hermeto had little or no knowledge of the latter
before arriving at certain procedures which are common to the classical universe. It
is by a (precocious) opening up to the universe of sound that Jovino explains the
conception of polychordal harmony and its notation in figures. 29 It also explains the
research in non-conventional rhythms and timbres inspired in speech, in animal
sounds and in the everyday universe of sound.
He always says, and Ive heard him say it several times, that his harmonic
development was formed by this search for sounds in the things that already
existed naturally.
(...) So this kind of thing leaves you free as to rhythm, and he begins to use
even the rhythmic elements of the human voice and of other things, such as cars,
machines and animals. (JOVINO, 1997)

As an example, Jovino mentions a composition called Rede in the album

entitled Zabumb-bum- (WEA Brasil, 1978) that he had studied for months,
without realizing that Hermeto had used the tempos, rhythms and notes of a creaking
hammock for the instruments, and that was why the composition was named rede
(hammock in Portuguese).

29

See chapter IV for a deeper study.

34

Many other examples can be added to that one. The narration of a soccer
match by sportscaster Osmar Santos, a speech made by ex-President Collor, a
swimming lesson, and a poem recited by Mario Lago were all sources of inspiration
for Hermeto to create musical structures that sought to melodize the different pitches
produced by speech and, at the same time, to follow their different and irregular
duration. And, as has already been mentioned, the sounds of animals, such as dogs,
hens, birds, cicadas, donkeys, bees, are also a constant in Hermetos music.
It is important to note that Hermetos opening up to the kingdom of sounds
that are not traditionally considered musical also includes a musical relation with
images. The transposition vision-audition, besides being an esthetically important
fact, also points to interesting synesthetic possibilities, which we shall now analyze.

2.5. SYNESTHESIA
Although his eyesight is very much impaired by albinism, Hermeto often
expresses himself in visual terms when speaking about his music, and says that when he
makes music he is inspired not only by music itself, but also by images:
Im a painter without a favorite color, unlike Van Gogh, who liked yellow.(...) I
cant mention only one color when I say that my sound has color and people want to
know what color it is. Because these colors change very quickly. (HERMETO, Manchete
Magazine: 1985)30
I am more inspired by other things to make music. I didnt listen to music in
order to compose. (...) No. I am more inspired by paintings, by the timbre of a voice.
(HERMETO, Radio MEC: 1998) 31

30

In an interview with Renato Srgio.

31

In an interview with Luiz Carlos Saroldi.

35

To evaluate the role that the sound-image inter-relation plays in Hermetos

language, we must talk about synesthesia. Synesthesia is a condition in which
the stimulus applied to one sense automatically provokes a corresponding
perception in another sense. As, for example, happens when someone hears
the sound of an instrument and immediately sees a color.
In the text On colored-hearing Synesthesia32, scholar Lawrence Marks presents
the results of recent research on audio-visual synesthesia, comparing them to those of
other researchers, such as Khler (1910), Hornbostel (1931), Karwosky (1942),
Bruner (1964), Paivios (1971) and others, as well as to ample bibliographic material
on the subject.
In general lines, Lawrence arrives at the following conclusions about
synesthesia, involving the senses of sight and hearing:
a) The perception of pitch is related to the sensation of brightness and
luminosity. The higher the note, the more it will be perceived as lu minous, and
vice-versa, the lower it is, the darker it will seem.
b) Nevertheless, the dynamics of the sound, its amplitude, will also influence
the perception of the color of a sound: loud sounds, independently of being
low-pitched or high, have often been perceived as brighter than sounds of low
amplitude. The same note in crescendo will therefore have its brightness
intensified, and its color altered. 33

32

Lawrence E. Marks. On colored-hearing synesthesia in Simon Baron-Cohen and John E. Harrison,

Synesthesia: classic and contemporary readings. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 1997, p. 49-98.
33

Which corresponds perfectly with acoustics, for, in a crescendo, the activation of the harmonic
partials is differentiated from moment to moment, more and more sharp harmonic partials are
vibrated as the amplitude of the sound grows, and thus the ensuing modification of the timbre, of the
color of that sound.

36

c) Audio-visual synesthesia also occurs with relation to the texture, the mass of
the sound: deep sounds have often been related to greater or lesser denseness
and width, while high sounds appear as related to transparency.

According to Lawrence, synesthesia is more common in childhood than in

adulthood. Many adults remember having synesthetic experiences in childhood
which, after a certain point, stopped occurring. Therefore, the author especially
analyzes the hypothesis that synesthesia is a pre-verbal cognitive process, that, as
one grows up, is replaced by another, more flexible,mode of cognition: abstract and
verbal language. Bruner (1964) saw in this process a transition between the iconic
and the symbolic.34 The synesthesia would be precisely an iconic mode of
representation (which could be generically defined as imagery), 35 which decreases as
the abstract representation of language grows, and, in 1971 36 , Paivios made a study
of how the imagery processes that precede language continue to play an important
part in adult cognition.
Lawrence, then, distinguishes two forms of expressing inter-sensorial
relations: the metaphorical and the poetical. The former points to sensorial
synesthesia and expresses intrinsic inter-sensorial relations37, which does not occur
in the poetical mode, which creates original sensorial correspondences that are
extrinsic to the immediate sensations. Thus, the author differentiates truly
synesthetic correspondences from non- synesthetic ones. The former tend to be fixed
and inflexible (obeying a pattern of recurring associations), whereas the latter are
much more relative and flexible.

34

Quoted by Lawrence E. Marks, op. cit. P. 89.

35

As in the original

36

Ibidem, p.89

37

Ibidem, p.90

37

In conclusion, the synesthetic correspondences would refer to a primitive

origin containing fixed relations, to a pre-verbal mode of cognition that abstract
language will modify, giving flexibility to the synesthetic (metaphorical) icon, and
to the linguistic (poetical) symbol.
If Lawrence, backed by other researchers, is right about the possibility of all
of us having been synesthetic as children, synesthetic adults are simply those who
did not lose, as they grew, the perceptive condition they possessed before the
abstract representation of language was imposed on their synesthetic perception.
This hypothesis deserves a discussion which is not germane to
our objectives. It seems, however, to fit Hermeto and his musical conception
in many ways. Why does Hermeto (and the musicians that play with him) refer
so often to his childhood, stressing how important it was to his musical language?
And why does he insist so vehemently that music is neither the writing nor
the theory, although they are also important?
The following statement not only exemplifies what we say about Hermeto,
but is also, in a way, auto-biographical:
(...) When I speak about music, Im not speaking about theory. Theory, I
think, should be learned. But not children. (...) To me, teaching children theory is
the same as teaching English to a Brazilian child living here in Brazil. No. Youve
got to let children make mistakes. Mistake because we call it a mistake, because its
not a mistake at all. There is only the non-conventional, the non-standard. (...)
Let the children play [a musical instrument]. Teach them to play physically. Dont
give them anything to read. They will read and learn. Suddenly, with regard
to the instrument, [by reading] they will learn even faster. But they will miss the feeling.
(The underlining is ours) (HERMETO, Backstage: 1998)

We could draw a parallel between the pre-verbal synesthetic sensibility that

is lost (or transformed, according to Paivios) and the appearance of abstract
language on one hand, and the oral (and popular) musical tradition that Carole

38

Gubernikoff characterizes as marked by vocality and the written (or cultured or

classical) tradition, on the other. Further on (p. 31), Carole inquires whether we
did not sacrifice listening in this process, that is, in the process of representing
sound in writing.
Hermetos case seems very adequate to the discussion of the relationship
between the sensitive and the intelligible aspects that are, according to Carole, the two
poles present in every process of representation and creation (Gubernikoff, 1997: 28).

Due to his visual deficiency, caused by albinism, Hermeto adopted a position

that frankly favors the sensitive sphere. Since the music teachers were not patient
enough to teach an albino boy with many difficulties in reading music, Hermeto
elaborated his musical language without reference to the classical tradition, favoring
intuition over knowledge, and practice over theory.
His conception of sound seems to give an affirmative answer to Caroles
inquiry as to whether something had not been lost when we confined
and conditioned our perception to the domain of writing. 38 Suspecting a certain
ethnocentric pretentiousness, which considers the classical tradition of the
West superior to or more evolved than other oral musical cultures, Carole suggests
a question that Hermeto seems to answer in a fiercely good-humored way: if you
dont improvise in this world, youll be improvised in the other. 39 To Hermeto,
improvisation is the beginning and end of his whole creative process, coming
before and after musical writing, which he dominates and uses, but which is
never taken as a starting point.40

38

Cf. Carole Gubernikoff, quoted text, p. 31.

39

According to the statement made by Hermeto to Luiz Carlos Saroldi, in an interview that took place at
Rdio MEC, in 1997.
40

See the following chapter for a deeper study of Hermetos improvisation and writing.

39

Hermetos conception is threefold: it starts with the free exploration of

the sound (be it harmonic or inharmonic 41 ), then it goes on to represent it in
writing, which will become, in turn, a structure-base for other improvisations,
in an infinite ritornello.
That ritornello is experienced by the composer himself with regard to
his ludic musical conception, as well as to his own life. It was not by chance
that Hermeto chose to live in the distant neighborhood of Jabour, on the west side
of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Very close to the Bangu district, where the highest
temperatures in all of the state of Rio de Janeiro are registered, Jabour, in a way,
is similar to the hot Alagoas hinterland where Hermeto spent his childhood.
Surrounded by the sound of the cicadas, dogs, hens and cocks who have managed
to survive the rapid growth of the neighborhood, Hermeto still maintains some part
of his childhoods landscape of sound, which he permanently transposes to
his musical language, by superimposing the sounds of animals on the sounds o f
the instruments of the Group.
Thus, sound-image synesthesia is one more section of Hermeto Pascoals
personality. In addition to keeping alive the cultural, sonorous and geographical
universe of his childhood, he seems to have been able to preserve, throughout this
adult life, some of the characteristics of his extended perception, which Lawrence
Marks calls pre-verbal cognition.
It is not a mere coincidence that the compositions that we analyzed have titles
like Arapu (a composition for the baritone sax, whose timbre and texture were
associated to the bee of that name, which produces a deep buzzing), Cores
(Colors) (in which Hermeto joins conventional instruments to the shrilling of
cicadas and to the percussion of sheets of iron). Srie de Arco (Hoop Series) (a
composition originally made for choreography for Olympic gymnastics), Aula de
41

For a deeper study of harmonic and inharmonic sound spectrums, see chap. IV.

40

Natao (Swimming Lesson) (aura music, a type of composition created by

Hermeto and which he defines as a photograph of sound).
Based on the conception of synesthesia presented, what seems more pertinent
in Hermetos case is his extended perception of everything that surrounds him. In
Hermeto, the sound-image relation is not limited to, nor is always configured as,
synesthesia, according to the definitions that have been presented. In Srie de
arco, for example, the transposition of the rhythm of the choreographic movement
seems to us a deliberate choice, and not a synesthetic sensorial reaction.
The sound-image relation seems, in fact, to play an important part in Hermeto
Pascoals language, by bringing to the level of sound visual references that are
foreign to it, thus transforming his musical language by the influence of imagery. In
the following chapters, the implications of this inter-relation and the opening up to a
universe of sound that is considered non-musical will be examined more closely.

41

3. THE CREATIVE PROCESS OF HERMETO PASCOAL & GROUP

3.1. FROM LAGOA DA CANOA TO THE U.S.A., FROM THE U.S.A. TO THE WORLD: A
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF

HERMETO PASCOAL

IN SEARCH OF HIS MUSICAL

CONCEPTION

Hermeto Pascoal was born in the state of Alagoas, in Olho Dgua, a small
village near the town of Lagoa da Canoa, in the municipal district of Arapiraca, on
June 22, 1936. His bent for music was revealed when he was still a small boy. His
first musical experiences were playing fifes that he made himself with leaves from
the castor-oil tree or with squash leaves, and composing short tunes through beating
on pieces of iron belonging to his blacksmith grandfather:
Just a little boy, around seven, I was already in touch with music. (...) My father
played an eight-bass accordion, the p de bode, a type of accordion, and I played a fife
that I made myself, out in the woods, with a tube made from the castor-oil tree. Being
albino, I couldnt stay out in the sunshine. I was stubborn, and would disappear in the
woods when my father went to work in the fields. I was sort of like the Indians, but I was
a different Indian. (...) Since I was musical, I felt that urge to play. And I wanted to know
if the birds liked that or not. When my father took me to the fields in an oxcart, Id make
some small flutes to play with the birds. And when he returned, hed see the tree full of
birds. Even now, when I play in a place where there are birds, I can communicate with
them. (HERMETO, O Globo, 1998)
The frogs... the frogs were a wonderful audience. Frogs are the most sensitive
and faithful audience in the world. Theyre very intelligent. Roadside frogs are already
accustomed to the noise of engines, but, even if you turn off the engine and walk towards
them, theyll know theres someone coming their way. A frog can be used to give a
warning. It feels everything. They already knew me because I always went to the same
lagoon. Frogs have perfect orchestras. (HERMETO, Backstage: 1998)
(...) I used to hide every piece of iron that he [Hermetos grandfather] cut. (...) Id
strike one against the other and thought the sound was nice. My toys were in the
countryside, the birds, the animals and, in Lagoa da Canoa, the little pieces of iron. (...)
Then there was the pantry, which was where meats, food, were kept ... (at this point,
Hermeto bumps into the microphone of the radio station where he was giving the
interview and, apologizing to the listeners, compares the noise of the bump to the sounds
of the animals of his childhood:) Whoever heard the noise at home, think of a little frog
singing in the lagoon. [continuing] Then my mother called my grandfather and said: Dad,

42

whats going on the pantry is full of iron. And my grandfather: Its because Hermeto is
taking all the pieces of iron and hiding them there. And then they were unhappy, because
they thought I was going crazy about something, this when I was eight years old. Then
they called me, I took the little pieces of iron that Id put together, Id already made a
couple of tunes by striking them (...) When I struck the pieces of iron, my friend, my
mother wept, my grandfather wept, it was a world of emotion, of joy, right? (...) Then
you know what happened, my grandfather gave me so many pieces of iron to keep that I
had no more place to put them. (HERMETO, Radio MEC: 1997) 42

When he was about eight years old, he began playing his fathers eight-bass
accordion (also known in the Northeast as the goats foot), and, from the age of twelve
on, the 32 bass accordion. The goats foot has a system of two rows of buttons. The first
row has eight basses that produce a small number of major, minor and dominant
chords that are used in the accompaniment. The other system of buttons contains
separate notes, used in the melodies. The goats foot is not chromatic, while its larger
sisters, the 32 and 80 bass accordions, are. With his father and brother, Hermeto then
began to play at wedding parties and forrs (popular balls) in Alagoas.
Ever since he was a child, the universe of sound has always been a constant
source of pleasure for Hermeto, and a powerful stimulus not only for fun but also for
creativity. His harmonic conception and his language owe much to those first
musical experiences, when, as a child, he tried to reproduce on the eight-bass
accordion the inharmonic sounds produced by the percussion of the pieces of iron in
his grandfathers workshop. By mixing and superposing the different triads of the
accordions eight basses on the isolated notes of the other system of buttons,
Hermeto began, precociously, his experiments with sound.
Jovino, the pianist, who accompanied Hermeto for 15 years, suggested an
interesting hypothesis, which we have already mentioned, according to which Hermetos
harmonic language had been precociously influenced by his contacts with inharmonic
sound spectrums. According to Jovino, Hermeto today still combines the triads and
42

In an interview with Luiz Carlos Saroldi that has already been mentioned.

43

isolated notes of the eight-bass accordion based on natural sound models. Questioning
the boundaries between the so-called musical sounds (the harmonic sounds) and the
inharmonic sounds of the pieces of iron, of nature and of animals, Hermeto organizes
these archetypal triads and notes of his childhood in a non-functional manner and, due
to this, the harmonic sounds and melodies he obtains are non-conventional.
His albinism, and the ensuing visual deficiency, intensified still further
Hermetos contact with the universe of sound, because one sense partially made up
for the other. As has already been mentioned, Hermeto repeatedly says that he does
not compose music only through music, but that he is also inspired by images to
create music, besides by everyday sounds and the sounds of nature. This seems to
say a lot about his musical conception, for, by translating his visual perceptio n into
terms of sound, he points out the fact that his music is affected by the rather diffuse
characteristics of the images perceived by his eyesight.
In 1950, the Pascoal family moved to Recife, in the state of Pernambuco.
With his brother, Jos Neto, Hermeto began playing at the Tamandar radio station.
Sivuca, a musician who is also albino and is a friend of Hermetos, played at the
Jornal do Comrcio radio station. The three friends used to join their accordions and
play together, and one day the owner of the Jornal do Comrcio radio station saw
them, and recognizing the potential commercial value of the strange albino group,
decided to hire Hermeto and his brother, naming the trio The World Catching Fire,
because of the reddish complexion of the three musicians.
In spite of his lack of familiarity with the accordion Sivuca carried us on
his back43- the frevos and baies played by The World Catching Fire made
enough money to enable Hermeto to buy another accordion, one with 80 basses. He
43

According to a statement made by the composer himself, in an interview he gave us, meaning that,
at that time, neither he nor his brother played the accordion very well, unlike Sivuca, who was a bit
older than Hermeto and was more skillful at the instrument.

44

remained at that radio station for two years longer. At the Recife radio stations,
Hermeto saw and heard, for the first time, the radio orchestras led by maestro Clovis
Pereira and by Guerra-Peixe. Although he saw only a few rehearsals, he refers to the
radio orchestras of Recife in glowing terms: It was almost a symphony orchestra;
there were strings, brasses, percussion, a marvel. These orchestral sounds were
registered by Hermeto, because my mind is like an infinite recorder. 44
In Recife, Hermeto also began to play the piano in nightclubs, invited by his
friend Heraldo do Monte, a guitarist in the Regional group at the Jornal do Comrcio
radio station. Hermeto was worried because the technique for the left hand on the
piano was quite different from the one on the accordion, but he was encouraged by
Heraldo, who reassured him by saying that the bassist would cover up for whatever
Hermetos as yet unskilled left hand couldnt do, and also that he saw in Hermeto a
technical and esthetic potential that would surely let him overcome those
difficulties. About 40 years later, we can say that Heraldo was right on both counts.
Hermeto learned the technique for diverse instruments surprisingly fast, and the
esthetic potential Heraldo perceived in him did, in fact, turn that inexperienced
boy instrumentalist into an original composer.
In the Recife nightclubs, Hermeto played jazz, among other styles, and at the
radio station Regional groups he played, choro and serestas, and also accompanied
amateurs with his accordion, as well as famous singers, such as Nelson Gonalves
and Orlando Silva. Hermetos experiences playing in Regional groups at the radio
station (and playing in nightclubs) forced him to develop harmonically:
The guy who plays in a radio Regional group, (...) you play the accompaniment
in F and the singer tells you: Ive got a little cold today, so play half a tone lower (...)
and you cant say no, because the programs were broadcast live, (...) when it was half a

44

From an interview he gave us on 03/06/1999.

45

tone, you could even fake it, but me, since I wanted to learn, I insisted on giving the guy
the tone, so that I could develop my playing. (HERMETO, 1997) 45

When their contract expired, the radio station released the albino trio, saying
that they had no musical talent... In 1952, Hermeto, who was then 16 years old,
went to Caruaru, in Pernambuco, Sivuca went to Garanhuns, and Jos Neto went to
Rio de Janeiro. Having been fired for incompetence, when Hermeto got to Caruaru
he decided to develop and began to study musical reading and theory on his own,
because, due to his visual deficiency, neither the teachers nor his musician friends
had the patience to teach him.
The brief contacts that Hermeto had with the maestros and musicians of the
radio orchestras made him realize that he had a perfect ear, but the curiosity with which
he was treated at the beginning by erudite musicians was not enough to make them
teach him theory. When Hermeto was 16, a fellow musician introduced him to maestro
Laranjeiras, of the Difusora de Caruaru radio station, so that he could have lessons in
musical theory. However, when the maestro perceived Hermetos visual deficiency, he
gave up trying to teach him, with the excuse that he could not put him in a class with 50
students, because Hermeto would require special attention. Faced with the maestros
refusal, Hermeto bought Alencar Terras musical theory and accordion method. For an
entire year, Hermeto took the method wherever he went. Since he could only see what
was written in large letters, after learning the musical notes, the rhythmic figures and
other basic notions, he abandoned the method and began to put to use a personal
approach to music that would continue throughout his career: my whole life was spent
making deductions. His first theoretical studies were complemented by intense musical
activity in the Regional groups of the radio stations, and in nightlife.

45

From an interview he gave us on 11/10/1997

46

His visual deficiency was one of the reasons why Hermeto became an
autodidact, and was also a constant stimulus because it was a result of permanent
damage for the elaboration of a conception of sound and of composition that
systematically favors practice over theory, feeling over knowledge and intuition over
logic. On the other hand, the experience of having been employed by an important
radio station in Recife, only to be fired later because he had no musical talent
made Hermeto take the judgement and condemnation of his employer to heart,
giving him extra motivation to develop his musical studies autodidactically.
The experience of being fired is also an important harbinger of his well
known grudge against the subordination required by employers as varied as owners
of radio stations, of nightclubs, and, later, of the recording companies that recorded
his work throughout his career. The desire to be free of the subaltern condition of a
hired performer had, as we shall see further ahead, implications in Hermetos
language itself and in the way that the most diverse influences from the forr to
free jazz, from erudite music to the coco are combined in it. Without belonging to
any specific school or to any employer, the esthetic territory drawn by Hermeto has
boundaries which shift intentionally.
In 1956, Hermeto returned to Recife, and in 1958 he came to Rio de Janeiro.
A year later, he joined his brother, Jos Neto, to play the accordion at the Mau
Radio Station, in Rio, with Pernambuco do Pandeiros Regional Group and with
Faf Lemos and his group, and Copinha and his group. 46 In 1961, he went to So
Paulo, where he stayed until around 1967, earning his living as a pianist in
nightclubs and nightspots (Chicote, Stardust, and others), playing, among other
styles, choro, bossa-nova, samba and jazz.
46

According to Jovino, the pianist, there are some rare recordings of Hermeto with Pernambuco do
Pandeiros Regional group, and with Jos Pascoal Netos group, as well as with the Sambrasa Trio and
the Som Quatro. We have no data on the recording companies that produced those records, their
phonographic codes or the exact date of those recordings.

47

In So Paulo he also began practicing the flute and the sax, playing in the
Som Quatro group, with Papudinho (cornet), Dilson (drums), and Azeitona (double
bass); and in 1964 he played in the Sambrasa Trio, with Claiber (double bass), and
Airto Moreira (drums). 47 Moreira was a musician friend who would be very
important for the start of Hermetos career as a composer, arranger and
instrumentalist, which occurred later, in 1971, in the United States. In 1965,
Hermeto participated as an instrumentalist in singer Walter Santoss LP Caminho. 48
The fact that Hermeto learned to play several instruments was possible not
only because of his talent, but also because of his intense dedication to studying and
practicing. This can be verified from the following statement:
(...) I studied the flute in the bathroom at the nightclub and next to the walls
of the Consolao Church, I bribed the parking attendant to let me study there, because
I had some annoying neighbors. (...) Later on, Id lock myself in my bedroom to study,
and Id tell the landlady of the boardinghouse not to let anyone call me, and Id bribe
the watchman at the radio station to let me stay in the studio practicing. (HERMETO,
Pipoca Moderna)49

Nightlife and the Regional groups of the radio stations were a very important
school for Hermeto, in which he learned, orally, a highly varied musical vocabulary,
from northeastern music to serenades, choros, sambas, gypsy music and bossa-nova,
all the way to jazz standards.

47

Ibidem previous.

48

Part of the data on Hermeto was collected in interviews with the musician and the members and former
members of his Group. Other information can be found in the updated edition of the Enciclopdia de
Msica Brasileira, erudita, folclrica e popular (Encyclopedia of Brazilian Music, erudite, folkloric and
popular). So Paulo: PubliFolha, 1998, pp. 606/607. The data presented in the Encyclopedia, however,
should be verified, for some of the information is inexact. For instance, according to the Encyclopedia,
the LP with Walter Santos is supposed to be the first recording in which Hermeto figures as an
instrumentalist, whereas Hermetos first recordings are previous to that LP.
49

From an interview with Mauro Dias. We do not know the exact date of publication.

48

From the fields of Lagoa da Canoa to the night-clubs and hotels of Rio de
Janeiro and So Paulo, Hermetos intuition, technical agility, (perfect) ear and
sensibility seem to have truly been his constant guides. Hermeto was of humble
social origins and could not count on any help from his parents. His visual
deficiency delayed his mastery of musical notation. Since his childhood, the
universe of popular music was always closer to Hermeto, so it became the
musicians livelihood, besides being a school where part of his style as
instrumentalist, arranger and composer would be forged.
After Hermeto left Canoa da Lagoa, his career went through three stages:
instrumentalist, arranger and composer. 50 From 1950 to 1966, Hermeto had been
an instrumentalist, hired by radio stations and night-clubs. Beginning in 1964,
he also began to play in bands outside the radio and night-club scheme (Som Quatro
and Sambrasa Trio). Slowly, Hermeto began to free himself from the economic
limitations that were imposed on him, as well as the esthetic limitations established
by the viewpoint of the employers who hired him. In this sense, it can be said
that Hermetos need to become an arranger and a composer was not only a
natural tendency of his musical personality, but also a route to social and
professional ascent.
It was not, however, an easy route. Hermeto would not have become what he is
today without the combination of combative behavior and the strong personality that is
characteristic of him. He attempted to free himself gradually from his condition as a
hired performer by negotiating with and at the same time frightening the power base
through a musical language that already insisted on evading conventions.
50

Hermeto certainly disagrees with the order we have presented. In our last interview with him, he told us
that his first musical composition were his cries as he left his mothers belly. Although this statement was
apparently a joke, it is coherent with Hermetos own musical conception. See chap. V and VI for his
definition of aura music. We maintain the sequence above, instrumentalist, arranger and composer, only
as a general chronological orientation.

49

In his book Noise: The Political Economy of Music,51 Jacques Attali presents a
few premises that are appropriate for a very brief illustration of the parallel we have
drawn between Hermetos musical language and his professional trajectory.
1) Music, according to Attali, can become a mirror of the period in which it was
produced, and of the relation between man and society. As a mirror of society,
music is more than an object of study per se, it is a means of perceiving the
world, an instrument of knowledge.
2) For music to fully accomplish its communicative function, it is vital, however,
that we become aware of what it implies, and that we also listen to its noises
and differences (its critical action), as well as to what it does not say, its silence.
3) Music is also an attribute of political and religious power, possessing, on the
other hand, a potentially subversive action, because, being conceived as the
ordering of noise (in other words, the control of disorder), it holds within itself
the seed of rebellion.
His openness to the non-written, to the intuitive, led Hermeto to invent
chords, rhythms and melodies that constantly surprised the musicians he played
with. This surprise that Hermeto caused, and the noise it produced was either a
motive for alarm and disdain from the owners of the radio stations and night -clubs
and from well-behaved musicians, or a motive for admiration from those who
were more receptive. This receptivity gave rise to friendship between Hermeto and
several musicians who performed with him, some of whom played, without a doubt,
an important part in his career. Among these were Sivuca and Heraldo do Monte in
Recife, and, later, percussionist Airto Moreira and singer Flora Purim, who made the
bridge which took Hermeto to the U.S.A.

51

University of Minnesota Press, 1985.

50

Before going to the United States, Hermeto joined the Trio Novo (New Trio)
in1966, which then became the Quarteto Novo (New Quartet). The Quarteto Novo
became the way-station in Hermetos career, between the instrumentalist hired
by radio stations and night-clubs, and the internationally famous arranger
and composer. The Quarteto Novo was made up of Hermeto (flute and piano), Heraldo
do Monte (viola caipira and electric guitar), To Barros (guitar and bass) and Airto
Moreira (drums). In 1967, the group recorded the important LP Quarteto Novo (Odeon,
1967), in which appears one of Hermetos first recorded compositions, O Ovo (The
Egg), a baio for which Hermeto would later write lyrics that went back to a popular
poetic tradition of an enchanted and prolific nature, of hyperbolic abundance, as
Professor Elizabeth Travassos observed during the defense of this thesis:
I have a hen that lays a hundred egg a month,
but I cant understand, cause they come three at a time[ repeat]
In my yard I had fifty thousand hens,
I sold them all to my neighbor, Mariquinha.
Now Ive only got a little chick,
Ive started all over again,
With an egg.

In 1969 the group broke up. In spite of its brief existence, the Quarteto Novo
affected an entire generation of musicians, from Edu Lobo 52 to Tom Jobim, by
combining percussion, viola caipira, guitar, flute, drums, piano and electric guitar.
The Quarteto Novos original mission came from Geraldo Vandr. Vandr thought
that the Quartet should work exclusively with Brazilian music. According to
Hermeto, Vandrs nationalistic mission was one of the reasons why the Quartet
52

A composer that the Quarteto Novo accompanied in 1967 at the III FMPB (Festival of Brazilian
Popular Music), which took place at TV Record, So Paulo, SP, with the song Ponteio (by Edu
Lobo and Capinam), which won the competition. Cf. Enciclopdia da Msica Brasileira
(Encyclopedia of Brazilian Music).

51

lasted such a short time: When I played a really modern chord, people criticized:
jazz chords arent allowed. But it wasnt a jazz chord; it was what my mind wanted.
Music belongs to the world. We dont own it. Wanting Brazilian music to be only
Brazils is like trying to put the wind in a bag, and nobody can put sound in a bag.
From 1966 to 1970, Hermeto gained very important experience with
arranging through working with the Song Festivals. At that time, Hermeto already
knew the notes and rhythmic notation, but since he didnt know how to make scores,
he wrote the arrangement transposing instrument by instrument, based on the
harmony. It is important to note that Hermeto had, and still has, a very accurate ear
for harmony, which allowed him to compose for a symphony orchestra by ear. 53
I can be writing a note here, and Ive got four guys playing, and Im listening and
writing about those four instruments.
In 1970, Airto Moreira and Flora Purim took Hermeto to the U.S.A. to write
the arrangements for the records Natural Feelings and Seeds on the Ground (Buddah
Records, 1971). In the latter album, Hermeto recorded and arranged a composition
created by his parents 54 around 1941, in Alagoas, while they worked in the fields.
Gaio da Roseira was considered to be one of the best compositions of the year by
English critics. 55

53

According to what Hermeto himself told us in an interview, this happened when he composed for
the Berlin symphony orchestra. The composition was made in Berlin in only 32 hours, and he used
the piano for only 16 of the 32 hours, that is, he composed about half of the orchestra score without
the help of any instrument. Hermeto had to show the maestro the paper of German manufacture on
which he had written the music, because the maestro did not believe that he had composed so fast
and with no instruments at all only a few days before the concert. Convinced, and impressed by
Hermetos prowess, the maestro asked him to relate the fact to the audience before the performances,
because, according to him, it was worthy of note.
54

Pascoal Jos da Costa and Divina Eullia Oliveira

55

Cf. Enciclopdia da Msica Brasileira (Encyclopedia of Brazilian Music)

52

1970 and 1971 were very active years for Hermeto. Besides the two LPs with
Airto and Flora, as composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist, he also recorded
the LP Cantiga de Longe (Elenco, 1970) with Edu Lobo, as arranger and
instrumentalist, the LP Live Evil (Sony, 1972 56) with Miles Davis, as composer and
instrumentalist, as well as a flute solo on Tom Jobims album Tide (A & M, 1970).
His experience in the United States seems to have been very important for the
development not only of Hermetos career but also of his conception. It was there
that Hermetos conception and his experimental side could completely emerge.
Blending, in Seeds of the Ground, the Gaio da roseira of his childhood with the
experimentation that was apparently influenced by American free jazz, Hermeto
attained, for the first time, international renown.
Let us open a brief parenthesis to elucidate the term free jazz. It first
appeared as the title of Ornette Colemans 1960 album, and from then on was the
term used to name a new form that some North- American jazzmen, such as Cecil
Taylor, Albert Ayler, or even Charles Mingus and Sonny Rollins, had been
experimenting with for some time. (Callado, 1990). The basic features of free jazz,
which totally revolutionized the language of jazz, were, according to German critic
Joachim-E. Berendt:
1. entrance into the free field of atonality;
2. dissolution of rhythmic symmetry, of meter, and of beat;
3. incorporation of musical elements from various international cultures;
4. greater intensity in instrumental performance, reaching improvisational
ecstasy and;
5. noise begins to be part of the musical sound 57
56

Released in 1972, but recorded in 1970, according to the insert in the CD. See discography.

57

Joachim E. Berendt, O jazz: do Rag ao Rock. So Paulo: Perspectiva, 1975, p.36.

53

Ten years after Colemans album, the above-mentioned features resemble,

in fact, those found in some of the music composed and arranged by Hermeto
in the 1970s (like, for example, Gaio da roseira in Seeds on the Ground,
or Velrio in Hermeto Pascoal: Brazilian Adventure (CBS, 1972), and it is
possible to imagine that they were absorbed by the composer during his stay
in California and New York with Airto Moreira and Flora Purim. Researcher Carlos
Callado found, as did we, that Hermetos language and music presented results
that were very close to free jazz:
It is curious how Hermeto, who structured his musical work based on traditional
Brazilian rhythms such as the baio, the frevo, and the choro, and never abandoned the use
of improvisation, attains, at certain points, results that are very close to free jazz
especially when he breaks the regular tempo and enters the field of atonality. Always
rejecting the qualifications of jazz, free or even popular Brazilian music, he prefers the
term free music (universal music is yet another term that Hermeto uses to define his
music). (CALLADO, 1990: 249)

Unless there is biographical information that may be unknown to us, it seems

more relevant to imagine that the emergence in Hermetos language of some
compositional procedures such as atonality, breaking the regularity of the tempo,
ecstatic improvisation, the musical use of noise, etc. is more due to free jazz
than to contemporary erudite music.
In any case, free jazz is only one of the various facets of Hermetos language
in the 1970s. For, as Callado noted, Hermeto rejects this label (free jazz), as well as
all the others used to define the type of music he makes. This, in a way, seems fa ir,
since Hermetos language is really manifold, integrating and surpassing the
experimental model of free jazz itself when he blends it with folkloric Brazilian
music or alternates, in the same composition, improvised passages la free jazz with
others that are totally conventional and arranged.

54

With respect to the origins of free jazz, our interpretation differs in part from
Tato Tabordas, 58 which will be useful to us in dealing with the relation Hermeto
seems to have had with American music and with different styles of jazz. Let us see,
for example, when Taborda quotes a passage from Jlio Medaglias book, Msica
Impopular (Unpopular Music), 59 in an attempt to illustrate the importance, for the
emergence of free jazz, of saxophonist Ornette Colemans contact with the erudite
musician Gnter Schuller:
Coleman came from an extremely poor family in southern Texas, and could not
even afford to buy an instrument. Finally, he managed to get an old, broken-down
saxophone and, feeling identified with it, began to draw out sounds that had nothing to do
with what was called music at the time. He whistled, groaned, whispered on the instrument,
but nobody wanted to listen to him, nor did the bandleaders want to hire him for their
orchestras. That primitive and anarchic sound that was linked to his own life in the slums
of the back of beyond where he was born, was discovered and valued for the first time
when Coleman, then a simple elevator man in New York City, worked up the nerve to
introduce himself to Gnther Schuller, director of the Lenox School of Jazz. Schuller
accepted him at his school and began to advise him, showing him that behind that sonorous
anarchy and aggressiveness there hid a great sensibility that would give rise to a new style
in jazz. (Medaglia in TABORDA, 1998: 119/120).

The aforementioned episode offers two successive pieces of information. The

first refers to the uncommon language developed by Coleman, a musician of very
humble origins. This language was conceived autodidactically on a broken-down
saxophone. The second one is the contact that Coleman later had with Gnther Schuller.
It was through Schuller and the contact with contemporary erudite music that Coleman
found the echoes of his own experimental language. Based on the account above, it
seems undeniable that his contact and his friendship with the erudite musician must
have influenced Coleman to some extent, but the point is that not only was this contact

58

See Tato Tabordas Msica de Inveno (Music of Invention), p.17.

59

Cf. Taborda, op. cit.

55

was a two-way street, for Coleman influenced Schuller himself, 60 but also that the
saxophonist already had, long before his contact with the erudite musician, his own way
of playing and conceiving music.
The following accounts show to what extent Colemans experimental conception
did not depend on the contact with contemporary erudite music that he received through
Gnther Schuller in 1959:
I remember the first time I picked up my saxophone. [at approximately the age of
15, that is, in 1945]. I remember thinking, at the time, that it was written in the book that
the first seven letters of the alphabet were the first seven letters of music, ABCDEFG. So I
thought that the do I was playing on the saxophone was A. Later, I realized that this
happened because on the alto sax in Mi flat, when you play the natural la, it sounds like do
(transposed). So I was right in one way and wrong in another I mean, from the viewpoint
of sound, I was right. So I started to analyze why things are the way they are, and from that
day on, I realized more and more that everything that is constructed according to strict
logic only applies if it goes against something else; that is, logic is not the only way of
doing things. In other words, if you take an instrument and find a way of expressing your
own feelings, that way becomes your own law. (...) I used to play one note throughout the
whole day, trying to find out how many sounds I could obtain while only using the
mouthpiece. (...) I am still searching for that magic of the mouthpiece. (...) I heard so
many notes and sounds ... (Coleman in LITWEILER, 1984: 31/32)

Around 1957, that is, two years before he met Gnther Schuller, Coleman met
some of the musicians (Don Cherry, Billy Higgins and Charlie Haden) with whom he
would later make his first records, and this is how he describes the experiments that he
himself led:
So, when we were together, the most interesting part was: What will you play after
the melody if there is no accompaniment? (...) Usually, when you play a melody, you have
pre-established patterns to know what you can do while the other persons are doing
something else. But in this case, when we played the melody, nobody knew where to go or

60

Cf. Taborda, op.cit., p. 17

56

what to do to show he knew where he was going. I had already developed a way of playing
like that naturally. [The underlining is ours ] (Coleman in LITWEILER, 1984: 34)

In 1958, Coleman recorded his first album, Something Else! In the text on
the back cover, he presented in complete form what two years later would be known
as free jazz:
I believe that someday jazz will be a little freer. Then, the pattern 61 for a theme,
for instance, will be forgotten, and the theme itself will be the pattern and wont have to
be forced into conventional patterns. The creation of music is as natural as the air we
breathe. I believe that music is really free, and you can enjoy it however it is. (Coleman in
LITWEILER, 1984: 34)

It was only in 1959 that Coleman met John Lewis and Gnther Schuller, both
teachers at the Lenox Jazz School, in Lenox, Massachusetts, at a time when he had
already consolidated both his conception and his musical language. To avoid the
impression that we are downplaying Colemans contact with the aforementioned
musicians, let us see what John Lewis, a teacher at the Lenox School and a member
of the important group Modern Jazz Quartet, said about Coleman only a few weeks
after the latter had joined the Lenox School, where other major jazzmen, such as
Milt Jackson, Max Roach and Bill Russo, also taught.
Ornette Coleman is the first person to accomplish something new in jazz since
Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the mid-40s, and since Thelonious Monk. (John
Lewis in E. BERENDT, 1987: 106)

At this point, we can relate Ornette Colemans lonely and autodidactic

trajectory until his music was acclaimed and absorbed by jazz (via John Lewis) and
erudite (via Gnther Schuller) circles to the experience that Hermeto Pascoal, also

61

Coleman seems to be referring not only to the harmonic context but to the formal one as well, both
traditionally pre-established. And it is this pre-establishment that Coleman wishes to abolish. The new
pattern proposed by Coleman is an anti-pattern, continually open to harmonic-melodic changes which are
unanticipated by and unknown to the performers themselves.

57

an autodidact, had in the U.S.A. Though Coleman later began to compose for
classical ensembles which shows that he was influenced by Schuller this
influence was belated (after 1960) and of minor importance, and, in our view, was
over-emphasized by Taborda, because, in fact: Ornette Coleman (...) only became
acquainted with the atonal experiments in erudite music around 1959/1960, after he
met John Lewis and Gnther Schuller; by that time, his contribution to music had
already been made and was internationally renowned. (E. Berendt, 1987: 38). 62
If the 1970s, when free jazz was at its height, seem, in fact, to have
influenced Hermetos language, that influence, however, must not be taken
unilaterally. Just as the contact with Gnther Schuller, only one year before
Coleman recorded the Free Jazz album (Atlantic-WEA, 1960), cannot completely
explain Colemans unconventional language, Hermetos contact with American
music, also only one year before he recorded his first solo album in the U.S.A., does
not sufficiently explain his experimentalism. And this is because both Hermeto and
Coleman already had their own languages, developed autodidactically, and
autonomous with regard to the universes of jazz and of contemporary erudite music,
respectively, before being affected by them.
Just as Colemans music was legitimized by Lewis and Schuller, so were
Hermetos musical experiments in the U.S.A., where he found, in the vanguard of
American jazz, an appropriate and fertile territory for his artistic and commercial
consolidation. Thus, the sideman, employed by radio stations and night -clubs, little
by little conquered a place of his own within the cultural industry of popular music.
That happened more fully Gaio da roseira was the starting point when
he recorded his first solo album, the LP Hermeto Pascoal: Brazilian Adventure
(Cobblestone, 1971), produced by his friends, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira. In that
62

Op. cit., see also Mark C. Gridley, Jazz Styles: history and analysis. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall,
Inc., 1985 (2 nd edition), pp.226-234 and W. Royal Stokes, The Jazz Scene: an informal history from
New Orleans to 1990. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

58

LP, Hermeto makes the most of the tight budget provided by the recording company
Buddah Records, writing for an orchestra of strings, woodwinds and brasses, and
with the participation of Ron Carter on the bass and Airto Moreira on drums and
percussion. Hermeto himself completed the kitchen (rhythm section) 63 , playing the
electric piano and the flutes.
Besides being a landmark in Hermetos career, the recording of the album
elicited a certain response from the media with regard to the debuting composer.
Purposely or not, Hermeto provoked a certain agitation in the musical milieu of New
York when he gave bottles to musicians such as Hubert Laws, Art Farmer and Ron
Carter at the start of one of the recording sessions in the studio. He did that because
he had written a composition64 for 40 tuned bottles, to be played by the big-band
musicians. At another point in the recording session, the first time that an orchestra
was playing a composition of his, Hermeto stopped conducting right after the first
chords, I didnt know what else to do with my hands. They just stayed there, in the
air. Then I lowered them, (...) it was so beautiful that I was paralyzed. ( A gazeta,
Vitria ES, 1990). After a few seconds of silence and hesitation, the musicians
finally asked Hermeto to go on conducting but, instead of that, and to everybodys
astonishment, he threw the scores in the air and laughed and laughed as he rolled on
the floor amidst them. Not knowing whether or not to call an ambulance, and while
he continued rolling on the floor on top of the scores, the American musicians were
reassured by someone who told them that kind of behavior was normal in Brazil.
That in Brazil, people rolled on the floor when they were happy. (Ibidem).
Hermetos reputation for being a creative and eccentric musician may have
begun, in fact, with those episodes in 1971. Still other factors were added to his
63

Kitchen is a term that is used in popular music and refers to the basic instrumental formation which
usually consists of bass, drums and percussion.
64

The Velrio track.

59

behavior in the building of his reputation. Hermeto was short, he was an albino, with
pale skin and very long reddish hair, and he already resembled a sorcerer (a term
that, years later, the Brazilian press used when referring to him), and his physical
aspect probably contributed to increase the curiosity of the Americans, who were
triply impressed by his rather exotic musical language, behavior and appearance.
Features of lesser importance, such as Hermetos appearance, may seem
totally irrelevant to some, but not to us. At this point, it is the genesis of the
charismatic experimenter, of the sorcerer Hermeto Pascoal, which is of interest
to us. Therefore, we do not dismiss the part played by his peculiar visual aspect
among Americans (and todays media) and its contribution to the build-up of his
public image as an irreverent and experimental creator -insane.
Referring to the aforementioned episode, when he threw the scores in the air
before an astonished orchestra, Hermeto simply says: I didnt just act crazy. I really
am crazy ! I always have been. (ibidem). He never tries to get away from the
reputation inspired by his behavior, and he denies that this behavior ever was, or is,
an artifice created and manipulated with sensationalist and commercial ends in view.
It really is not necessary to say that, for Hermetos swift projection overseas can
only really be attributed to his talent and capability. If we consider t hat when he
arrived in America he was totally unknown and had no recording company, no
backers, no patrons, we can see that his acceptance by American musical circles
occurred at a really impressive speed, which could not have been caused merely by
his exoticism. Airto Moreira knew, through Miles Davis, some major NorthAmerican jazzmen, and did, in fact, open a few important professional doors for
Hermeto, but that would have been nothing if Hermeto had not effectively
conquered the American musicians with his music. And that is, in fact, what
happened.

60

The same year he recorded his album, Hermeto met and performed with
renowned American jazzmen, such as Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul,
Wayne Shorter and John McLaughlin, among others, besides one of Americas most
important popular musicians of the century: trumpeter Miles Davis.
At that time, Airto Moreira played with Miles Davis, and it was through him
that Miles and Hermeto became acquainted:
The musical pieces that I recorded with him, (Miles Davis), I showed him on
the guitar, singing and playing the guitar. (...) Then, man, I played a lot of pieces for
him, 9 or 10, and he was sitting there, and Airto was all tensed up, right... (...) I wasnt
even looking at him (Miles), I was connected to my sound, because when I was playing
for him to listen, I wasnt thinking of getting a job, because I had already gone there
with a job. (...) Then he said: oh, if I could only record all these pieces, too bad it isnt
possible to put them all on one album, just listen to him talking... When Airto
translated for me, I said, now lets see what hes like. [Airto], tell him that I came (to
the United States) to record too, to record my album, and if he thinks that Im going to
give him all those pieces to record, how come? Then, man, it became a joke, because I
was joking when I spoke. And he got it. (...) From then on, I think that the affinity we
had for each other got really nice. (HERMETO, 1997) 65

They both began to sustain a strong mutual admiration, and their partnership
was consolidated in Hermetos participation as composer and instrumentalist in two
tracks of Miles Daviss album Live Evil (Sony, 1972) : Igrejinha and Nem um
talvez. 66 Miles Davis even invited Hermeto to replace keyboardist Chick Corea,
who couldnt go on tour in Japan with Daviss band. Due to Brazilian bureaucracy,
however, Hermetos documents were delayed, and when he finally arrived in New
York, Davis and his band had already set off. 67 Hermetos increasing recognition by
65

In an interview we conducted.

66

Which were both, curiously enough, listed as being composed by Miles Davis. See the inset of the CD,
on which Hermetos name does not appear as the composer of either one of the two aforementioned
tracks.
67

In an interview we conducted on 11/10/1997.

61

the American and international jazz milieu can be credited to his experience with the
renowned trumpeter Miles Davis and the musicians who were connected to him,
besides Flora Purim and Airto Moreira, and it also certainly encouraged him by
increasing his self-confidence in the development of his own work and career.
Years ago, Tom Jobim said that, unfortunately, the best route for the
Brazilian musician was the one that led to the airport. It does not seem to have been
different with Hermeto. However, most of all, the U.S.A. was a rite of passage, an
important, acclamatory turning point in Hermetos career. It was there that he
consolidated his ability as an arranger, writing for the big bands, and was sanctioned
by musicians of international renown, swiftly asserting himself in the American and
European musical milieus as a virtuoso improviser on the piano, the flute and the
sax, and as an arranger and composer of original conception.
It is important to observe that at the time Hermeto played with Miles Davis
in the album Live Evil (Sony, 1972), the style Davis was developing was fusion,
combining jazz with rock. Fusion had nothing to do with the two compositions
by Hermeto that were recorded on the album. Why, then, did Davis record
Hermetos pieces in an album that followed a completely different line? Hermetos
apparently immodest statement about his stay in the U.S.A. may not be as immodest
as it seems:
I believe I influenced all those people [Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock,
Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul ]. For instance, when I recorded my first solo album in the
U.S.A., there were 40 bottles in the orchestra, with a score that I created especially for them.
This really impressed Herbie Hancock. A short time later he recorded with bottles, too. But
he did it for sensationalism. When people listened to his record, they exclaimed: Oh, the
bottles. To me, the bottles were like any other instrument, neither more nor less important
than the flutes or the electric guitar. I went to the U.S.A. with my own way of working, and
with the desire of changing the habit that made the Brazilians who went there learn from the
American musicians. In Brazil, theres a tendency to think that only what comes from the
U.S.A. is good. Brazilian musicians go there, listen to jazz, then return to Brazil and record
an album that is a copy of one of their idols. I wanted to show something else, that isnt jazz,

62

or samba or bossa nova, because all of that bores me! (...) Yes, I make music and Im
Brazilian. Let them take that as they will. (HERMETO, Jazz Magazine, 1984).

In fact, although he was undoubtedly influenced by jazz though he does not

admit it in the passage above Hermeto did not limit his language, in the albums he
recorded in the U.S.A., or even outside it, to any specific style, not even to jazz. 68 It
was exactly the heterogeneous blend of the U.S.A. with the Northeast of Brazil
(which began with Gaio da Roseira), and of classical music with the coco,
added to his virtuosity as a performer, that guaranteed Hermeto a unique place in the
American and European musical circles. He did not hitch a ride on one of the
many labels of the cultural industry, he created his own anti-label, which, like a
revolver, asserts his intentions not to respect limits either of type or of style in his
experimental project.
In 1972, he toured the U.S.A. and Mexico, and in 1973, in Brazil, he recorded
his second solo album, A msica livre de Hermeto Paschoal (CBS, 1973). Returning
to the U.S.A., he recorded his third album, Slave Mass (CBS, 1977), in which, for
the first time, he uses animals in his compositions. A duo of tuned pigs with
different vocal registers: one pig grunted high and the other, low.
From Slave Mass on, alternating between Rio de Janeiro and New York,
Hermeto cut a record a year: the LPs Zabumb-bum- (WEA Brasil, 1978), Hermeto
Pascoal ao vivo em Montreux (WEA Brasil, 1979), and Crebro Magntico (WEA
Brasil, 1980).
In 1980, at the age of 44, after many international comings and goings,
Hermeto returned to Brazil to stay. And from 1981 to 1993 he organized, after a few
frustrated attempts, a permanent group of musicians that performed many times in
68

In our last interview with Hermeto (03/06/1999), he told us that jazz influenced his music
harmonically, but from the rhythmic point of view, if compared to Brazilian rhythms, that style is
very poor. As for the jazz improvisations, Hermeto reminded us that there are other models that
influenced him too, such as the embolada singers and the repentistas of the Northeast of Brazil.

63

Brazil and abroad, recording six LPs and achieving international renown. It is
exactly this period of Hermeto Pascoal & Group that our thesis deals with, choosing
a particular repertoire they as the object of our analysis.
With this group, Hermeto developed a different style. If, up until to the
Quarteto Novo, Hermeto basically worked within the Brazilian popular universe
(with emphasis on northeastern Brazilian music), with some influence from jazz
the traditional improvisation of that style, for instance, with solos structured on a
pre-established harmony, besides the dissonant (re-) harmonization from the
U.S.A. on, the jazz influence was more strongly assimilated in his language, in the
form of long atonal improvisations, dissolution of meter, experimentation with
timbres and noises, etc.
In the period under study, however, Hermeto kept improvisation for the
process of creation, for the shows and, to a much lesser extent, for the albums,
which began to have more emphasis on writing. The records with long collective or
solo improvisations had given place to another conception, which, however,
maintained some of the features of previous periods, such as, for example, dissonant
and even atonal harmonization, and the research with noises and timbres obtained in
non-conventional ways, the exploration of animal sounds, etc. The part played by
writing then became more important than before 1981, endowing this formation of
Hermeto Pascoal & Group with certain chamber characteristics.
It was also with this group of musicians that Hermeto, little by little,
abandoned the part of performer and soloist of his own work, and began to dedicate
himself more to arrangement and composition, including that of symphonic works. 69

69

Hermetos orchestral works, which he called arrangements for symphony orchestras, have been
performed by the symphony orchestras of New York, Denmark, France and Berlin. In Macedo Rodrigues,
Uma msica por dia. Rio de Janeiro: O Globo, 09/18/1990.

64

The musicians who were part of his group were: Itiber Luiz Zwarg (electric
bass, tuba and bass sax), Jovino Santos Neto (piano, keyboards, flutes), Antnio
Luis Santana nicknamed Pernambuco (percussion), 70 Carlos Daltro Malta (saxes,
flute, piccolo) and Mrcio Villa Bahia (drums and percussion).

3.2. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA ON THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP

3.2.1.

ITIBER LUIZ ZWARG

He was born to a family of popular musicians in the city of So Paulo, on

January 24th, 1950. His first musical studies began at the age of 7, playing classical
music on the piano. He changed teachers at the age of 10, and at 14 began studying
the guitar, which was the instrument that really hooked him, for up to then, the
piano teachers had wanted to teach him musical reading and theory, which he
definitely disliked: I wanted to play (Itiber, 1998). His father then showed him
the first chords on the guitar, at a time when Itiber was attracted to bossa-nova and
its dissonant harmonies, whose repertoire he proceeded to learn. At the age of 16,
he was given an exotic 3-string acoustic bass (A1, D1, G1) that his brother, also
a musician (pianist) had bought in the Morro do S in the Freguesia do O, 71 to present
him with. Double bass and piano, Itiber and his brother began to play as a duo,
for that had been the reason for the gift. About 8 months later, Itiber himse lf bought
a 4- string bass.
Immediately after that, he began to play at dances with his father, and, from
the age of 18 on, in the nightlife of So Paulo. In 1975, he met and worked with

70
71

Unfortunately, we were unable to interview the percussionist.

Years after receiving the bass from his brother, Itiber composed a choro entitled Morro do S,
Freguesia do O, exploiting the S and O of these place names as musical signs of repetition.

65

Hermeto during the recording of a jingle in a studio in So Paulo where Hermeto

worked as an arranger. 72
Two years later, in 1977, Hermeto lacked a bassist in his band, and a mutual
friend thought of Itiber, whom Hermeto immediately contacted by phone. Not only
did Itiber accept, but he also said: Ill be there in a jiffy. No sooner said than
done: he got on a plane and three hours after the phone call he was in Rio de Janeiro,
in the Jabour neighborhood. This happened 21 years ago, and Itiber never went
back. He is the longest lasting member of the band, having joined it 5 years before
the group that we intend to study was formed. In those 5 years, Itiber, (together
with pianist Jovino Santos Neto and percussionist Pernambuco) recorded with
Hermeto the LPs Zabumb-bum- (WEA Brasil, 1978), Hermeto Pascoal ao vivo em
Montreux (WEA Brasil, 1979) and Crebro Magntico (WEA Brasil, 1980).
He is still, to this day, a bassist in Hermetos band.
3.2.2. JOVINO SANTOS N ETO
He was born in Rio de Janeiro, on September 18 th, 1954. When he was 12 years
old, his father bought a piano for Jovinos sister to practice on. Jovino then began
to learn classical music on the piano with his sisters teacher. The lessons, however,
only lasted for six months, because Jovino became bored with the teachers
methodology and repertoire.
Stimulated by the dance parties of the 1970s, and the music played by the
Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Jovino began to try to reproduce rock harmonies on his
old piano. With his ear glued to the tape-recorder that his father (a radio ham) had
bought, Jovino learned rock, blues, ballads, etc.

72

This studio belonged to the owners of Hermeto and Groups future recording company: the Som
da Gente.

66

In 1974, he went to Canada to study biology. There, he met and played with jazz
musicians, and became a member of a progressive band. In 1977, after graduating, he
returned to Brazil, planning to continue his career as a biologist. When he was almost
on his way to Manaus to get his masters degree, with a scholarship and accommodation
guaranteed, he met Hermeto, who invited him to play a number during a show.
It is needless to say that Jovino did not go to Manaus, and that he enjoyed his
participation in Hermetos show so much that stayed on with him for 15 years. It was
not until 1992 that he left the group to begin a solo career in the U.S.A. 73
3.2.3.

CARLOS ALBERTO DALTRO MALTA

He was born in Rio de Janeiro, on February 25 th, 1960. Around 1972, at a

friends house, Carlos Malta opened a teen magazine called Pop, and saw an article
entitled Leve a vida na flauta, 74 which, curiously enough, had a photo of Hermeto
Pascoal, among other musicians. The manner in which the flute was described in the
article, as an extremely portable instrument, the ideal instrument to play outdoors, in
the woods, while enjoying nature, attracted the young boys interest, so he asked his
grandmother to buy him a recorder.
A short time after getting the recorder, Malta bought a Yamaha plastic fife
that was duly retuned after an amateur polishing done with a knife by young Malta
himself. And, on September 6th, 1975, at the age of 15, he was given his first
transverse flute.
From then on, he began playing in several bands, and, in 1977, he bought a
piccolo, also a Yamaha, with the money he earned professionally with his transverse
73
74

According to Mrcio Bahia, percussionist Pernambuco joined the group the same year as Jovino.

The title of the article is a play on words which is lost in translation. Leve a vida na flauta is an
expression that means take it easy and enjoy life, but since it includes the word flauta (flute, in
Portuguese), it is used, quite appropriately, in an article about playing the flute.

67

flute. In 1979, already performing with Maria Creuza, Antonio Carlos and Jocafi,
and, a short time later, with Johnny Alf, he finally registered as a professional
musician in the Ordem dos Msicos (the Musicians Union).
With Johnny Alf, he traveled in the Pixinguinha project, playing the flute and
his first sax, a soprano. After a short and frustrated period in a College of
Communication, Malta took the entrance exams for the School of Music, and
received one of the three vacancies offered for the flute course. He spent six months
at the School, and especially remembers his lessons with flutist Celso Woltzenlogel,
and his orchestral training. He has no special recollections of his lessons in theory,
which he did not much like. Some time later, he joined the Villa-Lobos School of
Music for saxophone lessons under Paulo Moura.
During their summer vacation, the students asked Paulo Moura to continue
giving them lessons, if possible. And that was how, on a day in January, 1981, after
a visit to Hermetos house, in Jabour, Paulo Moura told his students about how
surprised he was at what he had seen, heard and played there. Coincidentally, a few
days later Malta himself was taken by Virginia Carvalho a mutual friend of his and
Jovinos to Hermetos house, where he spent the afternoon playing. From then on,
for 11 years, Malta was a member of Hermetos band. In 1992 he left the group to
begin a solo career.
3.2.4.

MRCIO VILLA BAHIA

He was born in Niteri, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, on December 18th,

1958. In 1976 he entered the Villa-Lobos School of Music, which, at the time, was
directed by Alton Escobar. At first, Mrcio intended to study the drums, but the
course given by the famous maestro Bituca was in orchestral percussion. Having an
outstanding participation in the course, in 1977 Mrcio joined the Orchestra of the
Municipal Theater as a trainee, and in 1978 he was granted tenure. He remained in

68

the orchestra for two years, also participating in the Villa-Lobos School of Musics
percussion group in many concerts, and as a soloist in contests.
Also in 1978, Mrcio was invited by the teachers to be part of the percussion
group of the MEC radio station in a concert of the series Concertos da Juventude
(Youth Concerts). The program consisted of a piece by Marlos Nobre,
Rhythmetron, played by the MEC radio stations percussion group, and, in the
second part, Hermeto Pascoal & Group.
For this concert, Hermeto had purposely chosen a more classical repertoire,
consisting, among other pieces, of two suites: the Suite Paulistana and the Suite
Norte-Sul-Leste-Oeste. On that occasion, Mrcio became personally acquainted with
Itiber, Jovino, Hermeto, and Pernambuco, as well as the drummer of that period,
Nen, from whom Mrcio later bought some drum cymbals.
In December, 1980, Mrcio quit the Orchestra of the Municipal Theater to
dedicate more time to the drums. At the time, Hermetos group lacked a drummer,
for Nen had left, and Alfredo Dias Gomes, who had replaced him, and even
recorded the LP Crebro Magntico, only stayed with the band for about 11 months.
So, in January, 1981, percussionist Pernambuco, with whom Mrcio had been
friends ever since the Youth Concert, called Mrcio up, with an informal invitation
to play a few pieces with the group, with no formal commitment whatsoever.
Actually, Pernambuco wanted his friend to join the band, but everything depended
on Hermetos final evaluation. Mrcio hesitated before accepting the invitation,
because he did not consider himself capable of playing with a musician like
Hermeto, even if only informally, but he finally accepted.
Coincidentally with a second visit by Carlos Malta, who was Mrcios friend,
the formation that we study in our thesis played together for the first time and went
on playing for three days in a row. It was January, 1981. At the end of the fourth

69

day, Hermeto asked Mrcio and saxophonist Carlos Malta if they would like to join
the band. Hermeto explained that, since they lived so far from the neighborhood of
Jabour, they would only have to come three times a week, to which both Mrcio and
Malta responded with: no, we want to come every day.
After six months with the band, Mrcio and Malta decided to share a house in
Jabour in order to make easier their daily routine of rehearsal: six hours a day, from
Monday to Friday a routine that began only two weeks after they joined the band.
3.3. HERMETO PASCOAL & GROUP FROM 1981 TO 1993
3.3.1.

WORKING

TOGETHER , METHODOLOGY OF REHEARSING

AND APPRENTICESHIP

Over the course of twelve years (1981-1993), this was the pattern of work
developed by Hermeto Pascoal & Group.75 We may wonder if at this period, in the
panorama of Brazilian music, whether popular or classical, there was any example
comparable to this ensemble with respect to the way in which dedication and
professional seriousness were translated into the discipline of rehearsing. The daily
routine consisted of rehearsals from 2 to 8 PM, preceded by work in the morning
where each musicians studied his individual part.
Of all the ensembles which worked with Hermeto, this was certainly the one
which rehearsed the most. Excellent musicians, such as Mauro Senise, Zeca
Assumpo, Nen, 76 Mrcio Montarroyos, Cacau, Alfredo Dias Gomes and others,
had already played with Hermeto in his previous bands, but though in none of them
75

And in spirt of the fact that Itiber and Mrcio Bahia continue to play with Hermeto until today, the
rehearsal dynamic of the period from 1981 to 1993, is no longer maintained, since the two new members
of the reside in So Paulo.
76

These three members would later be part of the band of another important figure in Brazilian
instrumental music: Egberto Gismonti.

70

was there any lack of ability or talent, quite the contrary, the same cannot be said
with respect to time available to rehearse, travel, record, etc.77
With Itiber, Jovino, Pernambuco, Carlos Malta and Mrcio, Hermeto had for
the first time a group of performers working together daily over the course of years.
In 1981, Itiber was 31 years old, Jovino, 27, Carlos Malta, 21, Mrcio, 23. If these
young musicians were not as experienced as other musicians who had played with
Hermeto, yet in contrast they possessed a capacity to give which transcended that of
all previous ensembles prior to 1981. This dedication was doubtless the fruit of the
admiration which the young musicians felt for Hermeto Pascoal 78, and the possibility
of playing in his band represented not only an excellent opportunity for
apprenticeship and development, but also the real start of their careers. What bassist
Itiber has to say is enlightening:
Hermeto could have played with big names since the beginning of his career..
(...) He knew that if he played with a Tony Williams, a Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock,
Miles Davis, or I dont know who, it was going to be nice, of coure.. (...) But a lot of
big names, you know? Each of them would have pulled in one direction, and
suddenly Hermeto would not have the freedom or the ease to do his thing, because he
had something to say, a language, and he needed to say that musical langua ge by
getting each member of the band into, slowly, one by one. (...) So, this is a very
serious job, and it worked, so that I, Malta, Jovia, Mrcio Bahia, each one of us her is
showing what truth is and in the future we will have even more to say, becaus e we
are beginning, as they say, our solo work. Which is something that I argue about,
because my solo work is inside the group as well. I dont make a disconnection. (...)
But people think that you have to have a big name with neon lights in order to say
that this is your solo work. Its a media clich. (ITIBER, 1998) 79

As another example of their dedication to their work, which they dove into
headfirst, all the members of the band went to live close by Hermetos house in the
77

With the exception of the drummer Nen, who played with Hermeto for about 10 years.

78

Who in 1981 was 45, and already had considerable experience in Brazil and abroad, having played with
musicians such as Miles Davis, Ron Carter, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and others.
79

In an interview with us done on Oct. 4, 1998. .

71

distant neighborhood of Jabour, so as not to lose time in the daily commute. As well
as being members of the same group, they came to be neighbors, and two of them,
Itiber and Mrcio became part of Hermetos extended family. The former chose
Hermeto and his wife Ilza to be godparents for his children, and the second married
one of the composers daughters.
The close relationship between the musicians in the band and the composer, in
addition to creating strong bonds of friendship and family connections, produced an
intimacy with the compositions created for those musicians. Not that Hermeto simplifed
the technical difficulties faced by the performers in any way. On the contrary, his
demands were extreme from the outset. On the first disc recorded by Hermeto Pascoal
& Group (Gravadora Som da Gente, 1981), we find the pieces "Srie de Arco", and
"Briguinha de msicos malucos no coreto", both of them extremely difficult.
An example of how the mutual musical knowledge and friendship shared by
Hermeto and his musicians was transformed into music arose when the bassist
Itiber had to be absent from the band for several weeks, in order to care for his
wife, who was ill in So Paulo. Upon returning from his trip, Itiber was given a
(difficult) bass line, which Hermeto had composed trying to put himself in the
bassists place, and imagining the type of technique, touch, articulation and phrasing
which were characteristic of the style of his musician and friend. 80
The intimacy which we referred to doubtless made it easier for Hermeto to
express his language, and thus the composer was able to bring his musicians to ever
higher levels, making each composition a technical-personal etude.
The quickness with which results were obtained by Hermeto Pascoal & Group
came from three factores: the intense relationship between the composer and the group,
the continuous study and self-improvement on the part of the performers, and the
development of a rehearsal methodolgy which tried to combine discipline and pleasure.
80

This bass line is recorded on the track "Irmos Latinos", Festa dos Deuses, CD. Polygram, 1992.

72

It may seem that all this routine may have been a heavy weight on the
musicians, something arduous that, unfortunately, they had to put up with, accept,
and live with for years. But this is not the case. This sad image, this vale of tears
simply did not exist. Hermeto was respectfully and affectionately referred to by the
musicians as Champ. Multi-instrumentalist and virtuoso, composer and arranger,
possessing the natural charisma of a leader, which he exercised in a friendly way,
Hermeto combined in himself all the skills of a great teacher and master (in spite of
his refusing these titles), complemented by a very interesting methodology:
We had a very nice methodology (...), we were learning this methodology, and the
Champion always directing us. In the morning everyone would clean up their individual
parts at home, and in the afternoon, after lunch we would put them together at the
rehearsal. Then he taught us to just do piano and bass, with everyone looking on from
outside, you know (...), everyone checking to see if the polyrhythms were perfect, or if it
was sticking (if it was wrong), if there was a messy note, if there wasnt (...) then piano and
drums, drums and bass, now the saxophone line, now the percussion comes in...
(ITIBER, 1998)81
One of the great things that I learned there, was that I learned to study. And in spite
of playing music that was so difficult because it was quick, light, and so forth, what I
learned was how important it is for you to work slowly. This was one of the great lessons I
learned there in Jabour, (...) how you learn to get to a brrrrrrrrrrr (imitates the sound of
sixty-fourth notes) that go like the wind. You have to know every centimeter that you go
over, each note, the sound of each note, the production of each note, how it sounds within
the measure, within the phrase, with the section of the music, and in the whole piece. (...)
You learn to see slowly something that will be over in two minutes, you manage to have a
panoramic vision of that thing there, over a whole morning. (...) So I think that for you to
do anything well, you have to have this calm, this tranquillity [...] and this necessity of
overcoming every difficulty, even when shit, you are sweating, its 105 degrees in your
head, you are sweating, but you are saying (to yourself): until I get this part down I am not
stopping. (Carlos MALTA, 1998)82
I would study the arrangements, the difficult passages, so much that it would stick
in my head. (...) There came a point when I would practice my percussion part by myself
and hum the whole arrangement. (...) I would play my part and know what every one was
doing in relation to my part, what the bass was doing, what the piano was doing, what the
saxophone was doing. (...) I developed this in the group. (Mrcio BAHIA, 1998) 83

81

From an interview with us, 04/10/1998.

82

From an interview with us, 26/03/1998.

83

From an interview with us, 12/02/1998.

73

Instead of being something exhausting, the process of individual study and

rehearsing of the music made possible a continuous renewal of the energies
devoted to the work. The fact that rehearsals took place daily doubtless gave a
practical meaning to the solitary study of each musician. With Hermeto directing
them daily and playing with them, creating for them, with shows and presentations
in Brazilian and international festivals of jazz, with records, etc. it is hard to
imagine that the time and effort spent in studying the difficult repertorie were not
recompensed in some way or another.
Even so, the way that Hermeto Pascoal & Group worked was unique, and
extremely different from that usually found in classical ensemble or in popular
instrumental groups. In todays Brazil perhaps the only way that a group could
maintain a work schedule like the one Hermeto Pascoal & Group maintained over
twelve years would be through subventions and sponsorships. However, for
Hermeto Pascoal & Group, there were no subventions or sponsorships of any sort
support came only from records, and from performance in Brazil, and principally,
abroad. But the reward for all this work was not exactly money.
3.3.2. THE

PROCESS OF REHEARSING AND CREATION OF MUSIC : IMPROVISED

COMPOSITION AND WRITTEN IMPROVISATION ?

Everyone with paper and pencil. (...) He (Hermeto) would already come up the
stairs with an idea in his head. Then he would sit down at the piano and (turning to the
saxophonist) Malta, play this, and Malta would play it. Now keep playing it, and I am
going to do something on top. And then, p, he would put something in the piano on
top of that, now I am going to do the bass, you two hold on (pianist and saxophonist keep
repeating what Hermeto had just composed) (...) Then he would go and play in the bass of
the piano, or of the keyboard, whatever, and I would get my line. OK...and finally he would
always do the drums and percussion. Now write that down, and everyone would write,
now lets go. And so it would go from piece to piece. By the end he had made a hell of
an arrangement. He would compose the music and do the arrangement at the same time.
(our emphasis) (ITIBER, 1998).

74

The same space that was devoted to rehearsals for the groups repertoire, was
also devoted to the creation and arrangement of new songs. We do not think that this
cohabitation was by chance.
In accordance with what the bassist Itiber says above, we can conclude that
even if Hermeto in fact had already gone up the stairs (which led to the second
floor of his house, where the rehearsals took place) with ideas in his head, these
ideas were only the initial seeds the development of which could not be foreseen.
Carlos Malta said in an interview which we carried out, referring to the way in
which Hermeto would compose and arrange: "we were living sequencers for him.
What Malta means to say is that, partially, the musicians in the band functioned as
recorders (sequencers) which reproduced what had just been created by Hermeto.
Instrument by instrument, sequentially, songs were being made in real time. With or
without an initial pre-established idea, creation would begin in an improvised way.
In this case, performer, composer and arranger were melded into one individual.
Improvisation takes place in the moment, and its fate is to disappear or remain
alive through being recorded in a score, through audio-visual menas, or through memory.
What distinguishes in the case of Hermeto the terrain of the improvised from
the composed at first sight seems to be solely the act of writing. In being frozen
into a score by the musicians, the improvisational becoming becomes composition.
And the composition made by Hermeto for each instrument, and then noted and
performed by the musicians in its turn became a structure upon which Hermeto and
the musicians would improvise once more.
However, it might be more appropriate to think about a distinct terrain lying
between improvisation and composition, beginning from the role that writing has in
the creative process. In recording something created spontaneously by Hermeto, for
whatever instrument, a score allowed a certain formal play, offering a gamut of
possibilities in the treatment and manipulation of the notated material, including

75

posterior modifications that improvisation pure and simple would find difficult to
provide. It is Hermeto himself who makes the distinction:
- Because I compose, in my life, (...) pratically one song a day, written-down. This is not
improvisation. It is exactly so that I can improvise when I go to play.
- Then the music that you play is written?
- No, not the music that I play. The music that the group plays, the music they play is
written, but they improvise a lot as well. (HERMETO, Jornal Catacumba, 1992)

This is why we said above that the cohabitation in the same space of creation
and improvisation on the one hand, and the repetition of what was already made, on
the other, was not by chance. Since if composition and arrangement were not
structured by the composer beforehand, but rather created improvisationally during
rehearsals, to be written down subsequently, and if even music, after being written,
would serve as basis for future improvisations, whether by Hermeto or the other
musicians, the process as a whole is characterized by a constant and conscious
tendency toward the surprising and unexpected.
Even with the influence of notation and with music intended for the
technique of a specific instrument, in Hermetos creative process improvisation is
the alpha and omega, always coming before and after notation.
Perhaps now there is a clearer difference between the concept of
improvisation as understood by Hermeto and that practiced by the American school
of jazz, as exemplified by the dissertation by

Jos Carlos Prandini, which we

comment on in chapter II:

Because improvisation is a funny thing. (...) An American thinks that
improvisation is something prepared. And its not. It is freedom. (...) I like to improvise, I
like to create in the moment. I like to surprise myself so that I can surprise people. (...) You
know what is new for me? To believe in oneself, believe without fear. You dont need to
think about it first. If you create you dont need to think about it first. If you are an average
creator, you do, and if you are a free creator, you dont. Be courageous, have the will to do
it. (HERMETO, Jornal Catacumba, 1992)

76

Improvisation for Hermeto is not limited to the construction of new melodies

over a pre-established harmonic scheme, "An American thinks that improvisation is
something prepared. And its not. Improvisation is an act of courage which is more
than simple melodic reinvention using the scales of the chord it is a plunge into the
unknown. And it is this which for Hermeto distinguishes the average creator from the
free creator.
In this way, at one of the first performances of drummer Mrcio Bahia with the
band, Hermeto asked the drummer simply to go on stage and solo using only the snare
from the drumset. In all the shows that we attended in this period there was not one in
which the drummer was not requested to do practically the same thing. And not only
him, but the other members of the group as well, since the musicians took turns
improvising either with accompaniment or without, in the latter case, frequently in rather
long choruses. In this sense, it is too bad that there is not one live disc of this band with
Hermeto (similar to, for example, Hermeto Pascoal ao vivo em Montreux, WEA, 1979)
since its performance live were completely different from those in the studio. Live, the
recorded repertoire was always added to with improvisations created in the heat of the
moment. The space for individual improvisation by the musicians, and by Hermeto
himself, was doubtless more fully taken advantage of live than in the studio.
This new disc is almost completely notated, I wrote the parts for each of the
instruments in the whole group. There is some space, but not much, for improvisations. I
think that arrangement works better in the case of a record. That is, that is what I think
now. Before I used to improvise too much on my records. And little by little I saw that it is
much better to improvise live. (HERMETO, Jornal Catacumba, 1989)

In the studio, Hermeto Pascoal & Group would improvise less, and the composer
would devote more work to his arrangements, taking advantage of the possibilities made
available by recording technologies such as play-back, which allow the superposition of
a greater number of instruments and voice than playing live. For this reason, in the
records recorded in this phase, the band-leader Hermeto would always be the princpial

77

improviser and soloist, unlike what took place live. The scanty space for improvisations
on the recordings does not seem to have discouraged the musicians. Why?
3.3.3. PARTICIPATION OF MUSICIANS IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS
Perhaps the true key to the total involvement of the musicians in the process
of rehearsal and creation, is in Hermeto himself, and his way of teaching, inviting
the performer to particpate in the music as a co-creator.
I am not exactly a teacher for the people in the group, because I am learning at the
same time. For example, if I teach something to the musician, I dont require him to do it the
way that I do. I do it and say play it and see how you play, how you feel it. Then I may clean
up any rhythmic problem, something like that. But the guys feeling, that is something that I
dont want to mess with, to interfere with.. (HERMETO, Jornal Catacumba, 1989]

For this reason, the musicians in the band were not just sequencers,
reproducing Hermetos ideas like tape recorders, with no personality or feeling, but
were encouraged by Hermeto not only to improvise but to find their own style:
To be together, to create together, does not mean to create the same thing. To
move togeether, yes, to create, to form things. (HERMETO, Jornal Catacumba, 1992)
Hermeto was stimulating not the reproduction or copying of a model that
could be him, or any other musician, but individual stylistic self-discovery. But,
since the process of creation took place in a space common to co mposer and
performer, to what point did the musicians contribute with ideas for the creation or
interpretation of the music?
Bassist Itiber sums up the participation of the musicians and their interaction
with Hermeto, as a process which demanded responsibility and maturity on the part of
the performers, and that this space was slowly entered to the extent that each musician
developed. Hermeto was the leader, and the relation of the group with him was naturally
marked by a certain respect and admiration. Nonetheless, we should not imagine a static

78

scene made up of two different levels arranged vertically: the creative (represented by
the composer), and the purely reproductive (made up of the musicians):
There is no one who plays and lets you play more than Hermeto. He is a creator,
and a creator can only get along well with those who create as well. Now, creation is
synonymous with responsibility. It is very easy to be irresponsible playing free music. (...)
What is difficult is for you to play free, listening to everyone, looking for the empty spaces
to put your things, listening harmonically, being inspired, managing to stimulate the person
playing at your side, and being stimulated by what you are hearing. (...) The thing
happened gradually, I came to be responsible, but without letting go of creation. So each
record that I did I was more free. He (Hermeto), instead of writing everything for me,
started only writing the changes, and thats how it was with the others as well (the other
members of the band). (ITIBER, 1998)

As we can see from the statement cited above, over the years the musicians
had more and more space for inidividual creation, translated as improvisation. One
can note this increase partially through the discs themselves. If on the first record,
from 1981, none of the musicians (with the exception of Hermeto) improvises,
beginning with the record from 1984, the space and the choruses (passages with a
certain number of measures, and pre-established harmony) for individual
improvisations would appear.
However, as we have noted earlier, this space was always small.
In fact, this was of little importance, since in accordance with what Itiber
remarked above, performance itself, the act of playing in the group was a creative
activity. Work in Hermetos ensemble demanded much more of the performer than
the simple carrying-out of directions established a priori. If particular limits
necessary for maintaining the musical structure conceived by Hermeto were
preserved, these limits did not mean, however, the exclusion of the individual
contributions of each performer and of his performative and improvised
participation as co-creator. In this sense, the spaces for solos by the group in the
records recorded in the period under consideration only seems to be limited. The
problem is that the concept of solo seems inadequate.

79

Conventionally, solo means a single instrumentalist creating a melody over a

pre-established harmonic base. However, from record to record, the musicians in
Hermetos band acquired the freedom to interpret the parts written by Hermeto as if
they were in fact solos. Thus, individual performance was integrated organically into
a cohesive musical structure, but one that was at the same time open and permeable
to the contribution of each musician.
We can also consider that there was always space for individual creation in
Hermetos band with respect to the arrangements of the songs. As the scores reveal,
there is always a greater or lesser degree of creation in Hermetos compositions. In
certain passages in theparts, there is only the indication of a style (frevo, baio,
marcha, etc.), the patterns and rhythmic designs of which were created ad libitium
by the drummer. In the second part of the song "Arapu", for example, while piano,
baritone sax and bass are reading parts, the drummer is improvising freely.
In all the manuscript parts which we have collected for bass, piano, sax or flute,
and drums, dynamic markings rarely appear. In notating the ideas dictated by Hermeto,
the musicians were more concerned in data relating to pitch and duration than to other
factors such as dynamics, articulation, phrasing, etc. As, of course, the musicians were
not playing at the same dynamic all the time, the later finish of these parts was to a great
extent realized by the musicians themselves in rehearsals, with or without the presence
of Hermeto. It was true that as the yeaers passed, Hermeto would rehearse the musicians
less and less frequently, to the extent that they already had a methodology, an efficient
way of working as a group, and a vast repertoire to work on:
This group for me is everything that I am doing now. They are people that dont
hold back in terms of working, playing, studying. It is a family, and I could talk without
stopping about all of them, they are all here in my heart. We rehearse every day from two
in the afternoon to eight or nine at night, except for Saturdays and Sundays. Even if I go
out everything goes according to plan. Now, for example, I am here, and the rehearsal is
going on there. (HERMETO, Jornal Catacumba, 1989)

While the musicians were rehearsing on the second floor, the new songs were
being composed (without instruments) by Hermeto on the first floor. Thus, daily,

80

new scores would arrive for the musicians, slipped silently under the door to the
second fllor. Hermeto did not go up because he wanted to improvise and compose,
but the musicians were rehearsing. This meant that sometimes the musicians would
say to each other, jokinly, when they saw him coming watch out, here co mes the
boss to mess up our work (Malta, 1998).
On the other hand, keeping up a repertoire of many songs, which came to be
independent of the presence of their creator, meant that Hermeto opened a front for
himself. It is from this period that the beginning of more systematic composition for
orchestra dates, made possible by the reduction of time spent working with the group.
3.3.4. FINAL

THOUGHTS ABOUT

H ERMETOS SCHOOL,

AND THE ROLE OF

THE GROUP IN CONSOLIDATING ITS LANGUAGE

It is important to note that the apprenticeship of this group of musicians was not
restricted to strictly technical-instrumental development. Hermeto wanted to have by his
side not only musicians who were able to perform a difficult repertoire well, but who
were also able to improvise and create. From the technical point of view, the members
of the band doubtless learned something from Hermeto the multi-instrumentalist, since
over the years the sound-palette of the group was broadened with the addition of new
instruments in addition to those that the musicians were playing initially. Itiber would
play tuba and piano in addition to electric bass. Malta would play all the saxes and
flutes. Jovino would play flute and piccolo in addition to piano and keyboards. Mrcio
would incorporate in his percussion various percussion sets like the jerer (a set of
tupperware84), and little bells with various pitches.
This was not all that the school consisted of. Openness to creativity bore
fruit over these eleven years, and the performers not only progressed on the

84

Plastic food-storage containers.

81

instruments which they were playing when they joined the group, but learned other
instruments and became composers and arrangers. 85
When a musicians enters my group, generally he knows how to play an
instrument. Little by little, I encourage him to pick up others, which may lead him to
completely change instruments. In any case, this will only enrich his creativity.
Practicing music implies constant research and apprenticeship. When a musician joins
my group, I want him to know a lot about music, and very soon he will see that, in ract,
he knows very little, and has a lot to learn. He is not necessariily a composer when he
joins the group, but in two or three yeaers, he will be able to write a score for our
repertoire, and above all, to fly with his own wings, to make a solo disc. (HERMETO,
Revista Jazz Magazine, 1984)

We must do justice to the importance of these musicians for Hermetos own

career, since it was through the work of these extremely serious musicians that Hermeto
was able to make a definitive impact on the Brazilian and international popular music
scene, consolidating and expanding the place he had slowly been making since "Gaio da
Roseira" in 1971. In addition, we believe that Itiber, Jovino, Pernambuco, Carlos Malta
and Mrcio Bahia not only made it possible for Hermeto to realize his conceptions more
completely than he had before, but that these musicians contributed from their own
backgrounds to the elaboration and realization of the music in the groups repertoire.
In addition to the time dedicated daily to rehearsing a difficult repertoire a factor
which doubtless differentiages this group from those prior to 1981, since it is logical to
suppose a certain relation between technical and interpretative improvement and time
spent in practice and study all the members of the group (except for the percussionist
Pernambuco), as well as their training in popular music had at the least some passages
through classical music. Mrcio Bahia was an orchestral percussionist before becoming
drummer for Hermeto and the saxophonist and flautist Carlos Malta had studied with
Celso Wotzenlogel at the Escola de Msica of U.F.R.J. and with Paulo Moura at the
Escola de Msica Villa-Lobos. Itiber and Jovino had classical piano lessons, and all of
the musicians had left classical music in order to concentrate on popular music.

85

See the solo projects of Jovino Santos and Carlos Malta in the discography.

82

This fact is important, since it was precisely the capacity of reading and
writing music fluently, added, as we have already said, to the talent and dedication
of each of the members of the band, to the daily and semi-tribal interaction of the
composer and the group, that helped them to maintain their places in the band. The
way in which Hermeto composed, improvising, and then asking the musicians to
write down what he had just created, demanded in fact rapidity in writing.
The fact that Mrcio Bahia had been an orchestral percussionist made it
possible for Hermeto to create his drum parts in a classical way. Mrcios fluency in
reading, along with his dedication to study, meant that Hermeto could create
extremely complex rhythms, as for example a pattern in which the high-hat is in
triplets, the bass drum in sixteenths, and the cymbal in eighths" (Jovino, 1997). 86
The possibilities which a new drummer with both popular and classical training opened
for Hermeto doubtless gave the rhythm section (bass-drums-percussion) in Hermetos
group a different sound than that of his bands prior to 1981.
Carlos Malta was already playing flute and soprano sax when he joined the
band, which, together with his later study of other insturments, allowed Hermeto
gradually to turn over the chair of wind instruments in the band to Malta, while he spent
more time on composition.
With a group of multi-instrumentalists and a varied sound-palette at his disposal,
Hermeto could, as never before, work as arranger. His constant work on the
instrumental arrangements for the Grupo seems to have found a continuation in his
compositions for orchestra. This new area for Hermetos career took place
simultaneously with his work with the Grupo.
In conclusion, Hermeto Pascoal & Group, composer and performer, conception
and realization, cannot be understood properly unless we see that their path together in
1981-1993 was a two-way street, with a dynamism which supported mutual exchange.

86

See analyses in chapter V.

83

3.3.5. END OF A CYCLE/BEGINNING OF ANOTHER

In 1993 the period we are studying came to a close, with the departure of two
members, pianist Jovino and saxophonist Carlos Malta, who left Hermetos group in
order to begin solo careers. We see their departures as a natural consequence of the
individual growth of the two musicians. Even if their departures marked the end of a
phase we consider to be historic for Brazilian music, it was understandable after fifteen
and twelve years respectively of intense activity, give-and-take, and apprenticeship with
Hermeto that Jovino and Carlos Malta should have felt the need to construct their own
personal and commercial spaces. After all, this was Hermetos own struggle, from his
work in radio, passing through clubs and international recording companies, until he
achieved the international renown which he deserved.
In 1997, Jovino Santos recorded, with an instrumental quartet his first CD under
his own name, Caboclo (Liquid City, 1997), a CD which at the same time makes the
work of Hermeto for duos, trios, quartets, chamber groups acoustic-electrics instrumental
groups and orchestras better-known87. Carlos Malta has already recorded three solo discs
since 1993, as well as working as a performer with other Brazilian artists.88
Both were replaced by other musicians (Andr Marques - piano and Vincius
Dorim - sax)89 and the other performers continue to play with Hermeto until today,
developing solo projects at the same time in which they work as instrumentalists
(Mrcio Bahia) or as arrangers and composers (Itiber Zwarg).

87

As for example the American group Bang on the Can, which recorded the song "Arapu" by Hermeto
on the record Cheating, Lying, Stealing. SONY, 1996, SNY 62254-2.
88

See discography.

89

Hermetos son, Fbio Pascoal, came to be part of the group as a percussionist beginning about 1990.

84

4. REFLECTIONS ON ACOUSTICS AND PSYCHO-ACOUSTICS

4.1. A CONSTANT NOISE
In the previous chapter we saw how Hermetos trajectory from Canoa da
Lagoa by way of radio stations in the Northeast of Brasil, Regional groups, and nightclubs in Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo, to the Quarteto Novo and records abroad
allowed the musician to have diverse professional experiences, incorporating several
styles and musical elements into his language: northeastern music, both folkloric and
popular (1936-1949); serenades, choro, and jazz (1950-1960); bossa-nova, samba,
swing, and gipsy music (1961-1969).90 We also saw that Hermeto began to achieve
international acceptance and renown as an instrumentalist, arranger and composer
beginning from his stay in the U.S.A. in 1970/71.
As we ascertained, Hermetos language always presented differences in the
manner in which he combined musical codes and in the way he innovated them.
Starting with the LP Quarteto Novo (1967), then on to Seeds in the Ground (1970),
to his first soloalbum, Brazilian Adventure (1971), Hermeto always stood out as an
artist who already had his own personal way of playing and conceiving music.
If Hermetos language, such as it appeared since his first solo album in 1971,
was not limited to the styles with which he had been in touch up to then, nor to
others, such as American jazz, for instance, where then should we search for the
sources of the conception of his constantly transgressive language?
Perceiving difference or noise as a rupture that occurred on the musical as well
as on the socioeconomic level91, we found in Hermetos condition as a hired performer
in radio stations and night-clubs certain professional limits that he broke on becoming
90

This is a very shortened list.

91

See Jacques Attali, op. cit.

85

an arranger and composer, as well as an instrumentalist. This being true, the difference
in Hermetos musical language corresponded to the relation he established with society.
As Professor Elizabeth Travassos noted at the defense of this thesis, Hermetos
rebelliousness was justified by the sociocultural traditions of his own life, which were
subjected to his experimentation. The popular Northeastern tradition of music as an
artisanal and autonomous activity based on family units seems to explain, in part,
Hermetos distrust of technology (Im not going to advertise the factory that produced
the sampler, he says) and, most of all, his constant rebelliousness towards the owners
of the radio stations, night-clubs and recording companies. With traces of the
autonomous farmer accordionist who does not fit in as a hired musician, Hermeto
refused to be easy labor for the cultural industry. Likewise, he recovered the tradition of
making music within the family, as opposed to the anonymity of labor hired by the
industry, by forming a community through neighborhood and family links with the
musicians in the group. According to Travassos, this is how the noise of Hermetos
musical language corresponds to the relation he established with society: as the mirror
of a clash between different modes of production, i.e., the artisanal and rural on one
side, the industrial and urban on the other. 92
As a metaphor of this relation, the musical territory drawn by Hermeto acquires
limits which are only apparently unclear, because it does not follow exclusively any
specific school, tendency or style, or any model. But isnt that exactly why Hermeto
defines his music as free music or even universal music? As we could see in the
previous chapter, the freedom he demands is esthetic as well as professional:

92

Travassos brings up another tradition that Hermeto seems to continue: of the visually deficient
Northeastern musicians such as, for instance, the fiddlers, repentistas, and singers like Cego Oliveira,
Cego Aderald, etc. (Cego means blind in Portuguese T.N.)

86

Nowadays I realize that the media do not understand serious work. And this is all
over the world. That is why great musicians despair, like Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea,
all my friends, Miles Davis himself. (...) They were deceived. As if the people didnt like
what they were doing. I think exactly the opposite. (...) Im with the people that want me.
The people that want me are the ones that arent trying to find out what theyre going to
want. Theyre the people who want to want, (HERMETO, Backstage, 1998)

The return to artisanal and rural traditions, even though understood in a wider sense
- for, according to Elizabeth T., Hermeto made this recovery a gesture of rebelliousness
towards the musical industry does not enlighten us, however, from the musical
viewpoint, as to the difference of his language. For if, on the one hand, he continues being
an artisan, connected to the socioeconomic traditions of the Northeast, on the other hand,
however, his music is not restricted to the influences of popular Northeastern music. His
insubordination and rebelliousness did not signify, for instance, choosing to make regional
music of nationalistic inspiration.93 In his project for free and/or universal music, the
target audience is, as Hermeto puts it, the ones who want to want.
The Marxist approach suggested by Attalis text, which establishes class
struggles as a general model of theoretical interpretation, was useful to us in verifying
how the economic tensions occurring within the musical-professional hierarchy served
as a background for Hermetos trajectory. His activities as a performer, arranger and
composer (we could also add as a maestro) are hierarchical levels of legitimation within
instrumental popular music. However, with regard to remuneration in popular music in
general, the aforementioned situation is commonly inverted. That is, the performer
occupies the top of the economic hierarchy, and the composer the base, unless he is the
performer of his own compositions, as frequently happens.

93

We have already mentioned Hermetos critical position with regard to Geraldo Vandrs nationalistic
orientation in the Quarteto Novo.

87

The professional path that Hermeto followed, accumulating the functions of

performer, arranger and composer, was marked by constant conflict with his
employers, be they owners of radio stations, night-clubs or recording companies.
The musician attained those three levels moved by an inner contingency that was
much more esthetic than socioeconomic, for the most promising path, from a
commercial viewpoint, was not the one Hermeto chose. Although internationally
renowned and having many opportunities for living abroad and making a lot of
money playing with Miles Davis(!), for instance, Hermeto always turned his
back on subaltern stardom, preferring the more difficult route, but the only one
that satisfied him: developing his own work without making commercial
concessions that, while bringing him economic and social status, would also deprive
him of freedom.
Once again we inquire: what can the constant difference in Hermetos
language, evident from the very beginning of his career, be ascribed to? The styles
he played and assimilated before his first solo album were incorporated into his
language, but that language always presented a difference that surpassed those
styles. On the other hand, it would be absurd to demean Hermetos artistic project by
taking it as the result of a desire for social ascension and pecuniary gain, for it is
clear that the experimentalism of his musical language was not conducive to easy
and well-paid success.
If we do not find, either in the styles that Hermeto played throughout
his career, or in the dynamics established by him with society, sufficient justification
for his musical language, where, then, and how shall we find an answer for his
noise and difference?

88

All the members of the Group, and Hermeto himself, point to the same spot:
his childhood in Alagoas. 94
How did I do it? The first time [at the age of seven] I tied a little piece of iron
to another with a string that passed through a small hole. Except there was no sound.
Suddenly my imagination told me: Look, tie them with a very fine wire, because it
wont damp the sound. I followed my intuition and began striking the pieces of iron
against each other. Then I began to discover music, to make melodies. (HERMETO,
Backstage, 1998)
When I was a little boy playing the eight-bass accordion, at the age of 8 or 9, I
played forr and it was like this: my brother played and I played the tambourine, then
wed exchange instruments. I played for people to dance at dances, at weddings and
when I had the eight-bass I already bent the eight bass. Then lots of people ran up
and said: take that gringo out of there, let his brother play and he can play the
tambourine, because the music hes playing is crazy. It was from the pieces of iron,
from striking those pieces of iron, that I took those harmonies. (HERMETO)95
(...) Until I was 14, I stayed in Lagoa da Canoa (Alagoas), my homeland, in
touch with nature. Everyone thinks that nature is nothing but that. It isnt. It can even
be found inside a car, on a busy avenue, at rush hour, in the rain. Nature, to me, is
everything you see before you. Its the everyday.(HERMETO, Backstage, 1998).

In fact, those experiments, combining harmonic sounds (from the accordion,

and the little flutes made of branches from the castor-oil tree) and inharmonic ones
(from the percussion of pieces of iron, from animals and from nature), seem to have
established compositional models for Hermetos language, and are reflected
musically in a conscious fashion through several autobiographical sound citations.
See in chapter I, for instance, the list of animal sounds Hermeto has used in his
94

The musicians are unanimous on this point. Bassist Itiber added musical creation based on images,
places and atmospheres to the search for musical models among the sounds of nature and everyday
sounds. As an example, he mentioned the composition Montreux, recorded on the LP of the same
name. This composition was made by Hermeto a few hours before it was played (and recorded) at the
Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Hermeto was sitting at his bedroom window, gazing at the lake in
front of the hotel, and wrote, without any instruments, on napkins that were lying on a table, the
composition that would be played that night and read from those very same napkins by Hermeto (on the
transverse flute), Jovino (on the piano) and Itiber (on the electric bass).
95

In an interview we conducted on 03/06/1999.

89

music. With regard to the sounds from the percussion of pieces of iron, Hermeto
refers to them directly in his composition Cores, which will be analyzed further
on, besides composing pieces, such as Ferragens, in which the harmonies attempt
to reproduce the inharmonic sounds of the pieces of iron.
In chapter I, pianist, Jovino suggests that Hermetos harmonic language often
superposes triads and other harmonic elements in a non-functional manner due to the
mechanism of the eight-bass accordion that he used to produce the inharmonic sound
of the pieces of iron during his childhood. That was how, according to Jovino,
Hermeto probably developed his own personal harmonic language, independently of
the musical schools or styles he came in touch with only later in his career.
Let us, then, examine how certain sound experiences that occurred during
Hermetos childhood might have influenced his harmonic language and his musical
conception as a whole. Before we begin the analyses, we must take a closer look at
some notions about acoustics that were briefly presented in chapter I, concerning
harmonic and inharmonic sounds. These notions will be used at different moments
of the analyses that will follow. Let us consider the phenomenon of sound
acoustically, and afterwards relate it to Hermetos music.
4.2. SPECTRAL TYPOLOGY 96
In chapter I, we said that the spectral typology of sound can be understood
acoustically in a tripartite manner: sine waves, harmonic, and inharmonic sounds.
With the exception of sine waves, 97 which do not generate (at least theoretically) 98
96

See Dennis Smalley in Simon Emmerson (Editor). Spectro-morphology and structuring process, The
language of Electroacoustic music. London: McMillan Press, 1986, pp. 61-96.
97
98

In Dennis Smalleys spectral typology, note proper.

The purity of the sine wave has a rather abstract character, because, from the viewpoint of our
perception, as soon as the sine waves vibrate in the atmosphere, they are modified by the means of sound
diffusion, the acoustic conditions of the space, and our own auditory system.

90

harmonics or partials, the spectra are defined according to the relations between
their components, that is, the lowest frequency and its harmonic or inharmonic
partials. Harmonics and inharmonic partials are the denominations for the sine
components, according to the type of spectrum they are part of. We shall use the
term harmonics in relation to the sine components of harmonic sound spectra, and
inharmonic partials when dealing with the sine components of inharmonic sound
spectra.
From the sine wave to the indistinct mass of noises, there is a wide range of
sounds. They are part of a sound continuum, in which one of the extremities is the
sine wave the frequency absolutely defined as to pitch (because it lacks partials) ,
and the other extremity is so-called white noise. White noise occurs when all the
frequencies that comprise our auditory scope are irregularly mixed. Colored noise
corresponds to a fixed frequency band or region from which white noise has been
filtered out. So it can be said that a sine wave consists of the smallest segment of a
white noise, or of a noise of extremely narrow color. 99

THE SINE WAVE-WHITE NOISE CONTINUUM

(sine wave)
Sine waves
(sound waves lacking
partials only obtained in
laboratories)

(white noise)
Harmonic Spectra

(present in most western

musical instruments)

Inharmonic Spectra
(percussion instruments,
organic noises, nature and
everyday noises,100 or
produced electronically,
colored and white noise.)

99

See Stockhausen in Menezes (org.). Msica Eletroacstica: histria e esttica. So Paulo: Edusp, 1996.
p. 63.
100

Examples of organic noises can be found in the sound of breathing and of heartbeats. In nature, the
sound of the wind, of waves, the rustling of leaves, thunder and lightning, etc. Everyday noises are also
varied: the sound of cars, planes, home appliances, the hissing of the tv, the sound of machines, etc. Some
of animal and machine sound spectra are harmonic or merged with noise.

91

4.2.1. HARMONIC SPECTRUMS

The sounds that have a harmonic spectrum are those in which the harmonics of
certain fundamental frequency are related by simple proportions. They are all simple
multiples of the lowest sound. Most musical instruments in the West present this type of
spectrum, and the very notion of musical sound that reigned absolute until the
beginning of the 20 th century is intimately related to harmonic spectral characteristics.
These characteristics made possible both the modal and the tonal systems, by providing
the ideal sonorous material for a musical discourse that prioritized pitches.
In the example below, sound number 1 is the fundamental frequency, the other
numbers are the harmonics related to it:

Example 3: The harmonic series

(a)

(b)

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

131

262

393

524

655

786

917

1048

1179

1310

1441

1572

1703

1834

1965

2096

Do2

Do3

Sol3

Do4

Mi4

Sol4

Sib4

Do5

Re5

Mi5

Fa#5

Sol5

La5

Sib5

Si5

Do6

131

262

392

523

659

784

932

1046

1175

1319

1430

1568

1760

1855

1976

2093

Line (a) shows the frequencies of the harmonics of C, which are obtained by multiplying 131
(the frequency in Hertz of C2) by 1, 2, 3 up to 16 (whole numbers). Line (b), for comparison, lists the
frequencies of the notes near to those harmonics in the tempered system. The harmonics underlined in
boldface have imprecise tuning.101

101

Example taken from Robert Cogan, Sonic Design. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1976, p. 438.

92

All the sounds of harmonic spectrum are based on interval relations such as the
example above. The fundamental C2 (sound 1) has harmonics in this sequence: its
octave (harm. 2, C3); then its fifth

102

(harm. 3, G3); its octave (harm. 4, C4); its major

third major (harm. 5, E4); its fifth (harm. 6, G4); diminished seventh (harm.7, B-flat4);
octave (harm. 8, C5); ninth (harm. 9, D5) and so on.
We perceive the sound of harmonic spectrum at a definite pitch, corresponding
to the fundamental frequency. The harmonics merge with it, modifying only its color
and timbre, which will be light or dark depending on whether the sound spectrum has
more, or fewer, high harmonics.103
4.2.2.I NHARMONIC S PECTRA
In inharmonic sounds, such as those from bells, carillons, pieces of iron, metallic
objects, natural noises and machine noises, percussion instruments, etc., the inharmonic
partials no longer conform to the simple proportionality of the harmonic sounds, but
multiply the lowest frequency of the spectrum not only by whole numbers, but also by
fractional numbers. As we shall see, the partials of bells do not merge with the lowest
frequency, as happens with the fundamental of harmonic sounds. That is why the
pitches that are perceived and the timbre or color of the sound of bells are more
dynamic and changeable than in the other type of spectrum.
In the 20th century, the hegemonic esthetics of pitches, prioritized in
harmonic sounds, began to be questioned by several movements, from Luigi
102

Beginning with the 3rd harmonic, the intervals between them and the generating sound become
compound.
103

It is the greater or smaller presence of high harmonics, besides other factors that we shall mention, that
distinguishes, for instance, the timbre of a flute from that of a violin. In the sound spectrum of the flute,
the high harmonics have less amplitude than the lower ones, which is the opposite of what occurs with the
violin. This makes the latter be perceived as more brilliant, and the flute as darker. Cf. Menezes (org.) and
Cogan, op. cit. p. 347-400.

93

Russolos futuristic noisism to Pierre Schaeffers concrete music, and including

the electronic music of the composers connected to the Cologne Studio, and
electroacoustic and spectral music. Nevertheless, the musical use of noise was not
restricted to the experimentation that occurred within contemporary classical
music. The noisification of the landscape of sound was a process that took place in
industrialized modern society as a whole and, consequently, in popular music,
through the hissing of radio dials, of phonograph needles and of television sets
when off the air, of the transformation of sound by synthesis and digitization at the
disposition of the public with the commercialization of electronic keyboards

104

pedals and echo chambers, the filtering and distortion of sound, the amplified
buzzing of the electric guitar, of the drums in the Samba Schools, the hoarse
howling of bluesmen, the scratchy overtones of trumpeters and saxophonists,
etc., etc., etc.
Before analyzing how the inharmonic sounds were incorporated into Hermeto
Pascoals music, let us examine the characteristics of the sound spectra of metallic
objects, such as bells. These characteristics will be useful when we consider the
experiences Hermeto had with the sound of the percussion of pieces of iron, as well
as their esthetic implications.
Below are the results presented by Pierce105 of the analysis of the inharmonic
spectrum of a Hemony bell manufactured in Holland in the mid-17th century.

104
105

The first keyboard synthesizer was the Yamaha DX-7, in the 1970s.

John R. Pierce, The Science of music sound. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1983, p.204.
We do not present the example on a score because the author did not specify the frequencies involved,
only the relations between them.

94

Partial

Relation with p f, or perceived frequency

Residual partial

0.5 pf (one octave lower)

First

pf (perceived frequency)

Third

1.2 p f (a compound minor third)

Fifth

1.5 p f (a compound fifth)

Eighth

2 p f (a compound octave)

Ninth

2.5 p f (a compound octave plus a major third)

The above spectrum is a little different from the one presented in example one

(the harmonic spectrum). Besides containing a residual partial one octave below the
perceived frequency (0.5 of the p f), the inharmonic spectrum of the Hemony bell also
presents the minor third (3rd partial) and the major third (9th partial) of the p f . Despite
the distance between the two partials, the effect of their superposition can be clearly
perceived.106
Spectral composer Jonathan Harvey is another researcher who worked with the
sounds of bells. Harvey studied the great tenor bell of Winchester Cathedral, which emits
a powerful secondary note in 347 Hz (F 3), with a strong element of beat. 107 Beats are
the result of two simultaneous sound waves with slightly different frequencies. 108 The
beats of the sound of the great tenor bell enable its vibrations to be heard even far from
the cathedral, through a tremulous and disturbing effect (Harvey, 1986). That effect is
the result of the inharmonic superposition of the partials of Do (the lowest frequency of

106

This characteristic of the spectrums of bells made their manufacturers try, for a long time, to
manufacture bells that produced, as in the spectrum of harmonic sounds, the major third instead of the
minor, or both of them together, which was even worse. This only became possible very recently, through
research on the relation between the shape of the bell and its sound spectrum. For details, see The Science
of music sound, p.203.
107
108

Cf. Jonathan Harvey in Simon Emerson, op. cit. pp. 175-190.

Beats are psycho-acoustic effects that occur differently in each sound register, and also depend on the
instruments or sonorous sources that are producing them. About beats and mask effect, see Cogan,
op. cit. pp. 370-385.

95

the spectrum) added to those of F (the secondary attack note) and the beats that occur in
this superposition, as we can see in the example below.
Example 4: Spectrum of the Winchester Cathedral tenor bell

In the example above, the partials activated by Do 2 are superposed on those of

Fa 3 (secondary attack note). The latter are inside squares in the example. 109
Once again we note, in this second spectral analysis of the inharmonic partials of
bells, the presence of the 3rd minor and major,110 the former with greater amplitude
(volume). The sound spectrum of the secondary attack note (347 Hz or F3) is
superimposed on that of the lowest frequency (C2), producing an effect that is even
more dissonant than that of the Hemony bell. The oscillation modules of the partials
become very complex at the moment of attack, and it is only as the sound diminishes
and the higher partials diminish in amplitude that we can here clearly the lowest
frequency of the spectrum (the note C), which is the last one to fade away. This effect,
which is common in bells, cymbals, gongs and metallic objects in general, is called the
mask effect, and consists in the momentary hiding of the lowest frequency by partials
which have a greater amplitude than the lowest frequency itself. If in harmonic

109

See Harvey, op. cit. p. 182.

110

The 3rd major with approximate pitch.

96

spectrums the pitch of the fundamental frequency is perceived clearly and distinctly, in
the inharmonic sounds of bells the spectral components expand differently in time.
Due to the type of sound envelope that is characteristic of bells (the attack
followed by a long decrescendo 111), the perceived frequencies vary during the extinction
of the sound (due to the inharmonic fractioning of the partials and the mask effect),
and, consequently, the color and the timbre also vary. The moment of greatest
luminosity and textural density occurs exactly in the attack of the bells sound, and as
the sound decreases so does the luminosity, which darkens little by little, and its
compact mass becomes more transparent, 112 until the deepest component of that
spectrum, the lowest frequency, is completely unmasked.
It must be noted that the inharmonic and the pronouncedly imprecise
temperament of the partials of the Winchester Cathedral bell occur, as has already been
said, because they are not related by whole numbers. Thus, the scale formed by the
partials of this inharmonic spectrum is different and much less tempered than the one
found in harmonic spectra (see previous examples). This also explains why, up to the
beginning of the 20th century, harmonic sounds were considered as the musical sounds
par excellence. Since, in the modal and tonal system, the emphasis was on pitches, it
was necessary to have sonorous material that could be molded and controlled by the
composer according to the musical idiom of the time. That sonorous material consisted
especially of, as has been said, harmonic sounds, with precise pitch, the only exceptions
being the percussion instruments.

111

Open attack decay. See Smalley, op. cit. p.69.

112

See discussion on synesthesia in chap. II.

97

4.3. S PECTRAL MORPHOLOGY

Besides the spectral typology presented above, Dennis Smalley establishes
a corresponding morphology, based on the forms of attack of the sounds,
which constitute a temporal continuum similar to the one related to pitch
(the sine wave- white noise continuum):113

1. Separate impulse-attacks

2. Iteration

3. Grain

4. Effluvial state

In the first state, the attacks of the sounds are separated by pauses. In the second,
the attacks are compressed and the sounds become a single object, with no
interruptions. When the impulse-attacks become still more compact, we go from
iteration to the perception of grain, in which the attacks lose every trace of separate
identity. In the final stage of this temporal continuum, the compression is so extreme
that the granular sound qualities acquire another morphology, giving place to what
Smalley calls the effluvial state. 114
The spectral typology and the morphology presented above constitute a single
term spectromorphology. The two parts of the term refer to the harmonic or
inharmonic sound spectrums and the forms they acquire as time passes morphology.

113

See Smalley, op. cit., pp. 68-73.

114

See Smalley, op. cit.

98

4.4. T HE UNITARY SOUND

The speed of the vibrations, the multiplication by whole and fractional numbers
that the harmonics and the inharmonic partials operate on the lowest frequency, the
greater or lesser density with which the sound impulses reach the ear are temporal
relations that enable us to identify not only the different pitches, durations, timbres and
intensities but also the multiplicity of the harmonic and inharmonic sounds. As
Karlheinz Stockhausen states in the text The unity of musical time:
(...) the differences in acoustic perception are all basically due to the differences
in the temporal structures of the vibrations. (...) The aperiodic vibrations that are
called noise correspond (...) to aperiodic rhythms without a recognizable meter.
That is why the so-called dissonance in the scope of the vibrations corresponds
to the syncope in the scope of the duration. [The underlineations are ours].
(STOCKHAUSEN in Menezes, 1996: p.142)

What K. Stockhausen wishes to stress is that the traditional division of

the four parameters of sound as separate and isolated entities is arbitrary, since,
psycho-acoustically, the parameters are inter-related phenomena. The timbre
is linked to the pitch, which, in turn, is related to the duration, which is related
to the dynamics or intensity.
In the table below, we consider the sound spectrums and parameters seen
through the shared lens of time:

99

Table of correspondence

Periodicity

Aperiodicity

Harmonic sounds
Sounds with precise pitch

Inharmonic sounds
Organic noises, natural, everyday, and
electronic. sounds produced by the
percussion of bells or iron, animal
sounds, etc.

Woodwinds, strings and brass

Percussion instruments

Binary, ternary, quaternary, etc.

rhythmic patterns (meter)

Polyrhythmic models, rhythmic

patterns (meter) syncopations.
Rhythmic configurations without a
recognizable meter.

Predominance of consonance
and tempered intervals
Timbre and color of harmonic sounds
(the harmonics multiply the fundamental
frequency by whole numbers, merging
with it and modifying only its color)

Predominance of dissonance and

non- tempered intervals
Timbres of inharmonic sounds (the
partials multiply the lowest frequency
by whole and fractional numbers, not
merging with the lowest frequency).

Harmonic-melodic dimension

Color dimension

In this way, we can interconnect a specific sound phenomenon, grain, for

example, to the different parameters and spectrums of sound.
From the viewpoint of timbre, Pierre Schaeffer connected grain to roughness and
to the sounds produced by scraping and rubbing. 115
From the viewpoint of pitch, the notion of grain can be related to the
aperiodicity (dissonance) of the frequencies that constitute certain harmonic-melodic
combinations, as well as to the also aperiodic (fractional) disposition of the partials
of the inharmonic sound spectra.

115

Pierre Schaeffer, Tratado dos objetos musicais. Braslia: Edunb, 1993

100

From the viewpoint of duration, grain is perceived when the sound attacks are
produced at such a speed that the individual sounds lose their identity, and are no longer
separate impulses, or when the sound impulses lack a recognizable meter, being
combined in a very irregular and compact form.
The sound envelope of the dynamics of a sound can, in its turn, contribute to the
perception of grain, as, for instance, at the exact moment of the attack of the sounds of
bells, when the activated partials have more amplitude and the timbre is more luminous
and thicker in texture.
The perception of grain can also occur through instrumental resources, such
as

trills,

tremolos,

frullati,

percussion

rolls,

rapid

rhythmic

figurations

(uninterrupted impulse-attacks) and dense textural combinations with saturation

caused by strong amplitude.
It is based on that perspective of sound that we examine Hermetos
conception and language.
4.5. H ERMETO S EXTENDED PERCEPTION
The acoustic terminology mentioned above, and the researches in sound done in
laboratories by classical composers with the sounds of bells, sine waves and noises, are
probably strange and unknown to Hermeto, for, as has already been said, the path he
followed towards the discovery of the noises of animals and of nature, and of the
inharmonic sound complexes produced by the percussion of pieces of iron, as well as
the musical use he made of them, did not depend on contact with classical tendencies,
such as concrete, electronic, electroacoustical and spectral music. We addressed the
issues of acoustic terminology and laboratory research with the sole intent of delving
deeper into the universe of sound perceived by Hermeto.

101

Endowed with extremely keen hearing, with a perfect ear, Hermeto is not only
capable of relating precisely the different sound frequencies to the names of their
corresponding musical notes, but can also hear within the sound, doing approximately
what the above spectral analyses did through instruments. It is that heightened perception
that seems to have transformed the experiences with sound that occurred in Hermetos
childhood into models of harmony, melody, rhythm and timbre that have inspired him
throughout his mature life, and have constantly influenced his musical language.
Let us see, for instance, the beginning of the first movement of the composition
Ferragens116, for piano solo, in which Hermeto attempts to reconstruct the sound
ambience of the pieces of iron.

Example 5: "Ferragens" (1st bar)

Observe, in the right hand, a melody that is a series of ten different notes,
harmonized, in turn, by chords of joined seconds, indefinite from the tonal point of view
and with which the notes of the melody have no functional relation. On the contrary, the
relation between the harmony and the melody in this first bar approach grain and
colored noise.
116

Composed, but not recorded, during the period under study.

102

As we have already said enough about the notion of grain, let us briefly
consider colored noise. It is filtered from white noise, in which all the frequencies
that constitute the scope of our perception are mixed in an extremely irregular
manner. The perception of color in colored noises occurs because the partials that
constitute their spectrums are comprehended in a certain band or region of
frequency (filtered from white noise) and, in spite of being very irregularly
disposed within it and having different amplitudes, can still be perceived as color.
We have related the inharmonic sound complexes of Ferragens to colored
noise, for the sound spectrums of bells and pieces of iron, when struck, are on the
borderline between harmonic sound and noise. 117 As K. Stockhausen explains:

Each complex [or inharmonic] sound can, then, be considered in two ways:
on the one hand, as a composite of partial sounds or, on the other hand, as a colored
noise. (STOCKHAUSEN in Menezes, 1996: 63/66)

The harmonic profile of Ferragens, consisting of clusters of major and minor

seconds and other dissonant intervals, approaches, in our view, the spectromorphology
of grain and of colored noises, because of the beats provoked by those intervals at the
moment of the attack of the chords. In the beats, the frequencies are close to each
other, and oscillate rapidly and unequally, producing a tremolo effect similar to the
sound of the Winchester Cathedral bell. The perception of a, so to speak, harmonic
fundamental frequency from the acoustic viewpoint that would correspond to the

117

See the notion of node in Smalley, op. cit. While the sounds of bells are inharmonic, but allow the
identification of different pitches during the sound envelope, the spectrums of pieces of iron, such as the
plate struck in the composition Cores, are even more complex than those of bells.

103

hierarchizing function of the tonic in the tonal system, in Ferragens gives place to the
colors of noise spectrums and to the morphology of grains.
The characteristic sound envelope of bells (attack followed by prolonged decay)
is also present in Ferragens, for the chords in the left hand are arpeggiated (attacked)
only once, adding themselves to the right hand notes, also played only once. The
duration of the last three notes of each group of triplets is extended at the performers
discretion (fermata), as well as the arpeggiated chord in the right hand. Both are
sounded simultaneously during the decrescendo of sound. The piano pedal, in its turn,
will be pressed until the instrumentalist proceeds to the next measure, so as to guarantee
the sustaining and the extension of the sound attacked by both hands.
As we have seen in the examples of the sounds of bells, the partials
multiply the lowest frequency by whole and fractional numbers, which makes
their sound spectrums contain the major and minor third, and makes the intervals
between the partials and the generating sound different and much less tempered
than those of harmonic spectrums. The simultaneous presence of the major
and minor third of the lowest frequency118 is, in itself, enough to jolt the notion
of tonality, for it is the third that defines the state of the minor and major chords.
The shock or beat of partials is also heightened by the secondary attack notes,
which, themselves, generate another series of partials that are superposed on
the one generated by the fundamental frequency.

118

As we showed before, in the spectrum of the Dutch Hemony bell, although the minor third and the
major third are separated from each other by other partials within the spectrum, and they possess different
amplitudes, even so we can perceive clearly the dissonant and tonally indefinite effect of their interval
superposition.

104

Some of those characteristics can be identified in Ferragens, especially

through the vertical sound complexes present in the piece, formed by major and minor
seconds and other dissonant intervals, superimposed on the melodic notes in the right
hand, which, as they systematically do not double the notes of the chords (in the left
hand), seem to be totally independent of them, like the secondary attack notes of the
sound of bells. The triplets in fermata reinforce this effect even more, simulating the
oscillating rhythm of the lowest frequency added to the secondary attack notes. The first
note of each group of triplets would correspond to the lowest note produced at the
moment of the attack of the bell sound, and the other two would be the secondary notes,
which begin to reverberate like waves after the first attack.
Ferragens is a good example of how Hermeto proceeds along the sine wavenoise continuum, combining inharmonic sounds to the sounds of conventional
instruments, and creating a permanent dialogue between the different spectra. In this
case, and in many similar ones, Hermeto creates an intersection, a fusion between the
different sound spectra. In Ferragens, however, that fusion is accomplished only by
the piano. In the repertoire we shall analyze next, the model of Ferragens is developed
for other instruments of the Group.
At this point, the hypothesis suggested by Jovino in Chap. I, which was a clue
for our research while at the same time being added to, will be extended still further.
Jovino suggested that Hermetos harmonic conception had its roots in the composers
childhood, when he combined the triads and isolated notes of the accordion with
the sounds of pieces of iron when struck. Let us see how that specific harmonic tool
was used in Ferragens.

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Below we exemplify the polychords found in the first and last measures
of the first bar of Ferragens.

Example 6: Ferragens (1st bar, first measure)

In this example, the two triads that comprise the polychord cross in the middle
region of the piano A2, B-flat2, C3). The clusters are idiomatic in this piece, playing the
double part of sound mask, making it difficult to perceive the pitches and producing
border-sounds between harmony and timbre.
In the following example, however, (first bar, fifth measure), the two triads that
comprise the polychord are more separate. The chord formed by the left hand notes
suggest B minor with minor seventh and minor ninth (B, D, F-sharp, A, C) or D major
with both sixth and seventh. It is interesting to note that the major third of B is in the
right hand triad (E-flat, enharmonically D-sharp), as also happens in the sound spectra
of bells, in which the presence of both minor and major third of the lowest frequency is
a constant.

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Example 7: Ferragens (1st bar, fifth measure)

sol 3, sib 3 e m ib 4
(Mib m a ior)

si 2, re 3, fa# 2, la
1, do 3 (Si m enor
com 7 e 9 m e nor )

In the first, second and fourth measures of the following bar, we can observe
different triads arpeggiated melodically.

Example 8: 2nd Bar

Since the triads (E minor, G-flat major and C major) do not establish any tonal
relation amongst themselves, nor with any of the left hand chords, it can be said that
they are, in some measure, camouflaged in the dense harmonic texture. The notes that
are marked by squares in the example above, which are articulated after or between the
triads, sounding together with them, also contribute to alter the characteristics of the
triadic sounds.

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We can perceive, in the left hand (poly) chords, some triads that are
superimposed in joint position. In the two examples below, we have separated the triads
and have presented some of their notes enharmonically.

Example 9: (bar 2, 1st measure)

R m aior

Reb m a ior
(ttrade )

Example 10: (bar 2, 2nd measure)

F dim inuto
(ttrade )

D m a ior
(com baixo e m m i)

The result of the superposition of the triads (and tetrads) in the harmony and
melody is: in the first measure of the second bar, D major + D-flat major (harmony) + E
minor (melody) and, in the following measure of the same bar, C major + F diminished
(harmony) + G-flat major (melody).
When Jovino refers to the constant presence of superposed triads in Hermetos
harmonic language, it is hard to imagine how the resulting sound obtained by the

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composer can be non-conventional, since triads are the model structures of the tonal
system. Hermeto, however, does not use the triads tonally, for, inspired by
the inharmonic sounds of the pieces of iron, beats that originate in secondary attack
notes and pronounced discord, Hermeto combines the triads in a non-functional manner,
added to other combinations of intervals, such as chords and melodic fragments
in fourths and tritones, with added seconds and their inversions, sixths, etc., all present
in Ferragens.
It can be said that the inharmonic spectra of the sounds of pieces of iron and of
animals are culturally filtered by Hermeto through the triads. What is fascinating is the
paradox of the situation: simple harmonic elements such as triads will become complex
harmonic combinations, in which we lose sight of their original elements. Those
harmonic combinations form a veil, a sound mask that forms a tenuous limit between
Hermetos language and his conception.
Agreeing with the composer himself, Jovino recognizes certain influences that
the sound experiences with pieces of iron had on Hermetos harmonic language. To
Jovinos important observation, we must add that the influence of the experiences with
the sounds of pieces of iron, of nature and of animals does not seem to be restricted to
the way in which triads and other combinations of intervals occur in Hermetos
harmony. In our view, the influence of those inharmonic sounds can also be observed in
the timbral-textural, melodic, dynamic and rhythmic aspects of Hermetos music, for
the form articulated by the different elements of his musical language is subordinated to
a conception that embodies those elements.
Sound is conceived by Hermeto in an integrated manner. The spectra and
parameters are related as if they were synesthetic correspondents and mirrors of each
other. Hermeto solfeges the noises and other inharmonic sounds with his perfect ear,
classifying them and using them as if they were sounds with precise pitch. In that way,

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he filters the grain of a parrots cry, of the barking of dogs or the braying of a donkey,
perceiving in them exact pitches that were, however, hidden in the undistinguished
mass of those animal sounds. Likewise, Hermeto can write a composition for a set of
clogs, or pans with sand, or a set of metal pipes, or hands striking water, etc.
Conversely, he can make conventional instruments themselves produce blends
of noises and sounds with a definite pitch and by making, for instance, the baritone sax
play next to the snares of the snare drum, by playing the berrante and the flute
underwater, by singing inside a kettle, by wrapping the piano strings with crepe tape
and newspaper, etc.
Although the seeds of Hermetos conception, as well as the noise and
difference of his language, can be found first in his childhood, it is important to
stress that the experiences with sound that occurred decades ago in Lagoa da Canoa
are constantly updated by Hermeto in the big cities. His perfect ear, his capacity
for perceiving inharmonic sounds, that is, the extended perception that was evident
from his earliest childhood, follow him wherever he may be. As Hermeto himself
said in the quotation at the beginning of this chapter: Until the age of 14 I stayed
in Lagoa da Canoa, my homeland, in touch with nature. Everyone thinks that nature
is nothing but that. It isnt. It can even be found inside a car on a busy avenue, at
rush hour, in the rain. Nature, to me, is everything you see before you.
Its the everyday. (Hermeto, Backstage, 1998).

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5. SELECTED ANALYSES
5.1. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE REPERTOIRE
The different aspects that were previously discussed, regarding Hermetos
conception and language such as, for instance, synesthesia, the opening up to the
universe of inharmonic sound traditionally considered non-musical, the polyrhythms
and asymmetries inspired by the rhythm of speech and of animals, the research with
timbres and noises, the polychordal harmonic language, the influence of Northeastern
music, the importance of improvisation in the creative process, the irreverent and ludic
spirit, etc., appear at different moments in the analyses we shall proceed to make.
The first five compositions we analyzed were recorded on the first album made
by Hermeto Pascoal & Group, entitled Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo (Som da Gente,
1982).
Less than a year after Carlos Malta and Mrcio Bahia joined the group,
the repertoire presented in that first album already reveals a high degree of cohesion and
a high level of technical master. The compositions Srie de Arco and Briguinha
de msicos malucos no coreto are veritable tours de force. In the former, the
musician who has the most demanding part is, indubitably, the pianist, Jovino Santos,
followed by the drummer, Mrcio Bahia, but in Briguinha, Hermeto spares
no member of the group.
De bandeja e tudo has a modal harmony on a bass ostinato on E, combined
with the levada119 , also syncopated and polyrhythmic, of the drums. The chords, built
in the manner of medieval organa, induce a solemn and mystical impression, which is
dissolved in Hermetos virtuoso flute solo, in the middle part.
119

Levada is a term used in popular music meaning a certain rhythmic or rhythmic-harmonic design
which is repeated during passages in the composition, serving as a base for improvised themes and/or
solos.

111

Cores is a melody played alternately and then in unison, by the sax, the guitar,
the transverse flute and the bass sax, in different tempos, from the lento to the andante.
Hermeto combines the instrumental sounds with the sounds of cicadas and of the
striking of an iron plate, whose inharmonic spectrum the composer transcribes for the
piano at the end of the piece. The title of the composition, Cores (Colors) also
points to the sound-image synesthesia, due to the dimension of color established by the
use of the inharmonic sounds of the percussion of the metal and of the cicadas
combined with the instruments of the band.
Magimani Sagei, contrary to the other compositions mentioned above, was
written for the drums, exploring this percussion instrument as if it were melodic. The
drums were freely retuned and, based on the notes obtained, Hermeto created seven
rhythmic-melodic levadas. The melodic use of an instrument that is essentially
rhythmic, as occurs in Magimani Sagei, is yet another indication of how Hermeto
moves among the different parameters and spectrums of sound, constantly crossing
between them and merging them.
Papagaio Alegre was composed in 1981 and recorded on the LP Lagoa da
Canoa, Municpio de Arapiraca (Som da Gente, 1984), Hermeto and Groups second
album. Papagaio Alegre was composed by Hermeto in a single day, during the
rehearsal with the Group. The composition presents modal harmonic-melodic and
northeastern rhythmic language, and after it was recorded Hermeto added the sound of
the parrot in Coco rhythm.
Arapu is from the LP Brasil Universo (Som da Gente, 1985) and was
composed after a trip to Europe, during which a baritone sax and a DX-7 keyboard were
acquired. Hermeto composed it exploring the sounds of the new instruments, which
gave Arapu the characteristics of a study for the sax and all the other instruments in
the band. Due to the exploration of the low pitches, the piece was entitled Arapu, the
name of a bee whose buzzing is also very low pitched.

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Aula de natao, from the CD Festa dos Deuses (Polygram, 1992) is an

example of what Hermeto calls aura music, which basically consists of the notion that
speech is a non-conventional melody, in which the aura musician perceives the pitches
and durations (the melody), harmonizing them at will. Aura music is supposed to be
the sound photo of an image that is invisible to the eye. It can only be perceived through
sensibility.
5.2. G RAPHIC AND CONVENTIONAL SCORES
None of the compositions we analyzed, excepting only Arapu and Papagaio
Alegre, had their arrangements written in score, using staff notation. 120 This was due to
the creative process of Hermeto Pascoal & Group, in which the instrumental parts were
composed sequentially, one after the other, with each musician noting only his own
part. Usually, Hermeto started with the piano or the wind instruments, and would later
do the bass, the drums and the percussion. 121
Certain instrumental parts of this repertoire were not to be found in the
composers archives, and even the ones that were found are mostly schematic. They
contain, besides indications regarding pitch and duration, others scribbled on the corners
of the pages and generally referring to the different musical sections, their respective
rhythmic-harmonic conventions, etc. Whether written down or simply annotated, the
parts usually ended up being memorized by each musician.
Because of the orality that characterized the creative process of Hermeto Pascoal
& Group, we have opted for making graphic scores of the eight compositions chosen for

120

The scores for Arapu and Papagaio Alegre were written by Jovino Santos, the pianist, after he
left the band.
121

See chap. III.

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analysis.122 The scores will represent the resulting sound that was recorded. In them we
establish a temporal axis for each musical part or section, under which the instrumental
entrances are indicated.
The signs below, taken from Smalley (1986), will be used to represent the
morphology of the different types of sound attack:

1. Separate impulse-attacks, followed by pause.

2. Connected impulse-attacks, are perceived as a single object (iteration)
3. Increasing the compression between the attacks, iteration gives place to perception
of grain.
4. The final stage of compression will dissolve the granular qualities into a continuous
state (effluvial).
Those four morphological states can appear combined or, yet, with slight
variations. Since the duration of the decay of a sound varies according to the instrument
and the intensity of the attack, the separate impulse-attacks may appear in different
ways, such as, for example:

122

Since Arapu is long, and since we have the score of its arrangement (made by Jovino, the pianist),
we have decided not to make a graphic score for it.

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In addition, in sustained sounds, such as those from wind instruments, the decay
and the sound profile are controlled by the musician in a way that is different from
strummed strings, the piano and the drums. Different representations can occur,
depending on the dynamics used by the performer:

Though very useful for the analysis of textural and timbral combinations, these
signs have the disadvantage, with regard to Hermetos music, of being imprecise
in the notation of pitches. In spite of that, through the graphic scores we are able
to ascertain, though only approximately, how the sound parameters are related
between themselves. This relation will be completed by comparing the graphic scores
to the conventional ones, and taking from the latter musical examples written
by Hermeto and by the musicians during the period under study. 123
The graphic scores also indicate the improvisations made during the recording
and not previously registered by the musicians.
In those scores, the instruments that participate in the performance are indicated
vertically. Above them, we have the time axis that contains the three main items
of information: the total duration of the parts or sections of the piece; the duration
of shorter segments and auxiliary members of form; the change from one part to
another, or other sound events.

123

See the CD appendix, with the compositions analyzed recorded by Hermeto Pascoal & Group.

115

Example:
Title of the Composition: Srie de Arco
Total duration: 3.52 (Three minutes and fifty-two seconds)
Form: Ternary (A B A)
- A - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1.39 (duration of the part or section A)
-

- - - - - - - 0.16 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (indicates the duration of shorter segments)

0.00

0.16 (indicates the beginning and the end of the parts and subparts

and auxiliary members of form, or, yet, indications of the original score and others
of interest).
Below the information regarding the times of the piece, there is a
corresponding axis of dynamics that indicates the intensities produced in ensemble
by Hermeto Pascoal & Group during the performance. The signs of dynamics and
accent can also occur in the individual lines of the instruments when they have an
intensity that differs from the ensemble.
We also use the following abbreviations:
. U. T. Unit of time
. b. - bar
. b. 1 Bar 1 or first bar
. b. 1. 1 first bar, first beat
. b. 1. 1. 1 first bar, first beat, first half of beat
. r. h., l. h. right hand and left hand

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5.3. M USICAL ANALYSES

5.3.1. SRIE

DE

ARCO (HOOP SERIES), LP HERMETO PASCOAL & GRUPO

(SOM DA GENTE, 1982) 124

Creative Process: The composition was originally made for a piano solo. The
sister of Jovino, the pianist, was an Olympic gymnast, and had to execute a
choreographic series with a hoop. Jovino suggested that Hermeto compose a piece for
his sisters series. The two of them went to the gymnasium to see the choreography, and
Hermeto asked Jovino to time each sequence of movements. With the duration of each
sequence within the Olympic series, Hermeto later composed, at home, the first version
of Srie de Arco for a piano solo, a study-piece that Jovino would play and record for
his sisters choreography.
The manuscript of Hermetos score clearly shows the synchronization desired
between the musical composition and the Olympic choreography. The different musical
sections are indicated in the score by lower-case letters (from a to e) that suggest a
correspondence between the musical times and the choreographic ones, set down during
the visit to the stadium. This correspondence is also important for understanding the
elasticity of its rhythmic and harmonic construction.
The other members of the group suggested that the piece should be extended into an
arrangement for all of them, and this was done: the flute was the first instrument to be
added to the part of piano solo, the bass and the drums were the last.
Data registered in score: The piano and drum parts that Jovino and Mrcio still
had. The other parts were not found in the composers archives.

124

CD SDG- 010/92.

117

It does not have a key signature, as occurs in the other compositions by

Hermeto that we analyzed, which indicates that, in the case of Srie de Arco, the
harmonic idiom employed by the composer is not tonal.
Schematic form: Ternary (A B A)
(U. T. ca. 40 in A)

Total duration: 3.53

Instrumentation: Flute, piccolo, soprano sax, piano, harmonium, electric bass, drums
and percussion.
Graphic score of the recorded piece:

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Srie de Arco is practically all notated. There are no solos, in the sense
ascribed to the term in traditional jazz, that is, the melodic creation (improvisation)
made by an instrumentalist based on a pre-established harmonic basis. The dynamics
of the different parts of the piece are not written and must have been established orally
during the rehearsals that preceded the recording.
Percussive sounds are used sparingly in this composition, and their
appearance is related to different moments of its construction. For instance, in bars
10 and 11 (see example 16), while the flute executes trills (minor seconds) in its
highest register, and the piano executes clusters also in the high register and in trills,
the voice is used percussively with a sound of rrrrrs, produced in the high register
with the tongue fluttering rapidly at the roof of the mouth. The timbre grain of these
fluttering sounds combines with the clusters of the piano and the chromatic trills of
the flute (bars 10 and 11), confirming the relation that we previously made between
timbre, pitch, duration and intensity, and of how the perception of grain occurs in
these different parameters.

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As the graphic score clearly shows, this composition has an increasing textural
form, with its climax occurring in the last part (A), similar to most of the compositions
in the repertoire we analyzed.
Srie de Arco is an excellent example of how Hermeto works with triads and
polychords, for they are present in almost the entire piece. As in Persichettis definition,
quoted in Chapter I, which mentions the rapid changes of non-polytonal polychords, the
polychords in Srie de Arco change practically from measure to measure, creating an
extremely fluid and shifty harmonic ambiance, related to the choreographic movements
and rhythms.
In A, we can see in b.1.3.1 , on an A-flat pedal (with an ostinato in fifths, A-flat,
E-flat, B-flat, in the left hand of the piano) + G major and, in 1.3.2, A-flat + C major.
In 1.4.1, A-flat (A-flat, E-flat, F, G) + Re major (with the enharmonic note of G-flat)
and, in 1.4.2, A-flat + C-flat major:

Example 11: 1st bar, passage of a(0.00- 0.05)

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The complicating factor of the triadic superposition in Srie de Arco is the

difficulty in specifying the chords in each combination. In certain harmonic situations,
several readings are possible. For instance, in the third measure of the second bar we
can consider the note B in the right hand as the third of the chord of G major, but we
can also consider the note G as the third of E-flat major. In the first case, the chord of G
major would be superimposed on that of D major ( arpeggiated and marked in the
example by radiating lines) and, in the second case, we would have E-flat major (with
the third in the bass) in the left hand + B minor with seventh in the right hand. We
prefer the second possibility. In the measure that follows in the same bar (b.2.4), the left
hand chord (E-flat major in inversion) remains unaltered, while the right hand
arpeggiates F-sharp, A, C, D, F natural.
Example 12: 2nd bar, continuation of a ( 0.6 - 0. 11)

The interval of a fourth with added second is used melodically in the examples
above (motives marked by circles). In the examples that follow, the intervals of fourths
are disposed vertically:

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Example 13: passage of b(0. 16- 0.19)

Example 14: passage from c ( 0.32- 0.37)

In the example below, the quartal chords with added second in the right hand
are transposed a descending major seventh in the left hand, resulting in a crescendo
towards the climax of tension in A with the clusters (played in tremolos) on the right
hand in b. 10 and 11, example 6.
Example 15: 8th bar, continuation of c (0.37- 0.42)

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Example 16: 10th and 11th bars, passage from d (0.47- 0.56)

Hermetos creative process is characterized by the successive addition of

instrumental layers. Let us now consider the second instrument to be done in Srie
de Arco, the flute in C.

In the first part, this instrument begins in unison with the piano melody
(b. 1 to 3). In b.4 it acquires greater rhythmic-melodic independence with a
modal phrase in G Dorian.

Example 17: 4th bar (0.16- 0.19)

In b.5 the flute returns to the same rhythm as the piano, but with other notes, and
in b.6 there appears a citation of the northeastern music of Hermetos youth, with the
scale of A in Mixolydian mode with augmented eleventh, a northeastern mode. The

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harmony that accompanies the modal phrasing of the flute is polychordal and
establishes quite a dissonant relation with the melody played by the flute. E-flat major
with added second in the right hand + A-flat M inverted (c.6.1 and 6.3) and E-flat major
+ B-flat M also inverted in the left hand (c.6.2 and 6.4).

Example 18: 6th bar (0.27- 0.32)

The piccolo is used sporadically, doubling the flute an octave higher.

In the second part, the flute is replaced by the soprano sax. The second part
of Srie de Arco is the moment of the greatest rhythmic-melodic contrast between
the wind instruments and the piano. Polyrhythmic procedures occur between the piano,
whose rhythm the bass usually doubles, the sax and the drums. The contrast in timbre,
with the replacement of the flute by the sax, and the entrance of the bass and the drums,
and the rhythmic tension of this intermediate part is further underscored by the
louder dynamics.
The third part is a re-exposition of the first, modified by the entrance of the bass
and the drums, and by the increasing speed of the tempo. The music ends with a short
coda in free jazz style.

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The desired correspondence between music and choreography indicates the

image-sound relation in Hermeto, who creates, in Srie de Arco, a writing that
attempts to represent the constant agility, fluidity and contrasts of the Olympic
choreography. For that reason, the polychords vary so frequently, and there is also a
very rapid alternation of the rhythmic figurations that subdivide the unit of time (quarter
note ca. 40) in 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 16 parts.
To the rhythmic contrasts there correspond certain contrasts in pitch. For
example, in the very first two bars of the piece, the motif of the piano in semiquavers
consists of, as has already been said, intervals of fourths with added second and has a
descending direction, while the demisemiquavers of b. 1.3 and 1.4 and the rhythmic
group of notes of twelve times in b.2.3 and 2.4 are polychordal structures and have
descending (b.1) and alternating (b.2) directions. The directions of the motifs are
marked by arrows in the example below:
Example 19: 1st and 2nd bars (0.00 0.10)

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Thus, the dialogue established between motifs with different directions becomes
one of the focal points of the piece, and this dialogue finds its inspiration in the
alternation and choreographic exploration of the low, medium and high planes.
Since the rhythmic model of the piano, which was the first instrument to be
done, is polyrhythmic itself, (see, for instance, in the very first two bars, the pattern in
semiquavers in the left hand combined with demisemiquavers and sextuplets in the right

hand), the other instruments share and develop this polyrhythm, especially the drums,
beginning with their entrance in B, which sometimes execute the same rhythmic
patterns as the piano and sometimes provide a counterpoint to them, polyrhythmically
superposing binary and ternary divisions.
Example 20: A, 34th bar (2.26- 2.28)

The polyrhythms in Srie de Arco make the rhythmic supports fall

systematically on different measures within the bar. The quick harmonic changes, the
variety of the figures of time present in the piece, and the polyrhythmic polyphony are
clearly inspired by the gestural movements of contraction and expansion, rising and
falling of Jovinos sisters choreographic solo.

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5.3.2. BRIGUINHA
QUARRELING

DE MSICOS MALUCOS NO CORETO

ON THE

(CRAZY MUSICIANS

BANDSTAND), LP HERMETO PASCOAL & GRUPO,

(SOM DA GENTE, 1982)

Creative process: Written initially for baritone sax and accompaniment, with
phrasing suitable for the instrument. The first written score is for the piano, the right
hand playing the melody and, for the left hand, the figures with indications for the
rhythmic divisions. Later, Hermeto made several variations. One of them is the
canonical second part, and the third part as a frevo.
According to saxophonist Carlos Malta, the idea for the second part emerged
during the rehearsals, when the musicians decreased the tempo in order to study the
difficult individual parts more slowly. The melody, originally composed in semiquavers
with a quick tempo (U.T. ca. 100), lost its natural vivacity, for it had to be executed
much more slowly than in its original tempo. In an interview, Malta told us that was
how the idea of playing the piece at different speeds came about. Hermeto seemed to
like the idea, and that was how he conceived the second part of the piece, in which each
musician would enter playing one after the other, and the successive entrances would
produce a kind of stretto whose musical effect finally suggested the title of the piece.
Data registered on score: Hermetos original score, as has already been
mentioned, consists of harmony with rhythmic division indicated, and melody. Another
piano score, with the rhythmic-harmonic design of the first and third parts of the
composition, was handwritten by the pianist himself, from whom we obtained it. We do
not have the bass part, but in the recording that instrument accompanies the piano
chords based on the lowest notes indicated in the figures. The score for the drums in the
second part is completely written-out, while the third part is indicated in the drummers
score only with the name of the style, FREVO. According to that indication, the
drummer improvises a levada in that style. As we said in chapter three, as one record
followed another, indications like that began to appear more frequently for all the
members of the group.125

125

Mrcio Bahia told us in an interview that throughout the years that he played with Hermeto, he
(Mrcio) gradually registered more and more levadas in the most diverse rhythms. The levadas that were

127

Schematic form: Ternary (A AA)

Total duration: 4.48
Instrumentation: Bass sax, soprano sax, acoustic piano(s), electric bass, drums,
percussion (tambourine, reco-reco) and voice.
Graphic score of the recorded piece:

annotated by the musician began to be part of his own sound repertoire, establishing a vocabulary shared
by composer and performer.

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We can tell from the graphic score that the degree of timbral-textural density
caused by the greater proximity of the instrumental attacks in A is diluted in A and
enhanced in A. This happens because in the second part of the piece (A), the theme is
varied by augmentation in the bass sax.
The successive entrances of the same theme in the manner of a fugue dislocate
the lines that were simultaneous and parallel in A and so, because of that, produced
homophonic texture. In A, the entrances in fugato, out of phase with each other due to
short pauses, produce a tremulous image with outlines that intertwine polyphonically in
time in a non-conventional manner.

129

Part A is executed by piano solo, bass sax and soprano sax in the melody, and
another piano in the accompaniment. The theme consists of two parts:

Example 21: (0.0 - 1.01)

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In the second part, the longest one in the piece, the drums enter with a quite
syncopated rhythmic design, joining the canon with individual entrances in stretto.
This second part is extremely difficult, for the musicians must execute, during
approximately two minutes, complicated individual parts while at the same time hearing
each one of the other musicians, ahead of, or behind, what they are doing. The result is
totally polyrhythmic, and the effect of its sound was linked to the title of the piece:
Briguinha de msicos malucos no coreto (Crazy Musicians Quarreling in the
Bandshell). After the second part there is a brief instrumental convention126 before the
modified re-exposition of the frevo from the first part, with drums and percussion
(tambourine) now added, and played in an even faster tempo than at the beginning (U.T.
ca. 120/130), in a virtuosic tutti.
Hermetos original manuscript contains a harmony that is only executed in the
second part of the piece. In the first and third parts , the harmony recorded on the LP is
a variation of that written part, and was made later by the composer. Thus, we can note
126

Convention is a term used in popular music to indicate a certain usually short musical passage, predetermined and executed by one or more performers. The convention is used as an opening or link
between the musical sections.

131

that the final result registered in the recording was not even imagined by Hermeto at the
beginning of the composition. The process of musical creation and elaboration of
Hermeto Pascoal & Group, as noted in the preceding chapter, was always dynamic. That
is why the parts of the compositions that we analyze are sketches of a shifting design
and are always out of phase with what happened after they were written. In short, the
final result of Briguinha depends entirely on a dynamic process, in which the
musicians suggested ideas on top of those initially introduced by Hermeto, and this
communication results in the ternary musical structure and the arrangements recorded
on the LP.
5.3.3. MAGIMANI SAGEI, LP HERMETO PASCOAL & GRUPO (SOM DA GENTE, 1982)
Creative process: Unlike the other compositions, Magimani Sagei was
made on the drums, exploring the instrument melodically. The composer and
the drummer tuned the parts of the instrument, bass drum, tom toms and snare drum,
to different notes from low register to medium. Without preconceiving the desired
pitches, they obtained a certain sequence that was pleasant to the ears of both. 127
After that, the composer sat down at the instrument and began to create
different phrases, which the drummer, Mrcio Bahia, noted on the score. In all,
seven rhythmic-melodic phrases were used as levadas. 128 The next step was
transcribing the drum notes for the bass, which begins to play in unison with
the drums or, at other moments, responds to them.
Finally, the woodwinds (flute in C and piccolo), the rattles and sleigh bells of
the percussion, and the conventions where the musicians yell wildly, were composed.

127
128

According to what drummer Mrcio Bahia told us in an interview.

These levadas became riffs beginning at part A. Riff is a term from rock and jazz adopted by
popular music, and it designates a certain short rhythmic-melodic design usually executed by the drums
and the bass, or by the drums, the bass and the electric guitar.

132

In the studio, the Indian words invented by the recording technician, and the dog
barks recorded at Hermetos house, were added after the studio recording.
Data registered on score: There are the parts for the drummer, the flute and
the piccolo. The general structure of the piece is represented on the score with
the different sequences of the drums disposed, as has been mentioned before, in riffs
with the bass. The flute melody merges with those riffs, in a dialogue that sometimes
reinforces them rhythmically and sometimes becomes silent, while the drums and
the bass continue. The parts also contain the instrumental breaks for the whole
group, in which appears the indication yells.
Schematic form: Binary (A A)
(U.T. ca. 80)

Total duration: 4.46

Instrumentation: Bass flute, transverse flute in C, piccolo, bamboo flutes, ocarina,
ukulele,

bass,

voice, dogs.

drums,

percussion

(arrow,

sleigh

bells,

rattles,

whistles),

133

Graphic score of the recorded piece:

e7
mp

mf

e4

mf

134

e7

mf

cre sce pouco

This is the most improvised piece in the entire 1982 album. The written structure
consists only of the drums, bass, flute and piccolo. The rest was all created in the studio.
In alternate passages of the piece, Hermeto superposes on the ostinati of the bass and the
drums, three dogs barking, the technician, Z Luiz, imitating an Indian talking, and
considers all of that as the harmonic base on which the bamboo flutes, the bass flute
and the ocarinas establish an improvised dialogue. The grainy timbre of the barks of the
dogs, Spock, Princesa and Bolo, the onomatopoeias and yells of the members of the
Group combine with the frullati, trills and glissandos of the flutes in a rhythmic-textural
crescendo that reaches its climax at the end of the piece with the rhythmic-melodic
design of levadas 6 and 7. Before presenting the seven rhythmic-melodic phrases of the
drums (levadas), it is necessary to explain the notation for the instrument used by
Mrcio Bahia:

135

Drum parts Notation

Example 22: rhythmic-melodic phrases

136

137

The theme of A is of a percussive nature, and punctuates the rhythmic-melodic

phrases of the drums and the electric bass presented in A (see examples above). The
constant pauses of the flute and the ukulele make possible the dialogue with the bass
and the drums:
Example 23: A. (1.44- 2.24 and 2.54- 3.12)

Those twenty bars of the theme occur during the first four levadas of the
drums in A. The pedal notes played by the bass and the drums are B-flat, F, Aflat, B-flat. Added to the mode of B-flat Dorian (b. 1 to 11) and to the scale of
whole tones beginning with B-flat, played by the flute and joined by the ukulele (b.
15 to 20) we have a mixed and alternating scalar range, in which the greater
intervallic tension of the scale in whole tones corresponds to a greater rhythmic

138

compression (b. 15 to 20). Beginning from c. 20, the flute reinforces the rhythmic
ostinati of the drums, as can be seen in the example below, when the flute
reproduces the design of levada 7:
Example 24: (4.03- 4.31)

The formal binary structure of Magimani Sagei is constructed through

similarity and derivation. In Part A, the seven levadas of the drums are heard in
sequence, but in Part A the levadas are divided into three large groups: the first
consists of levadas 1, 2, 3 and 4, accompanied by the flute theme (example 2). After the
instrumental break, the second group is a ritornello of the first, and then, after a new
instrumental break, we have the final group, with levadas 5, 6 and 7, accompanied by
the flute in ostinato rhythmic-melodic designs that are increasingly compressed
(example 3).
The bass flute, the several bamboo flutes, the ocarinas, the dog barks, the yells
and the Indian words were added in playback by the composer and the musicians in
the studio. The dogs or singing dogs (as they are called in the inset of the LP), Spock,
Bolo and Princesa, were recorded at Hermetos house and added to the instruments
after the recording had been made. The Indian words (oir, gorecotara, tanajura,
etc.) were invented by the studio technician, Z Luiz, at Hermetos request. All the
members of the group blow whistles and occasionally speak disconnected words,
producing onomatopoeic sounds and yelling. The result alludes to the tribal, to the
ambiance and sound landscape of the eponymous civilized Indian woman, Magimani

139

Sagei. She is one of Hermetos alter egos, and the Indian sound ambiance of the
composition is, in the composers mind, related to his childhood in Lagoa da Canoa.
It is, however, most interesting to check how this transference or projection, to
use psychoanalytical jargon, occurs musically. The rich exploration of timbre present in
Magimani Sagei, which the graphic scores illustrate in an approximate manner, shows
how the harmonic and inharmonic sounds coexist in Hermetos musical language. The
use of animal sounds by Hermeto represents a rupture of the conventional limits of the
harmonic sound material called musical. More than picturesque, the inclusion by
Hermeto of animal sounds and other non-conventional sounds into the musical
territories represents, at the same time, a violent transgression and a pleasant reimmersion of the particular music into the universal sound. In Magimani Sagei,
that reunion is reached through the Dionysian feast in which the body is invited to the
rising movement of the tribal dance suggested by the music.

5.3.4.CORES (COLORS), LP HERMETO PASCOAL & GRUPO (SOM DA GENTE, 1982)

Creative process: This piece was found by chance on the overleaf of the score
of another composition of Hermetos. Initially, it was played by the soprano sax and the
piano, then the bass and the drums were added. Progressively, several instrumental
conventions were created based on this first score, as well as the different levadas in
each part. After the instruments were recorded, Hermeto added the sound of the cicada
recorded in the garden of his house.
Data registered on score: Melody, harmony and rhythm before the Final Part.
In the piano part, besides the melody and the harmony, there are indications for each
part of the piece with rhythmic division (B) or, like the drums, only the indication of a
style, in this case, the baio (B). Also in the piano part, there is a chord that was

140

written by Hermeto, in order to reproduce the partials of the iron that is struck in the
Final Part. The part for the drums is the most detailed of all.
Schematic form: A B ABA B A
Total duration: 5.27
Instrumentation: Cicada, bass sax, soprano sax, bass, ovation guitar, acoustic and
electric pianos, percussion and drums.
Graphic score of the recorded piece:

141

142

As can be seen from the graphic score, the sound of the cicada recorded by
Hermeto is complex, and moves through practically the full range of the morphological
types that were mentioned before. It begins with impulse-attacks separated by short
pauses, going from iteration to grain, and finally extends into a sustained sound of
perceptible pitch. The sound of the cicada in Cores moves through the sine wave-noise
continuum backwards, that is, it begins as noise and afterwards becomes harmonic sound.
The piece itself, however, moves in the opposite direction, that is, it comes
closer to noise in the long final Part that is the moment of greatest complexity in
texture, timbre and harmony. In an interview, Hermeto told us that he recorded the
cicada because of the tenderness of its sound and because, when the cicada sings, it
is saying farewell to life. The composition was called Cores because, according t o
Hermeto, the rainbow has something to do with the sound of the cicada, the
rainbow as sight, the cicada as sound. Each color has several shades. Whoever is
perceptive enough to attain to the sounds of the cicada, the harmonics sees a
rainbow of sound that passes through the comae dividing the semitones. Hermeto

143

compares the auditory perception of the harmonics and partials of the sound of the
cicada to the colored layers of the rainbow.
The sections recorded on the album are variations of the original part found by
the musicians. The musical structure suggests the form of a rondo, the sound of the
cicada is always followed by the instrumental theme, which varies at every repetition.
Part A (0.0- 0.10) introduces the slightly discordant sound of a cicada on Gsharp 4, accompanied by the acoustic piano. The cicada was recorded at home by
Hermeto after the piece had been recorded in the studio. It is interesting to observe that
the cicadas note is an augmented fourth in relation to the chord of D major with major
seventh and ninth, with which the piece begins. Sharper dissonances than the
augmented fourth appear in Cores, and are always related to the intervention of the
cicada. Those interventions are accompanied by the sound of bells, of whistles and of
the iron plate struck in the final Part. However, since the sensation of dissonance greatly
depends on the harmonic-melodic context in which it is inserted not to mention the
cultural context in Cores the constant reiteration of the sound of the cicada and of
the dissonant chords and inharmonic percussive sounds that accompany it create a
harmonic ambiance that is quite non-conventional, but that Hermeto manages to make
natural and quotidian.
Part B has a slow tempo, being accompanied by the piano e soloed alternately
by the soprano sax (b. 1 to 3 - 0.11- 0.33 and b. 10 - 1.15- 1.22), the
ovation guitar (b. 4 to 5 - 0.35- 0.45 and b. 8 to 9 - 1.03- 1.11) and bass flute
(b. 6 to 7 - 0.48- 1.01). The theme is dismembered coloristically (the alternate
instrumental entrances are indicated by arrows in the graphic score), and the
succession of timbres and instrumental articulations becomes one of the focal points
of interest. The written melody is ornamented with appoggiaturas and grace notes, in
a slow tempo and quite flexible time. The irregular texture becomes homophonic in

144

b. 11 (1.23) with the instruments playing the end of the theme in unison. The piano
harmony reinforces the textural contrast with richly dissonant chords.
In the example below, the theme is of a tonal nature. The 1 st phrase presented in
b. 1 to 3 is used as material for the construction of the entire theme and is in Reb major.
The 2nd b. of the 1st phrase, slightly modified in its rhythm, is condensed and sequenced
in b. 4 to b. 7 during the 2 nd phrase. The 4th and last phrase of the theme (b. 14 to 16)
presents as new material the rhythm in semiquavers and the angular and ascendant
profile of b.15 and 16 in contrast with the previous wavy profile.
The harmony of the theme does not underline its tonal nature and was written in
figures topped by the rhythm in which they should be played. The non-conventional
notation of some figures in Cores will be explained after the following example.
Example 25: (0.11- 2.08)

145

Cores presents citations in sound of all the seeds of Hermetos musical

conception sounds of animals and of struck iron and shows how this conception was
translated into musical language by Hermeto Pascoal & Group.
In several moments of the theme (b. 2.3, 3.3, 5.4.1, 7.2, and b. 11 to 13), the
figures appear disposed one over the other. This type of notation, which does not exist
in popular music nor in jazz, was invented by Hermeto himself:

146

Example 26: Bar 5

Example 27: Bar 7

In these figures, the lower chord of the figure played by the left hand contains
only one low note from which the marked intervals are realized. For example, in
conventional notation, the figure G indicates a G major triad, but in the notation used by
Hermeto in the examples above, if G were, as has been said, in the lower part of the
figure, it would simply be the note G in the left hand. If the same letter G were
accompanied by numbers (2, 4, 5-, 7+, 9-, etc.) beside, above or below it, these numbers
would be certain intervals beginning from the note G. As for the upper part of the figure
played by the right hand, it can be noted by Hermeto in the conventional manner as well
as in the notation he created.

147

In example 26,

means, in the right hand, a D major triad (D, F-sharp, A)

and, in the left hand, the notes G (the bass), D# (the augmented fifth of G) and F (the
minor seventh). It is important to note that these intervallic combinations are not always
polychordal, for, in some cases, Hermeto omits the third of the chord(s).This, however,
does not stop us from characterizing such combinations as the result of incomplete
triadic superpositions.
The reason why these types of harmonic combinations are uncommon in the
universes of Brazilian popular music and of jazz can be found in the dissonant
intervallic relations of the notes within the chords themselves, and of these in relation to
the notes of the melody. The chords in examples 26 and 27 contain the major and minor
seventh, respectively, of the bass G and F, separated by an interval of a minor ninth.
The simultaneous presence of the major and minor seventh, and the dissonance
produced by the interval of a minor ninth that separates them inside each chord, are
more than enough to go counter to the popular harmonic language that conventionally
considers such combinations as mistakes in harmony.
In passages such as the following example, Hermeto first transposes the same
intervallic structure (b. 11), and then writes both figures according to the notation he
invented (b. 12). It should be observed that, beginning from this passage, the melody
will be intentionally played in unison by the soprano sax, the bass sax, the flute and the
guitar, after these instruments had been playing alternately, except for the bass sax,
playing parts of the theme in bars 1 to 10. The instrumental contrast, that is, the timbre,
corresponds to the harmonic contrast. If in bars 1 to 10 the non-conventional figures
were sporadic, in the passage below they occur in every measure:

148

Example 28: b. 11 and 12 of the theme (1.22- 1.44)

P oli-a cordes
transpostos

Cifra gem no conve ncional

tanto na s c ifra s infe riores
com o na s superiore s
Ide m

After the theme is presented, there follows a brief harmonic-melodic passage

that serves both as an extension of the last phrase of the theme and as a bridge for
A.129 This passage is important because it presents part of the harmonic material that is
used in the long final Part, when the sound of the cicada and of an iron plaque, whose
partials are transposed to the piano, are superposed on the final instrumental tutti.

129

In the score written by Hermeto, this passage is indicated simply as Bridge.

149

Example 29: (2.08 - 2.17)

In that passage, the soprano sax leads the en bloc section formed by the guitar,
the bass sax, plus another sax added in playback, with all the instruments in the low
register. The melody executed by sax 1 and doubled by the guitar an octave below, is
characterized by chromaticism and is, as well as the other notes of the en bloc section,
in a quite dissonant relation with the harmony in double figuring.
The dense texture of the bridge is dissolved in A, when we once again hear the
cicada heard at the beginning, with its sharp call on G# 4 (approximately). Whistles and
shaking bells are added to the chords executed by the first and second pianos, played by
Jovino and by bassist Itiber, respectively. The electric piano plays the same harmony
as in the previous example an octave higher, in syncopation, with the acoustic piano,
which plays in half notes:

150

Example 30: (2.18 - 2.25)

B has a slightly faster tempo than B and, in this part, the drums and the bass
enter. The drums play the rhythm in demisemiquavers on the snare drum, with the bass
drum in syncopation. The bass plays in quarter notes and eighth notes (the same rhythm
as the piano). The electric piano that entered in the bridge to A also continues, making
inversions of the harmony of the acoustic piano, always in syncopation. The rhythm
created by the two pianos is reminiscent of the northeastern galope, and becomes a
frevo at the end of this part of the piece. The melody is executed by the soprano sax and
doubled to the octave by the guitar played by guest performer Heraldo do Monte, and
by Hermetos bass sax. There is another instrumental break (A), consisting of the
sound of the cicada and accompanied solely by the percussion and the grave flute in
staccato, which separates one musical section from the other.

151

In a continuous rhythmic crescendo in B, the bass executes rhythmic designs that

are more subdivided than in B and B, and the acoustic piano is in the baio rhythm.
Example 31: Rhythm of piano 1 in B

In counterpoint to the rhythm of the piano, the drums execute the following design:
Example 32: (3.32- 4.07)

The theme is played in unison by the sax, the guitar and the bass sax, just as in B.
With a faster tempo than in the previous part, and also a stronger intensity, the
music reaches its climax and subsequent relaxation in the Final Part, the moment of
greatest complexity of rhythm, texture and timbre in the whole piece. In the Final Part
we repeatedly hear the sound of the cicada, which becomes a treble pedal on G-sharp 4,
over Hermetos improvised solo on the bass sax. Initially, the harmony has the same
harmonic material as A (example 5), a sequence of four chords in non-conventional
figures and with low pedal on C-sharp:

152

Example 33: (4.29- 4.36)

Next, the first of those four chords is repeated one octave higher during four bars
(4.36- 4.50). The chord that follows it was written by Hermeto, transposing to the
piano the partials of the inharmonic sound spectrum of the iron plate that is struck
throughout the entire Final Part, discerned by Hermeto with his accurate hearing.
Example 34: Chord formed by the partials of the iron plate

That chord is played in the following rhythm, in preparation for the subsequent climax:
Example 35: Piano before the Climax

153

It is over this ostinato on piano 1, reinforced by the subdivided frevo rhythm

improvised on the drums by Mrcio Bahia, that the climax of the entire piece occurs.
All the instruments are in dynamics f or ff, the sax over the cicada combines with the
chord from piano 2, which is the same as the one from piano 1, transposed an octave
lower in the left hand and an octave higher in the right hand. The dislocation of the
natural accentuation of the times that the syncopation establishes in the line of the sax,
of piano 2 and of the iron plate should be noted.

154

Example 36: Climax (4'57'' - 5'.10'')

155

The piece ends with a general fadeout beginning from the last chord of the
example above, when, for the last time, we hear the shrill of the cicada a cappella.
Cores is an excellent example of how Hermeto moves between harmonic and
inharmonic spectra. The brief and repeated interventions of the cicada are presented
during the piece accompanied solely by the piano (or, also, percussion instruments), as
if Hermeto wished to emphasize the sound and the timbre of the cicada, in contrast with
the instrumental timbres.
In the Final Part, Hermeto finally joins the sharp and dissonant shrill of the
cicada with the other instruments. The non-tempered sound of the cicada serves as
portal leading to the final inharmoniousness and noisiness. Because of this, Cores is a
piece which is continuously corroding. The sound of the cicada progressively infiltrates
its inharmonic irregularity into the instrumental harmonic tissue. And it is important to
observe that the choice of the sound of animals which Hermeto records after the pieces
are ready is not gratuitous. Each sound produced by a specific animal is related to a
particular piece, which has relations of similarity and contrast with that sound. In
Cores, that relation is exemplified especially in the way Hermeto manipulates the
harmonic material that is in non-conventional figures.

5.3.5.DE

BANDEJA E TUDO

(WITH TRAY

AND

ALL), LP HERMETO PASCOAL &

GRUPO (SOM DA GENTE, 1982)

Creative process: Like Cores, De bandeja e tudo is also a composition
made by Hermeto years previously and reworked for the album in 1982. It was
originally played on the harmonium instead of the piano. In the new version, the bass,
the melody and the accompaniment had already been composed previously, and the
drums were the last instrument to be used.
This piece remained in Hermetos repertoire for years, and pianist Jovino Santos
kept the parts of the several arrangements that were made. One of those parts is exactly

156

the variation heard at the end of the re-exposition, and which Hermeto no longer even
remembered. With the whole piece already recorded during a session in the studio,
Jovino reminded Hermeto of the old variation that the musicians called little devils,
which was then added in playback on the piano, the flute and the piccolo.
Data registered on score: The piano part, in 7/4 time, with melody and bass in the left
hand (16 bar theme) and the part for the drums. There is no register of the harmony of
the bridge between the themes or of the harmony on which Hermeto improvises on the
alto flute.
Schematic form: Ternary (A B A)
(U.T. ca. 110)

Total duration: 5.48

Instrumentation: Soprano sax, bass flute, flute in C and piccolo, voice, acoustic piano,
clavinets

(Hermeto

and

Jovino),

electric

guitar,

bass,

drums,

percussion.

157

Graphic score of the recorded piece:

158

The almost one-minute long introduction was improvised by Heraldo on the

electric guitar and by Hermeto on the percussion. This introduction has three parts: the
1st (0.00 0.15) and the 3rd (0.55 - 1. 03) explore a pronounced chromaticism
(of which the minimum unit the interval of the minor second also characterizes the
beginning of the theme in E Phrygian mode in A and A), while the second part of the
introduction (0.36 0.54) briefly cites the northeast through the Mixolydian scale
with the augmented eleventh. The chromatic ambiance alternates different dynamics,

159

and the suspense it inspires is complemented by granular percussive sounds produced

by the cymbals of the drum set, whistles and guttural laughter.
Partially constructed with material derived from the theme, the introduction
creates the climate for the entrance of the theme, with the bass in octave with the left
hand of the piano, and the melody on the piano, the electric guitar and the soprano sax.

Example 37: Theme, b.1 to 8 (1.15- 1.45 and 2.02 - 2.32)

160

The theme (b. 1 to 4 and ritornello) initially has modal characteristics (E

Phrygian), and each note, in the beginning and throughout the entire theme (b. 1 to 8) is
harmonized by a chord whose extreme notes are in octaves, to which are added the
perfect fourth and fifth (which Hermeto calls 1-4-5-8). This chord is very powerful, for
the notes it consists of are very close harmonics of the fundamental. Its sonority seems
to have an imposing, solemn and mystical effect, probably because this chord has a long
history within the musical vocabulary of the West. It resembles the first medieval
organa, in which the main voice was doubled at the fifth or fourth by the organal voice
(vox organalis). Later, parallel fifths were considered solecisms according to the
harmonic practice of the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical periods. They would only

161

reappear in modern music, with Claude Debussy (in La Cathedrale Engloutie, for
example) and Erik Satie. Since then, their characteristic and rather heavy sonority has
been incorporated in jazz, and especially in rock, with the so-called power chords.
In bars 5 and 6, the low pedal remains on E (E-B-E), but the right hand is in D
Phrygian, and in bars 7 and 8, in F Dorian. The combination of E-B (low pedal in the
left hand) + D Phrygian re and F Dorian (in the right hand) reinforces the tendency of
Hermetos harmonic idiom to work simultaneously with distinct poles, which, in this
case, are modal.
The left hand on the piano is doubled at the lower octave by the electric bass,
always with a quite syncopated rhythmic design and, as has already been said, having
the note E as ostinato pedal. The drums accompany the piano and bass with a unison
rhythm in quavers on the bass drum, snare drum and syncopation, which is repeated
throughout the entire theme, in counterpoint to the other instruments. The theme is
heard twice in the first and second parts, always separated by a brief bridge (not
annotated in the example above).
The middle section (B), the longest in the entire piece, is an improvisation
executed by Hermeto on the alto flute, with a simple harmony and rhythm still in 7/4.
Hermeto exhibits his skill on the flute, producing frullati, trills, and several multi-phonic
resources, such as producing notes with his mouth and playing at the same time.
Part A is finally presented again, with a slightly faster tempo and with the
superposition of the aforementioned melodic variation at the end, played by the flute
(the little devils). The passage below is the texturally densest moment of the entire
piece, reinforced by the dynamics in mf and f, besides the harmonic-melodic tension
and dissonance:

162

Example 38: (5.14 - 5.43)

163

Throughout the piece, Hermeto progressively develops the texture of the theme,
adding, in playback, other voices that double it at the fifth and octave. After the melody
written for a transposing instrument had been recorded, Hermeto would often ask Carlos
Malta, the saxophonist, to play and record the same melody without transposition, a
resource that produces a texture that is quite dense, as well as non-conventional
harmonic combinations.

5.3.6. PAPAGAIO ALEGRE (MERRY PARROT), LP LAGOA DA CANOA, MUNICPIO DE

ARAPIRACA (SOM DA GENTE, 1984)130
Creative process: Papagaio Alegre was composed in 1981, right after Carlos
Malta and Mrcio Bahia joined the band. It was composed and arranged in only one
day, during a rehearsal that lasted until late at night. Its orginal title was Its time you
finished, its already 10 p.m., which was what Ilza, Hermetos wife, said, because her
husband and the musicians had gone beyond their normal rehearsal time. The parrot was
recorded at Hermetos house and added after the recording was done.

130

CDSDG- 011/92

164

Data registered on score: The parts for each musician were scored by pianist
Jovino Santos. In the score made by Jovino, a line for the bass sax appears that was not
included in the recording.
Schematic form: Ternary (A B A)
(U.T. ca. 80)

Total Duration: 5.29

Instrumentation: Tenor sax, bass sax, CP 80 piano, electric bass, jerer and triangle.
Graphic score of the recorded piece:

165

The piece begins with the sound of Hermetos parrot in approximately the note
of B3 and in the rhythm of Coco (0.00- 0.02).
The accents of the parrots sound, as well as its pitch and rhythm, combine with
those of the instruments of the Group throughout the piece, as is shown in the graphic
score above.

166

The theme a is modal in nature, and Hermeto uses the Mixolydian scale of Sol
with augmented eleventh , whose intervallic structure also appeared in Srie de Arco
(b. 6) and De bandeja e tudo (introduction 2). The counter-point made by the line of
the bass with the main melody played by the tenor sax and played in octave by the
piccolo should be noted:
Example 39: (0'.10" - 0'.26")

167

Theme b consists of the same notes as in a, but the scalar pole falls on the
augmented fourth of G, that is, the note C-sharp. We have moved from a northeastern
mode to the superlocrian scale, an exotic scale.131

Example 40: (0.26- 0.42)

131

See Vincent Perischetti, op. cit. p. 42.

168

One should observe in the second tetrachord (beginning from the last note of the
first tetrachord) of the superlocrian scale, the consecutive major seconds, which give
this intervallic range a sonority similar to the scale of whole tones.
Example 41: Superlocrian scale in b

B contrasts with a not only from the viewpoint of pitch (of the different
scales that make up these sections of the theme), but also with reference to rhythm and
timbre. In b, the rhythm of the piccolo, the sax and the piano basically consists of
quavers, while in a semiquavers are more evident. Beginning in b and reinforcing the
exotic atmosphere established by the superlocrian scale, drummer Mrcio Bahia plays
the jerer, with ostinato rhythmic designs in semiquavers. 132

132

Papagaio Alegreis the first of the compositions analyzed by us that uses the sound of Tupperware,
plastic food containers. One day, drummer Mrcio Bahia took some shrimp to Hermetos house in a
Tupperware container, and during a casual conversation, Bahia drummed on the empty containers.
Hermeto liked the sound, and a set of Tupperware containers in several sizes was organized. Mrcio had
several of them hanging next to his drum set during the 1982-1992 period, adding them definitely to his

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In c 1, the harmonic context is once again modified. The bass is in C

Mixolydian with augmented eleventh, while the piano adds to the C Mixolydian the
minor ninth and the augmented ninth (D-flat and E-flat). This passage is where the
theme is most compressed rhythmically. The piano doubles the rhythmic design of the
piccolo and of the soprano sax, while the bass has greater rhythmic-melodic freedom,
changing its register to an octave higher.

Example 42: (0.43- 0. 58)

drum set combined with his percussion arsenal. The instrument was called jerer. Its writing in music will
be shown in the piece that comes next, Arapu, in which this instrument was also used by Hermeto.

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The scale formed by the notes of the piano and the bass in c1 is called
symmetrical or simply semitone, tone, semitone:

Example 43: Symmetrical scale

C2 is the textural climax of the entire theme, with four different levels, while
from the rhythmic viewpoint it represents a slackening of c 1, presenting figurations
also in quavers, as well as semiquavers. The notes on the bass and the piano (r. h. and l.
h.) remain related to the symmetrical scale of c 1, but the tenor sax presents a very
interesting triadic and ascending design:

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Example 44: (0.59 - 1.15) Theme 'c2'

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The harmonic context of the example above is the most dissonant of the entire
theme. The bass is in C Mixolydian with augmented eleventh , the piano is in the
symmetrical scale of C, while the tenor sax rises in arpeggios of successive triads (that
originate from the note A: A, C, E, G, B-flat, D, F-sharp, A) and descends using the
symmetrical scale. The successive arpeggios of the sax introduce the tensions of ninth
and thirteenth in relation to the bass in C Mixolydian (with 11+), while the symmetrical
scale includes the minor and major ninths of C, in addition to the thirteenth:
Example 45: (0.59 - 1.07)

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Separated from A by a quick instrumental convention already presented in the

introduction, in which the attacks of the sound of the parrot in coco rhythm and on the
note B stand out, the middle section (B) of Papagaio alegre is an improvisation
executed by Hermeto on the transverse flute over a simple and frolicsome forr
harmony. After the improvisation, part A is presented again, in a shortened manner
(without the repetition of c 1 and c 2), and in the coda we once again hear the parrot
a capella.

5.3.7.ARAPU, LP BRASIL UNIVERSO (SOM DA GENTE, 1986)133

Creative process: Composed for instruments that had just been bought among
others, the DX-7 keyboard and the baritone sax after a tour in Europe. With Arapu,
Hermeto intended to explore the resources and sonorities of those instruments. The
composer, however, ended up by preferring the acoustic piano to the electronic
keyboard, but the baritone sax was retained. The piano and the baritone sax were the
first to be composed during the collective rehearsals. The bass followed, and finally the
percussion and the drums.
This is one of Hermetos most atonal compositions. According to pianist Jovino,
the notes of the sax, the piano and the bass are not in a functional relation, but in a
relation of textural complementation. According to Jovino, Hermeto formed the initial
chords of Arapu with sonorities in a quartal scale, thinking of each note as a
complement in timbre to the texture of the whole, and not from the functional
viewpoint.

133

CDSDG 012/93

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It is important to stress that Arapu has the nature of a study. When he wrote
the piece especially for the baritone sax, Hermeto made it a technical exercise exploring
the complete tessitura of the instrument, and most especially of the low range.
But it was not only saxophonist Carlos Maltas part that was difficult. In the first
part, for instance, drummer Mrcio Bahia substituted the jerer (an instrument created
by Hermeto with plastic food containers of different sizes) for the drums.
After the piece was recorded, the texture of the piano, the baritone sax and the
bass, all in the low range, was associated by Hermeto with the Arapu bee, whose
buzzing is also low in pitch, thus naming the piece after it.
Data registered on score: The whole arrangement (score), 134, the transcription of the
improvised solo on the soprano sax, the parts for the jerer and the drums.
Schematic form: Ternary (A B A)
(U.T. ca. 165

Total duration: 6.38

Instrumentation: Piano, baritone sax, soprano sax, horn for calling cattle (berrante),
bass, drums, percussion (jerer).
Description of the recorded result:
A

________________________________ 7.35 __________________________________

- - - - 3.30 - - -
0.00 03.30

- - - 1.37 - - 3.31 5.06

- - - 2.28- 5.07 7.35

Solo on the berrante

Soprano sax
Baritone sax
Harmonium
Piano
Bass
Percussion (jerer)
134

Baritone sax
Piano
Bass
Drums

Reconstituted by pianist Jovino Santos.

Soprano sax
Baritone sax
Harmonium
Piano
Bass
Drums

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The piece basically consists of three large sections. The third is a re-exposition
of the first varied by substituting the drums for the jerer, and the middle section is a
levada in 6/4, in which Hermeto improvises a solo on the berrante played underwater.
This ternary form with an improvised middle section also occurs in other
compositions that we analyzed, such as Srie de Arco, De bandeja e tudo and
Papagaio alegre. In Arapu, however, Hermeto does not limit himself to only
improvising on the berrante in the 2nd part, he also executes virtuoso improvisations on
the soprano sax in the 1st and 3rd parts of the piece.
The jerer is extremely difficult, due to the very fast tempo and the syncopation.
The different rhythmic configurations are distributed among the different parts of the
instrument, as if it were a melodic instrument. This aspect of Hermetos writing for
percussion and drums is fundamental for the understanding of the peculiarities of the
composers style, and is exemplified not only in Arapu, but also in Srie de Arco,
Briguinha de msicos malucos no coreto and, especially, in Magimani Sagei,
besides other compositions by Hermeto. Hermeto, always questioning the boundaries
between harmonic and inharmonic sounds, views the drums rhythmically and also
melodically.
From the viewpoint of texture, this piece alternates monophonic, polyphonic and
heterophonic passages. The beginning of the first part has a monophonic texture, the
piano, the bass and the baritone sax are en bloc in the low range in a parallel movement,
beginning a long rise in arpeggios, in the manner of technical studies. The chord with
quartal sonority produced by the baritone sax, the bass and the piano remains unaltered
in its lowest notes, while their extremities open progressively as the pitch level rises:

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Example 46: bs. 1 to 17 (0.00 - 0.23)

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During this passage, Hermeto improvises on the harmonium, accompanying the

instrumental rise with sustained chords that change every two bars, formed by two
tritones (in bars 1 and 2 for example, B2 and F3 in the left hand and G3 and C-sharp4
in the right hand).

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As in several other passages of Arapu, the baritone sax and the highest voice
of the piano are separated by a minor ninth. The base-chord with quartal sonority in the
example above is:
Example 47: b.1

If we form a chord by condensing the arpeggiated pedal notes in bars 1 to 16, we

shall perceive why Hermeto linked this piece to the low-pitched buzzing of the arapu
bee. The juxtaposition of the notes in the low region makes it difficult to perceive the
pitches involved, while at the same time it produces a sound mass between harmonic
sound and noise, similar to the sound of bees:
Example 48: b. 1 - 16

After the initial rise, from bar 18 to 22 (0.24 - 0.34) the instruments execute
a phrase with a descending tendency still based on the chord in ex. 43, and then
alternate moments of greater or lesser syncopation and polyrhythm.

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One should note, in the following example, the four layers of texture formed
respectively by the right and left hands of the piano, the third by the electric bass and
the sax with the same rhythm, and the fourth by the jerer. The polyrhythm occurs in
every line, the right hand of the piano in rhythmical groups of notes and the left hand in
punctuated quavers, while the sax and the bass have rhythmic figurations that are not so
fast and are predominantly built by a contrary movement:
Example 49: b. 23 and 24 (0.35- 0.38)

In the following example, the polyphony is emphasized, and each line has a
rhythmic-melodic design. Observe how Hermeto superposes notes that are foreign to
the simple harmony in the l.h. of the piano:

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Example 50: b. 57 to 60 (1.28 - 1.34)

In this piece, the bass is treated melodically and as one of the voices of the group
formed by the baritone sax and the piano. This is important, for it shows a nonconventional exploration of the instrument by the composer. Contrary to Cores and
Briguinha de msicos malucos no coreto, in which the bass is limited almost to only
the heads (roots)135 of the figured chords, in Arapu the bass participates actively in
the monophonic and polyphonic web as a melodic instrument.

135

Heads of the chords, that is, the notes of lowest pitch indicated in the figures.

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The beginning of part B is a good example of how Hermeto uses that instrument.
The four bars below are actually a short bass solo by Itiber and, despite the tempo
Example 51: B, b. 99 to 102 (2.31 - 2.43)

being half of the initial one (U.T. ca. 88), the rapid figurations in semiquavers and
sextuplets are extremely difficult to execute:

The second part of Arapu is basically a levada in 6/4, on which Hermeto

improvises on the berrante. The harmony of that levada is built on material from A

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chords with sonority in Quartal scale always articulated in syncopation. The two bars
below are played during approximately one minute, while Hermeto solos on the
berrante:
Example 52: B, b. 108 and 109 (3.00

The use Hermeto makes of the berrante turns this typical object of popular
culture into an instrument with two octaves (sol 2 to sol 4), thanks to the bass sax
mouthpiece. The harmony is in C Mixolydian (figure C7) and Hermeto is in G
Dorian, exploring this mode in a northeastern manner. With a tart and granulated
timbre and with semi-tempered pitches, the berrante is used by Hermeto as a wind
instrument, with frullati, several multiphonic resources such as, for example, singing
and playing at the same time, and is also used percussively, with glissandi, etc., etc.
The natural timbre of the berrante is modified, for Hermeto plays it inside a bucket
full of water. The baritone sax is played by Carlos Malta near the snares of the snare
drum, making it vibrate with the notes from the sax, thus modifying the timbre of
the instrument, renamed Baricaixa.
The third part, as has already been said, is a re-exposition of the first , in a faster
tempo. In the re-exposition, the drummer, who played the jerer in the first part, does
not follow a score of any kind, and is free to create at will. He actually faces a double
challenge: playing an extremely difficult part for Tupperware in the first part, and, in the
re-exposition, improvising on the drums.

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The following example is the finale of the piece. The sax and the bass are in
their lowest regions. The sax is played with a tart and buzzing sonority, literally making
the instrument buzz.136
Notice that the piano chord

(or Mi major with sixth, ninth and

augmented eleventh) is continuously transposed a semitone above and below and is

over the notes of the sax and of the bass:
Example 53: A, b. 84 to 97 (6.17 - 6.35)

136

Buzzing is a term used in jazz that refers to a type of articulation and emission of sound that is
peculiar to the brasses and more specifically to the saxophone. The buzzing sonority of that instrument
was a resource much appreciated by jazzmen such as bass violist, arranger and composer Charles Mingus,
for example, not to mention Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane. The aggressive sonority, buzzing, was
used by those and other saxophonists as an alternative to the soft, fluty sound that the sax had in
traditional jazz.

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The complex chord formed by the superposition of the notes of the three
instruments in the example above once again takes us to the inharmonic spectrum
of bells, for it contains the major and minor third and seventh, as well as the
augmented fifth and minor ninth. It can be said that this chord is the result of
a systematic procedure in Hermetos harmonic language, resulting from the
superposition of simple triads:

Example 54: Final chord

Arapu can be considered a long study, a piece in which all the parts are quite
difficult and was, together with Briguinha de msicos malucos no coreto, one of the

185

pieces that were the most difficult for all the members of the group. At seven and a half
minutes of duration, with U.T. at 165 in the first and third parts, atonal harmony,
frequent use of polyrhythms and varied syncopation, Arapu is a real tour de force,
certainly one of the high points of the period under study, in which both composition
and performance are equally difficult, rich and virtuosic.

5.3.8. AULA

DE NATAO

(SWIMMING LESSON), CD FESTA

DOS

DEUSES

(POLYGRAM, 1992)137
Creative process: Proceeding with what he called aura music, examples of
which had been previously registered on records with passages from football radio
sportscasts,138 in Aula de natao Hermeto recorded a swimming lesson given by his
daughter, Fabola, a swimming teacher, in the swimming pool of his house in Jabour in
January, 1992.
Also in this 1992 album, Hermeto made aura music from a speech by former
president Fernando Collor de Mello and from a poem by Mrio Lago, recited by the
author himself. In Mrio Lagos poem, Hermeto superposed northeastern modal
melodies accompanied by the harmonium on the pitches of the spoken voice. The bass
drum and the triangle remind one of the typical forr trio, added to the harmonium to
follow the meter of the poem, alternating the different tempos the poet uses in his
interpretation.
In Aula de natao, Hermeto transposes the different durations and pitches of
the spoken voice in prose to the piano, resulting in a totally atonal melody of
asymmetric rhythm.

137

PLGBR 510407-2

138

See Tiruliluli and Vai mais garotinho in Brasil Universo, Som da Gente, 1984.

186

Data registered on score: We do not have the score because, although Jovino
performed the music in the album, he does not have the score. According to what Jovino
told us, Hermeto himself does not consider "aura music as being composed by him, but
by the speaker, therefore he did not give the written part to the pianist. Neither was it
found in Hermetos personal archives.
Schematic form: Binary (A A)
Total duration: 0.56
Instrumentation: Voices of the teacher and pupils, harmonium, sampler, sound
of water.

187

Graphic score of the recorded piece:

The piece was recorded by Hermeto and Jovino on a sampler during several
successive nights. The recorded voice was on one channel, and the keyboards that
accompanied it were on the others. There was no work done in the studio, for all the
sound material had already been recorded and mixed at Hermetos house. The place and
manner in which Aula de natao was recorded are an exception in the repertoire that
we analyzed, for, as we ascertained, none of the other pieces were recorded outside the
studio. Since this piece required only one performer, and due to the difficulty in
performing it, Hermeto and Jovino preferred to work alone.

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After Hermeto had written the notes for the speech of the swimming teacher (his
daughter, Fabola), that melody was divided into four segments, the durations of which,
noted in the score, served only as an approximate guideline of the aperiodic rhythms of
the spoken voice. Due to the rhythmic freedom of speech, difficult to note on a
conventional score, and to the speed with which the atonal melody developed, Jovino
said it was very hard work to obtain a perfect synchronization of music and speech. The
solution, according to him, was to follow the notation intuitively.
During the piece, one initially hears the swimming lesson through the teachers
and the childrens voices, and the sound of water in the pool (0.00 - 0.27). Then,
the same passage is repeated with the piano playing each spoken note and the
harmonium harmonizing them. The result is completely atonal, and rhythmically
asymmetrical. Aula de natao is quite different from the poem Trs coisas (Three
Things) recited by Mrio Lago on the same CD and also auralized by Hermeto. The
sound that results in Aula de natao is different from Trs coisas because Mrio
Lagos poem obeys a certain rhyming meter, and the pitches remain in a restricted
ambiance, while in Aula de natao the speech is colloquial and, therefore, the
rhythms cannot be metrified, besides which the pitches vary much more irregularly than
in a poem. Thus, Hermeto once again shows how his musical language incorporates
non-conventional elements taken from the everyday and from nature.
The denomination aura music was created by Hermeto and represents an
important development in his language, besides explicating very clearly his musical
conception. In recent interviews, Hermeto referred to aura music as being the music
of the future, thus acknowledging how important it is to him. We consider aura
music a logical development of Hermetos conception, the outlines of which can be

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found in some of the pieces we analyzed that were composed in the 1982-1992139
period.
Aura music reveals how Hermeto, with his perfect ear, receives the everyday
sound phenomena. The familiar becomes exotic and vice-versa, in a game that is a
constant source of creation and esthetic delight. Aura music is another example of the
transition of inharmonic sound to harmonic sound, for it is based on the notion that
when we speak, we are actually singing in a non-conventional way.
The singing of people, in my conception, the singing of each one of us, is what we
call speech. Just like the birds, we are birds, too. (PASCOAL, 1998) 140

But what kind of birds are we? And why does Hermeto consider aura music so
important? Perhaps the answer to these two questions is really only one: to Hermeto, we
are birds of perception, or rather, we become birds through perception. But how?
According to Hermeto, aura music works like a camera that photographs the
image of the sound. However, that image is not a mere register. Just as the way a
photographic negative is developed depends on the sensibility and the technique of the
photographer, and thus not all of them develop in the same way, the musician will
always create something when he develops his sonophotograph. The harmony of the
speech-song is spread out on its horizontal and melodic dimension to use Hermetos
own metaphor as if each melodic note were a harmonic and virtual grape or bunch of
grapes that it is up to the composer to recognize and reorganize creatively. The
complicating factor is that this virtual bunch consists not only of the notes of speech
but also of the partials they produce, which are rarely perceived by most people. The
139

And even long before that period. See, for example, Hermetos first album as a composer, Brazilian
adventure (the entire big-band playing on bottles), the Slave Mass album (with the participation of the
famous pigs), the experimental O galho da roseira, on the Seeds in the ground album, with Airto
Moreira and Flora Purim. See conclusion.
140

In an interview, which has already been mentioned, with Luiz Carlos Soroldi.

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same can be said with regard to rhythm, that is, from the speech-melody itself we can
deduce one or several periodic and aperiodic rhythmic patterns.
The aura musician is, at the same time, the photographer, the developer and the
creator. He is the one who captures the moment of sound through the recording,
develops the negative of the captured sound decoding the pitches, the durations, the
timbres and the intensities of speech and the one who creates, transforms, filters and
modifies the developed sound image, imprinting his own imagination on the final result.

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6. CONCLUSION
6.1. SUMMARY OF THE MUSICAL ANALYSES
In the previous chapter, we identified some of the elements that are part of
Hermeto Pascoals musical language. These elements, however, were presented
separately, in each one of the eight compositions that were analyzed. Before answering
the questions introduced in chapter 1, with regard to the conception of Hermeto
Pascoals musical language, we must understand as a whole the elements and signs of
that language that appeared separately in the previous chapter.
We shall now list the musical aspects that appeared in the analyses, grouping
them in each sound parameter. The procedure we adopt, of separating integrated sound
phenomena into groups, is a methodological strategy that only aims to offer a general
plan of the musical signs Hermeto uses. It is essential to remember that the parameters
are related and, therefore, are not isolated entities, nor are they autonomous with regard
to one another. Thus, the atonalism of Arapu and of the Final Part of Cores
included in the parameter pitch- is related not only to polyrhythm (in Arapu) and to
arrhythmia (in the Final Part of Cores) included in the parameter duration- but
also, in the parameter timbre, to the non-conventional exploration of conventional
instruments (in Arapu) and to the use of non-conventional sound sources (the cicada,
and the iron plaque that is struck, in Cores). 141

141

The concepts of periodicity and aperiodicity that we presented in chapter 4 are intended exactly to go
beyond the limits of the traditional approach, by taking the parameters as units, as emanations of musical
time. Cf. Karlheinz Stockhausen in Menezes (org.), op. cit.

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PITCH

Tonal melodies reharmonized dissonantly : Cores (B, B and B) and

Briguinha de msicos malucos no coreto.

Modalism: Srie de Arco (only a brief citation in Mixolydian scale with flat
seventh and sharp eleventh), Magimani Sagei (Mixolydian), Papagaio
Alegre( Mixolydian with flat seventh and sharp eleventh), Arapu(G Dorian
in the berrante solo).

Polymodalism: De bandeja e tudo.

Exotic scales : Magimani Sagei (whole-tone scale), Arapu (ditto),

Papagaio alegre(Super-Locrian and symmetrical scale).

Pentatonic scales: Srie de arco.

Atonalism: Srie de arco, Magimani Sagei(in the free coda), De bandeja e

tudo(intro. 1 and 3 and Final Part), Cores (in the final part), Arapu (A and
A) and Aula de natao.

Non-tempered sounds: Sounds of animals, percussive sounds, spoken voice in

Magimani Sagei and Aula de natao.

Polychords and polychords with 2 nds added: Srie de arco, Cores,

Briguinha de msicos malucos no coreto and Arapu.

Quartal scale chords and Quartal scale chords with 2 nds added: Arapu, Srie
de arco, De bandeja e tudo (chords 1, 4, 5, 8).

Clusters: Srie de arco.

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DURATION

Rhythms from the northeast of Brazil: frevo, baio, galope, cco and embolada
in Briguinha de msicos, Cores, Magimani Sagei and Papagaio alegre.

Polyrhythm: Srie de arco, Briguinha de msicos malucos no coreto, De

bandeja e tudo, Papagaio alegre and Arapu.

Arhythmia: in the codas la free jazz in Srie de arco, Magimani Sagei, in

the final part of Cores and in the colloquial voice in Aula de natao.

TIMBRE

Non-conventional use of conventional instruments:

-tuned drums, flute and ocarinas imitating animal sounds in Magimani Sagei.

-baritone sax played next to the snares of the snare drum (baricaixa) in
Arapu.

-Flute in C, G and bass flute; sounds produced by fingers striking the holes of
the flutes, blowing without producing notes, in short glissandos with or without
frullati, simple and simultaneous harmonics produced by the mouthpiece and
unusual fingering of the instrument: in Magimani Sagei, De bandeja e tudo
(solo) and Papagaio alegre(solo).

Use of non-conventional sound sources:

-Jerer: Papagaio alegre and Arapu.

-Percussion of pieces of iron: Cores.

-Berrante with bass sax mouthpiece played underwater: Arapu.

-Animals: dogs in Magimani Sagei, cicada in Cores, parrot in Papagaio

alegre. Arapuis a piece that does not contain any animal sounds, but its title

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refers to the low-pitched buzzing of the arapu bee. The association came about
due to the timbre of the baritone sax and the texture produced by the instruments
in the low region. Arapu is a piece whose construction was based on texture
and timbre.

-Voice used percussively, making use of groups of consonants, blowing sounds,

disconnected words emitted gutturally, laughter, yells, notes emitted in falsetto
while fluttering the tongue at the roof of the mouth, altering the emission of
sound with the hands, etc.: in Srie de arco, De bandeja e tudo
(introduction) and Magimani Sagei.

-Voice speaking/singing, aura music: Aula de natao.

OTHER ASPECTS
Synesthesia and image-sound relation: Srie de arco, Cores, Arapu and
Aula de natao.
Participation of the musicians in the creative process: Briguinha de msicos
malucos no coreto. According to what was said in chapter three, it is hard to say
precisely what each musician contributed to the final arrangement of the compositions
that were analyzed. Beginning with Papagaio Alegre and Arapu, the Group had
acquired such rehearsal dynamics that the constant presence of Hermeto was no longer
as necessary as at first. While Hermeto composed, the Group rehearsed elsewhere, and
during those rehearsals aspects that werent written in the score, relative to the
dynamics, sound articulation, levadas, and musical conventions, were created by the
musicians. Obviously, the final opinion came from Hermeto. Briguinha de msicos is
a unique example in the repertoire under analysis, because, according to what Carlos
Malta told us, the idea of playing the theme in part B the longest of the entire piece,

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whose musical effect inspired the title itself with different entrances separated by
short pauses, came from the musicians of the group.
Those musical elements taken as a whole demonstrate why Hermeto is
considered a musician with an original language. The use of modal, polymodal, tonal
and atonal material, often combining more than one of these idioms in the same
composition, added to the diverse rhythms, the exploration of non-conventional sound
sources and the non-conventional exploration of

conventional instruments, make

Hermeto a composer with a personal style. The fact that he is a multi-instrumentalist

and that the members of the Group began to play more than one instrument as time
passed, guaranteed that the compositions we analyzed received diversified instrumental
combinations that, in turn, contributed to the wealth of the arrangements. The technical
skill and virtuoso performance of Hermeto Pascoal & Group are added to the
aforementioned factors and, thus, composition, improvisation and performance are
equal, ensuring a result that we consider unique in this centurys Brazilian instrumental
music.
6.2. THE TRAJECTORY OF HERMETO PASCOAL & GROUP: FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
The creative act is mysterious... It is such a complex act,
motivated by so many impulses - as remote and impersonal as the
web of all known history and as remote and intensely personal as the
sum of a mans entire experience that the material evidence is little
more than occasional glimpses of a profound, continuous process.
(Kramer in Sloboda, 1985)

Our thesis follows the direction indicated by Kramer, that is, considers the final
product in our case, the recordings of the pieces analyzed in the previous chapter as
the arrival point of an anterior process. To analyze a certain musical corpus recorded by
Hermeto Pascoal & Group between 1981 and 1993, we went backward in time to
Hermeto Pascoals childhood, and then followed his musical development until we once

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again reached the period we aimed for at the beginning. Furthermore, we wrote a short
biography of the musicians of the Group and reconstituted the creative process of
Hermeto Pascoal & Group and of each one of the compositions we analyzed.
We do not believe that the route we followed is essential to each and every
musical analysis. We did it only because our object of study showed that way to be
essential to its understanding. In our case, the pure and simple musical analysis (formal,
harmonic, rhythmical, etc.) did not elucidate, either at the level of conception or the
level of language, the intriguing and hermetic music, for lack of studies and
bibliography.
The lack of bibliography about our object no doubt contributed to the fact that
field research became essential to the analytical task. Without this work, we would not
have had enough information or data to allow us to analyze the compositions we chose.
The perspective of moving only on the level of the signs and not of the significations
would result in nothing more than a description of the analyzed works. We, however,
wanted to go from a superficial description to a thick one, and, for that, we had no
alternative but to know the native versions of the issues we raised in chapter 1, for a
posterior interpretation of those accounts. 142 More than creating an alternative to the
lack of bibliography, it was necessary to be prepared with regard to certain risks
foreseen not only by Carole Gubernikoff in A pretexto de Claude Debussy,143 but also
by Umberto Eco in Interpretao e Superinterpretao.144 While Gubernikoff criticizes
some movements of contemporary musical analysis, especially when, in them, method
142

Clifford Geertz, borrowing ideas presented by Gilbert Ryle, establishes two types of ethnographical
descriptions: the superficial that simply narrates the facts such as they are presented, and the thick that
interprets what they signify. Cf. Clifford Geertz, A interpretao das culturas. Rio de Janeiro: LTC, 1989.
143

Carole Gubernikoff, A pretexto de Claude Debussy, one of the chapters of the doctoral dissertation
defended by the analyst at the Escola de Comunicao da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. In
Cadernos de Estudo: Anlise Musical 8/9. So Paulo: Atravez, p. 83.
144

Umberto Eco. Interpretao e Superinterpretao. So Paulo: Martins Fontes, 1997 (2nd printing).

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replaces exchanges or meeting with the work, or, worse yet, when intermediation
replaces the object, (Gubernikoff, 1993). Eco insists that we can recognize the overinterpretation of a text without necessarily being able to prove that a certain
interpretation is correct or without even adopting the belief that there must be one
correct reading. According to Eco, the intention of the work is the source of
significations that are not reduced to the pre-textual intention of the author, but, even so,
establishes certain limits to the readers freedom(Eco, 10/11), and, consequentially, to
the analysts.
Since the lack of a bibliography about our object would give rise to a wide
margin of error in our interpretation, we tried to establish, as a starting point for our
analysis, native information, for, strictly speaking, only a native can produce a first
hand interpretation: it is his culture (Geertz, 1989).
The analytical route that we traveled is, from that point of view, quite simple.
Through interviews with members of the Group and with Hermeto, we attempted to
elucidate the genesis and the conception of a musical language mirrored in a certain
repertoire, recorded between 1981 and 1993, and which was also influenced by the
musicians of the Group that played with Hermeto. The results of that search will follow.
Hermetos interest in music began early. At the age of 7, in Lagoa da Canoa, he
played the flutes with animals and struck small pieces of iron. At the age of 8, he began
to play the eight-bass accordion and the tambourine with his brother at wedding parties
and dances. It would be impossible to understand how Hermetos musical conception
was originated without going back to his childhood, for his first musical experiences,
which occurred between the ages of 7 and 14, were deeply absorbed by Hermeto. They
offered him compositional and sound models that would reappear when he began his
solo career at the age of 35.

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Between the ages of 14 and 35, that is, for 21 years, Hermeto formed his musical
language and developed autodidactically as a performer and an arranger, while at the
same time coming in touch with instrumental formations, such as radio Regional
groups, big bands and radio orchestras, besides learning several styles, while
performing in radio stations and night clubs in Recife, Rio and So Paulo.
Between the ages of 35 and 45, Hermeto embarked on a solo career,
accumulating the functions of composer, arranger and performer, recording seven
albums in Brazil and abroad.
The following twelve years, from 1981 to 1993, are the mature period of his
career. Hermeto, at the age of 45, with seven albums to his name and already
internationally renowned, led the group formed by Itiber Zwarg, Jovino Santos,
Pernambuco (Antnio Luis), Carlos Malta and Mrcio Bahia. During that period,
Hermeto recovered all the aspects related to musical conception that first appeared
during his childhood in Lagoa da Canoa. The graphic representation of the trajectory we
have just described is as follows:
From ages 7 to 14 (1936 1950)

Conception and first elements of language

HARMONIC SOUNDS (MUSICAL)
-first instruments: flutes (fifes), eight-bass
accordion, tambourine
-baio, embolada, repente, maculel,
coco, Indian music.

INHARMONIC SOUNDS (SOUND)

-sounds of animals, from nature,
sounds of voice and from percussion
of iron.

-plays at dances and wedding parties

Conception integrates both aspects of sound

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From ages 14 to 31 (1950-1967)

Period of acquisition and development of the language

-32 and 80-bass accordion, piano, flute,
sax, percussion and drums, etc.
-knows and/or plays with radio Regional
groups, radio orchestras, jazz trios and
quartets, etc.
-rudiments of musical theory (localization
of notes, rhythmic figures, accentuation,
etc.) acquired autodidactically.
-northeastern music (+ frevo), classical
music, choro, seresta, jazz, samba, bossanova, swing, gypsy music, etc.
-plays in radio Regional groups and in
instrumental groups in the night life of
Recife, Caruaru, Rio and So Paulo.
-performer

-everyday urban sounds.

From ages 31 to 35 (1967-1971)

Learning arrangement and development of writing

-previous instruments (plus trumpet, guitar)
-joins Som Quatro and Sambrasa Trio.
-develops musical writing in arrangements
for Song Festivals.
-Song Festivals and Quarteto Novo.
-performer and arranger
From ages 35 to 45 (1971-1981)

Beginning of solo career

-previous styles + free jazz and fusion,
brief contact with contemporary classical
music by I. Stravinsky, heard via Edu
Lobo in Los Angeles.
-arranger for Airto and Flora Purim
albums
-first solo album, The Brazilian
Adventure.
-in Slave Mass album.
-Other solo albums. Itiber, Jovino, and
Pernambuco join Group.

-begins to recover aspects related to

conception; sounds of animals, percussion
of pieces of iron and initial elements of
language (popular and folkloric
northeastern music) O gaio da roseira
-combines northeastern music with jazz
and free jazz.
-uses sounds of animals in his music for
the first time (pigs)

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From ages 45 to 57 (1981-1993)

Maturity
-the Group is completed with entrance of
-regains all the aspects of conception,
Carlos Malta and Mrcio Bahia.
including aura music, superposing the
sound-cultural
universe of his childhood
-six solo albums.
on the other styles and information of later
-performer, arranger and composer.
phases of his career.
-first
compositions
for
orchestra
(symphonic arrangements).

From the chart presented above, we can ascertain that in the period we studied
(1981-1993), Hermeto had reached a relative maturity in his career. In 1981, he had a
ten-year solo career and he was already a well-known musician in Europe and in the
U.S.A. However, the formation composed of Itiber, Jovino, Pernambuco, Malta and
Bahia was unique in Hermetos career, due to the 12-year relationship with the same
group, something unprecedented in his career. Hermeto was, above all, a teacher to all
of them, but it is undeniable that, as we said in chapter 3, the boys in the band (as
Hermeto sometimes affectionately called them) not only offered him a certain
tranquility and security, but also influenced his musical language.
The dynamic of daily rehearsals established in those twelve years enabled the
young musicians of the Group to perfect their technique and performance, and Hermeto
to compose and arrange more, for his presence at the rehearsals was no longer
indispensable, since the Group had acquired an efficient rehearsal methodology, besides
having an extensive repertoire to work on. The autonomy of the Group gave Hermeto
relative freedom from the function of performer and soloist, allowing him to develop his
production as composer of works for the Group and for several formations, going so far
as composing music for symphony orchestras.

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The maintenance of a work methodology that was quite productive, however,

unfortunately did not lead to commercial recordings. Most of the repertoire that was
rehearsed and was performed publicly during those twelve years was not launched
commercially. It should be remembered that Hermeto Pascoal & Group usually
recorded much more than would fit into an LP, so the extinct recording company Som
da Gente had unpublished compositions from this period in its musical archives. Where
is this precious material, and why not release it?
The work developed during those twelve years represented the real beginning of
the professional careers of the members of the Group, while for Hermeto it was a period
of consolidation of his position in Brazil and abroad. Together, they recorded six
albums, participating annually in Festivals and touring Latin America, the U.S.A.,
Canada and several European countries.
For the technical level of the musicians as well as for the singularity of Hermeto
Pascoals musical conception, the formation of Hermeto Pascoal & Group between
1981 and 1993 was of a nature that we insist was historical in Brazilian instrumental
music.
6.3. A FINAL INTERVIEW WITH HERMETO PASCOAL
On March 6, 1999, we conducted a final interview with Hermeto, to ascertain
some of the conclusions we had reached in our research, as well as to complement
certain data and biographical information collected in our interviews with the musicians
or through research in biographical material published in the press.
We shall discuss only some of the passages of that interview in order to conclude
our study, occasionally casting light on and/or complementing aspects previously

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approached with regard to Hermetos trajectory and, especially, to his musical

conception and language.
We shall start with the controversial aspect of Hermetos being an autodidact. In this
interview with him we found out that our initial perplexity or even incredulity regarding
his autodidactic trajectory was shared by many. It is interesting to observe how Hermeto
dealt with that fact:

Everybody in the whole world hails me as an autodidactic multi-instrumentalist,

and I saw that there were people who did not believe that. That I might have a teacher. It
was at that time (at approximately 40 years of age) that I felt like an orphan. Because I
think its so cool to say ... heck, if Id learnt from a teacher or at a school, it would give me
the greatest pleasure to say so, and I sure tried (...) Sometimes the father is an outlaw and
the son grows up and wants to meet his father. Well, even if my music teacher were an
outlaw Id like to meet him (...) So Id always say that with my name in the papers all the
time, who wouldnt like to be my teacher, to come up and say Im lying, say that he had
taught me something? (HERMETO)145

Hermeto is right - he became an autodidact because his visual deficiency

discouraged the teachers. If, on the one hand, his own development is a natural source
of pride for him, on the other hand it creates problems with people who do not believe
him, besides being, in a way, painful to him, for his trajectory was victorious but lonely.
We must, however, be careful on that point. For, although Hermeto did not study at any
institution of musical teaching, or with any teacher, he was always surrounded by other
musicians and fully absorbed the diverse musical experiences he had throughout his life.
Helped by his keen perception, which he has defined as an infinite recorder,
Hermetos school was largely practical (radio stations, night life, song Festivals, etc.),

145

All the passages quoted in this chapter are transcriptions from the interview we conducted with
Hermeto on 03/06/1999.

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and much of his language is owed to the professional experiences he had during 1950
and 1971.
Hermeto himself told us that he does not believe that there is anything in music that has
not been influenced by something else. The radio Regional groups, big bands and
orchestras no doubt contributed to his formation as an arranger and composer. As a
matter of fact, he refers to his orchestral compositions as symphonic arrangements,
perhaps because in the popular music at the radio stations in Recife, Caruaru and Rio de
Janeiro the orchestras led by important musicians, such as Guerra-Peixe146 mainly
played arrangements of popular songs. When we asked him about his experience with
the radio orchestras, Hermeto spoke of them with pleasure, and recalled the rehearsals
that he watched in 1950, at the Jornal do Comrcio radio station in Recife, with the
radio orchestra led by Guerra-Peixe:

He didnt teach me anything directly, but at the age of 14 I was there in the
auditorium, nobody knew me and I didnt know anybody, shy, timid, there in the last row,
an empty auditorium and the orchestra rehearsing.(...) There was almost a symphonic there,
it was wonderful, strings, there was a mixture of strings and brasses, besides the big band
they had there. (...) Then I didnt worry about not forgetting that rehearsal, because I knew
there was something in my mind recording everything, and I didnt have to worry. I really
believe in this, what we remember the most is what we know the least, about what we are
remembering. (HERMETO)

In that manner, the orchestral sonorities were kept by Hermeto in his

unconscious, becoming a subterranean layer in his formation, which he would recover
beginning in 1971, in his first solo album and, more especially, beginning in 1981,
when he began composing more regularly for orchestras.

146

In 1950, at the Radio Jornal do Comrcio.

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When asked about the sound spectrums of the little pieces of iron with which he
played during his childhood, Hermeto defined in a very interesting manner his
conception of tonality and atonality:
What they call atonal music, because they give names that only work in the word,
but dont work in practice. The music that is called atonal is almost the music that I call
aura sound. But atonal music, to my mind, no conventional instrument is capable of
playing , they say so, but its wrong (...) Lots of people think that do, mi, sol, do is natural,
but it isnt, its only conventional. Because the atonal is the most natural thing that exists
(...) I am the opposite of many schools, most of the things they call tonal I call atonal, I call
it the opposite. To my perception if you do: [sings] B-flat1, E3, A-flat2, E2, B-flat1, A2,
thats natural, thats what aura sound is for. (HERMETO)

The passage above is enlightening. The chord of do major would be exotic and
the atonal melody of the Uirapuru, familiar and natural. The concept of atonality, as
understood by Hermeto, reveals a position contrary to the traditional one. The word
natural is often added to the denomination harmonic series, as if the harmonic series
and the musical sounds were natural, and the inharmonic sounds artificial or different
from natural. That is an inversion constructed and manipulated historically, for actually
the musical sounds are not natural, so much so that they had to be tempered in a precise
system of pitches. Most of the sounds that surround us daily in town or in the country,
are inharmonic or mixed such as the sound of the cicada in Cores for instance.
Because of that, both spectra are natural. Inverting that erroneous distinction, Hermeto
makes the most complex and dissonant harmonic combinations in his compositions seem
familiar to us, for the atonal is the most natural thing that exists.
In the answer above, Hermeto goes from the atonal sounds of the pieces of iron
to the notion of aura music, one of the brightest stars in Hermetos universe of
musical signs. Actually, until this interview, we did not understand why Hermeto
thought it was so important. The aura music appeared at the same time as the sound of

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the pieces of iron and the sounds of animals. It is an integral part of a set of related
sound events, atonal ones:
The little pieces of iron already had something to do with aura music. My mother
would be talking to a friend of hers and Id suddenly say: mother, shes singing and my
mother, son, what are you saying, are you loony? (crazy). Then, between the ages of 45
and 50, I got worried, thinking I had a hearing problem. Is it possible that this aura sound
that, since I was little, I think that people are singing instead of talking, is it possible that it
is only my mind that thinks so? (HERMETO)

Aura music, first recorded in 1984 147, was the last item recovered by Hermeto
from the sound universe of his childhood, and this recovery also meant he overcame old
doubts about his auditory capacity (!). Ever since Hermeto was a small boy, his
perception was a cause of worry to his family, who actually feared for his soundness of
mind. Hermeto was called crazy for the first time by his own family, obviously
because the same perception that allows him to distinguish sounds with such precision,
occasionally also causes problems between him and those who do not share that
capacity. The passage below is a good illustration of the difficulties Hermeto
encountered, in this case caused by the constant changes in tuning allowed by the
technology of electronic keyboards:
With these electronic keyboards a guy with a perfect ear suffers, because,
depending on the pitch of the A, the B-flat is almost B natural, or A. Thats why I say, if
its A 440 its this, and if its 442 its that. (HERMETO)

In our last interview with Hermeto we had the opportunity of confirming his
auditory capacity. We took to the interview a small table bell that produced the note
F-sharp5, besides a secondary attack frequency at approximately G5. The beat of the
two close and sharp frequencies was clear and perceptible, in spite of the distinct
amplitudes, for the F-sharp5 was more intense. When we asked him to identify the
147

The Tiruliluli track of the LP Lagoa da Canoa, Municpio de Arapiraca (som da Gente, 1984), in
which Hermeto makes aura music of a football sportscast.

206

frequencies of the small bell, Hermeto, sitting at his electric piano, immediately put his
finger on the F-sharp5, saying that was the note he was hearing on the bell. The
interesting thing was that he pressed the key about five times, but it did not produce any
sound because the (electric) piano was unplugged. After we laughed, Hermeto plugged
in the piano and quickly identified the G5, specifying, however, that it was not exactly a
G5, but a frequency between the F-sharp5 and the G5 of the tempered system.
Going back to aura music, speech, which is so familiar to everyone, is
perceived by Hermeto in its rhythmic-melodic outline. The non-tempered pitches of the
voice and its rhythmic complexity make the melodies of the aura non-conventional
structures from the musical point of view, a kind of atonal harmonic singing.
Although the material is non-conventional from the melodic and rhythmic viewpoint,
the treatment Hermeto gives it is traditional, that is, he does not renounce the notion of
melody with instrumental accompaniment.
The aura sound coincided with the period in which Hermeto became aware of
certain boundaries between sound and music, or, to use his own words, between theory
and music:
It was when I was around 45 years old that I discovered that theory, and not music,
has twelve notes. (...) But how did I discover that? I have a mandolin that is an instrument
with six double strings, its not one low string and another high, the kind of small guitar
where one string is thick and the other is thin. (...) I tuned those twelve strings each one on
a note, and then where were more notes? I reached the octave again. I was stuck. Then I
was disappointed, and for a moment my mind went blank. My God, does that mean that
everything I do is with those twelve notes? I forgot to think of colors, you have light blue
and dark blue, you have white sand, red sand, and at that moment it did not occur to me
that in music I have octaves, fourths, fifths, to calm me down. But anyhow, its twelve
notes, unless you put in the commas and thats why I say twelve because its conventional,
otherwise it wouldnt be only twelve. (...) But that night it was annoying because I wanted
to make a composition and in my mind there were notes that didnt exist in the
[conventional] notation. (...) It was a darn nuisance to know that, and I didnt want it any
more. What I do doesnt depend on only those twelve notes. It depends on my imagination.

207

(...) There are things that cant be done on a conventional instrument. Why is there
percussion, the sounds of animals? Thats why. In erudite music they separate things, as if
it were a prejudice, but in my music thats not so, they have a place, the percussionist is
also a soloist. (HERMETO)

Aura music, sounds of animals, of pieces of iron, and percussive sounds are
non-tempered sources that Hermeto intentionally uses alongside conventional
instruments. The fact that atonal music cannot be played by conventional instruments
does not keep Hermeto from moving playfully back and forth between harmonic and
inharmonic sound.
Some examples of the transition from inharmonic to harmonic sound are the
drums treated as a melodic instrument in Magimani Sagei, the tuned sounds of the
dogs in Magimani Sagei, the cicadas in Cores and the parrots in Papagaio alegre.
Hermetos harmonic language, consisting of polychords, superposed triads with
added seconds, chords in the quartal scale, pedals and dissonant harmonies, is the best
example of the transition from harmonic to inharmonic sound. Systematically
incorporating non-functional vertical complexes, Hermetos harmony is an intermediate
territory, between pitch and timbre. 148
The visual-tactile properties of sound, added to the perception of the sound
spectrums, confuse not only the limits between pitch and timbre, but also the limits
between the physical senses. Thus, one of the justifications for a chord that is wrong
from the viewpoint of traditional theory, but that sounds good to Hermetos ears, can be
found in the fact that that chord was not only heard but also seen by him. For that
reason, certain sound characteristics that are only rarely an object of attention in
listening, such as the mass of the sounds, the greater or lesser luminosity of the
instrumental timbres and of everyday sounds and of nature sounds, the sound
148

It should be remembered that Hermeto created a system based on the conventional notation of figures
to represent non-conventional harmonic sounds.

208

spectrums, the colors, etc., influence or even determine the choice and the elaboration of
the material to be used musically by Hermeto.
This mutant characteristic of Hermetos also makes him mix the styles that he
became acquainted with throughout his career, for, just like his conception, Hermetos
musical language is multiple and not linear. The same logic that rules his conception
demonstrated in the dialogue between sound and music and with the tactile-visual
properties of sound, a dialogue that was made possible by Hermetos extended and
image-laden perception also occurs on the level of the language. A coco, a frevo or a
baio can be mixed with classical music or jazz, in the same way that a noise can be
added to a note of definite pitch. It all depends on the perception, imagination and
technique of those who create. And Hermeto Pascoal, Itiber Zwarg, Jovino Santos,
Antnio Santana, Carlos Malta and Mrcio Bahia were superabundantly endowed with
those attributes.

209

7. SOURCES
7.1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
ADNET, Mrio. "Enfim um homem comum". O Globo. 15/10/1998.
ATTALI, Jacques. Noise: the political economy of music. Minnesota: University of
Minnesota Press, 1985.
BARRAUD, Henry. Para compreender as msicas de hoje. So Paulo: Perspectiva,
1975, p. 51 e 53.
BECKER, Howard. "Mundos artsticos e tipos sociais", in Gilberto Velho (org.), Arte e
Sociedade. Rio de Janeiro: Jorge Zahar, 1977.
BERENDT, Joachim E. O Jazz do rag ao rock, So Paulo: Perspectiva, 1987.
CABRAL, Srgio. Antnio Carlos Jobim, uma biografia Rio de Janeiro: Lumiar, 1997.
CAESAR, Rodolfo. Crculos ceifados. Relatrio de premiao da Fundao Vitae.
1996. [http://www, ufrj. br/lamut]
CALLADO, Carlos. Jazz ao vivo. So Paulo: Perspectiva, 1990.
____ . O Jazz como espetculo. So Paulo: Perspectiva, 1990.
____ . A Divina Comdia dos mutantes. So Paulo: Editora 34, 1995.
____ . Tropiclia: A histria de uma revoluo musical. So Paulo: Editora 34, 1997.
CARVALHO, Mgda. Vitria: A gazeta, 13/10/1990.
COGAN, Robert. Sonic Design., New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1976.
ECO, Umberto. Interpretao e Superinterpretao. So Paulo: Martins Fontes, 1997
(2 tiragem), p. 10 - 11.
GEERTZ, Clifford. A interpretaco das culturas. Rio de Janeiro: LTC, 1989.

210

GRIDLEY, Mark C. Jazz Styles: history and analysis. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
1985 (2 edio), ps. 226-234.
GRIFFTHS, Paul. Enciclopdia do Sc. XX. So Paulo: Martins Fontes, 1995.
GUBERNIKOFF, Carol. "A pretexto de Claude Debussy", Msica e representao: das
duraes aos tempos. Tese de doutorado defendida na Escola de Comunicao
da UERJ, 1993, in Cadernos de Estudo: Anlise Musical 8/9. So Paulo:
Atravez.
_____ . "Escuta e eletroacstica: Composio e anlise", in, Debates, Cadernos do
Programa de Ps-Graduao em Msica, I nmero,Centro de Letras e Artes,
UNI-RIO, 1997, p. 26-33.
GUEST, Ian. Arranjo: mtodo prtico. Rio de Janeiro: Lumiar Edit., 1996, vol. 3, p. 27 - 37.
HARVEY, Jonathan.

"The mirror of ambiguity",in Simon Emerson (editor), The

Language of eletroacustic music. London: Macmillan Press, 1986, p. 181-182.

LITWEILER, John. The freedom principle: jazz after 1958. New York: William
Morrow and Company, Inc., 1984, p. 31 - 32 e 34.
MARCONDES, Marcos Antnio et al. Enciclopdia da Msica Brasileira, erudita,
folclrica e popular. So Paulo: PubliFolha, 1998, p. 606 - 607.
MARKS, Lawrence E. "On colored hearing synesthesia: cross-modal translations of
sensory dimensions", in Simon Baron-Cohen, and John E. Harrison (orgs.).
Synesthesia: classic and contemporary readings. Massachusets: Blackwell
Publishers, 1997, p. 49 - 98.
MENEZES, Fl (org.). Msica eletroacstca: histria e estticas. So Paulo: Edusp, 1996.
MIDDLETON, Richard. Studying Popular Music. Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1990.
NYMAN, Michael. Experimental music: Cage and beyond. London: Studio Vista, 1974.
PERSICHETTI, Vincent. Armonia del siglo XX. Madrid: Real Musical, 1985.

211

PIERCE, John E..The Science of music sound. New York: W. H. Freeman and
Company, 1983.
PRANDINI, Jos Carlos. Um estudo da improvisao na msica de Hermeto Pascoal:
transcries e anlises de solos improvisados.

Dissertao de mestrado

defendida na UNICAMP, em 1996.

RODRIGUES, Macedo. "Uma msica por dia". Rio de Janeiro: O Globo, 18/09/1990.
SCHAEFFER, Pierre. Tratado dos objetos musicais. Braslia: Edunb, 1993.
SRGIO, Renato. "O bruxo quer voar". Rio de Janeiro: Revista Manchete, 1985.
SLOBODA, John. The Musical Mind: the cognitive process of music. Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1985.
SMALLEY, Dennis. "Spectro-morphology and Structuring Process",in Simon Emerson
(editor), The Language of eletroacustic music. London: Macmillan Press, p. 61-96.
STEIN, Leon. Structure and Syle. Miami: Summy-Birchard Inc., 1979.
STOCKHAUSEN, Karlheinz. "A unidade do tempo musical", in Fl Menezes (org.),
Msica eletroacstica, histria e estticas. So Paulo: Edusp, 1996, p. 141 - 149.
STOKES, W. Royal. The Jazz Scene: an informal history from New Orleans to 1990.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
TABORDA, Pretextato. Msica de Inveno. Dissertao de mestrado defendida na
UNI-RIO em 1998.
TRINDADE, Mauro. Tribuna da Imprensa, 19/05/1989.

7.1.1. MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS WITHOUT ENTRY BY AUTHOR OR DATE

DIAS, Mauro. Pipoca moderna.
Jazz Magazine (com traduo de Lena Zwarg), maro de 1984.

212

Jornal Catacumba, 01/1989.

Globo, "Hermeto escala seu time no rival", 24/01/1991.
Jornal Catacumba, 1992.
Backstage, Audio/Msica/Instrumentos. Rio de Janeiro: H. Sheldon de Mkt., n. 39,
fev./1998, p. 46 - 59.
Jornal do Brasil, "As mximas do mago", 19/05/1998.
7.2. INTERVIEWS
BAHIA, Mrcio Villa. 12/02/1998 e 02/10/1998.
MALTA, Carlos Daltro. 26/03/1998.
NETO, Jovino Santos. 10/06/1997 e 18/08/1998.
PASCOAL, Hermeto. 10/11/1997 e 06/03/1999.
ZWARG, Itiber Luis. 04/10/1998.
An interview with Hermeto Pascoal conducted by Luis Carlos Saroldi on the program
Ao vivo entre amigos (Live among friends) on M.E.C. radio station in Rio de
Janeiro, kindly provided by Murilo Reis Saroldi.
7.3. DISCOGRAPHY

7.3.1. HERMETO PASCOALS SOLO ALBUMS

Hermeto Pascoal: Brazilian Adventure. CD. Muse Records, MCD 6006, 1971.
A msica livre de Hermeto Paschoal. LP. Polygram, PLG BR 8246211, 1973.
Slave Mass. CBS, 1977.
Zabumb-bum- , grav. WEA Brasil, 1978.

213

Hermeto Pascoal ao vivo em Montreux. LP. WEA Brasil, 20.052/53, 1979.

Crebro Magntico. LP. WEA Brasil, 30.127, 1980.
Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo. CD. Som da Gente, SDG 010/92, 1982.*
Lagoa da Canoa - Municpio de Arapiraca. CD. Som da Gente, SDG 011/92, 1984.*
Brasil Universo. CD. Som da Gente, SDG 012/93, 1985.*
S no toca quem no quer. CD. Som da Gente, SDG 001/87, 1987.*
Mundo Verde Esperana. Som da Gente, no lanado comercialmente, 1989.*
Festa dos Deuses. CD. Polygram, PLGBR 510 407-2, 1992.*
Por diferentes caminhos, LP. Som da Gente, 1994.
* All the CDs marked with an asterisk were recorded during the period studied in this
research.

7.3.2. ALBUMS AS PERFORMER AND ARRANGER

Walter Santos. Caminho. LP. 1965.
Edu Lobo. Cantiga de Longe. LP.
Quarteto Novo. Quarteto Novo. CD. EMI, "Srie dois em um", EMIBR 827 497 -2,
1993.
Airto e Flora Purim. Natural Feelings. Skye Records.
Tom Jobim. Tide. LP. A&M, 1970.
Airto e Flora Purim. Seeds on the ground. CD. One way Records, OW 30006, 1971.
Miles Davis. Live Evil. CD. Sony, SCRS 5715-6, 1972.
* Beginning with the LP with the Quarteto Novo, Hermeto also functions as a
composer.

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7.3.3. SOLO ALBUMS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP

Carlos Malta e Daniel Pezzotti. Rainbow. CD. Produo independente, fabricao Sony,
107.592, 1993.
Carlos Malta. O Escultor do Vento. CD. Produo Independente, fabricao
Microservice, AJA7. 172/473833, 1998.
____ . Carlos Malta e Pife Muderno. CD. Rob digital, RD 017, 1999.
Jovino Santos Neto. Caboclo. CD. Liquid City, LC 344512, 1997.

7.3.4. OTHER ALBUMS

Ornette Coleman. Something else! CD. Fantasy, OJC 163-2, 1958.
____ . Free Jazz. CD. Atlantic-WEA, ATL 1364-2, 1960.
Bang on the Can. Cheating, Lying, Stealing. CD. Sony, SNY 62254-2, 1996.