BOSSA NOVA & Vinícius de Moraes (Rio de Janeiro)

Vinícius de Moraes (born in Gávea on 19 October Protected content a poet, songwriter, playwright, musician and diplomat. He studied law at the University of Brazil and English Literature and Language at Oxford University in England. Nicknamed ‘O Poetinha’ (‘the Little Poet’), he transposed the lyricism characteristic of his poetry into popular music and, with João Gilberto and Tom Jobim, is considered to be one of the key figures in the bossa nova movement.

Bossa nova (roughly translated as ‘new trend’), is a well-known style of Brazilian music developed and popularized in the 50s and 60s. A lyrical fusion of samba and jazz, this way of playing samba tells us about women, love, longing (saudade) and the joie de vivre of Cariocas (Rio-born). Married eight times, Vinícius was personally familiar with many of these themes.

Vinícius de Moraes wrote lyrics for a great number of songs that became all-time classics such as Garota de Ipanema (‘The Girl from Ipanema’), Insensatez (‘How Insensitive’, recorded by Sting and maestro Tom Jobim), Eu Sei que Vou Te Amar (‘I Know that I Will Love You’) and Chega de Saudade (‘Enough of Longing’), often credited as the first bossa nova song.

Highly-regarded and respected in his time, Vinícius de Moraes’s stature as a Brazilian artist and man of letters has only increased since his death. His lyrics continue to be interpreted and re-interpreted by new generations of Brazilian musicians even today, and many of his collections of poems and plays remain in circulation as well. This is one of them:

Soneto de Fidelidade

De tudo ao meu amor serei atento
Antes, e com tal zelo, e sempre, e tanto
Que mesmo em face do maior encanto
Dele se encante mais meu pensamento.

Quero vivê-lo em cada vão momento
E em seu louvor hei de espalhar meu canto
E rir meu riso e derramar meu pranto
Ao seu pesar ou seu contentamento

E assim, quando mais tarde me procure
Quem sabe a morte, angústia de quem vive
Quem sabe a solidão, fim de quem ama

Eu possa me dizer do amor (que tive):
Que não seja imortal, posto que é chama
Mas que seja infinito enquanto dure.

Sonnet on Fidelity
Translated by Ashley Brown

Above all, to my love I'll be attentive
First, and always with such ardor, so much
That even when confronted by this great enchantment
My thoughts ascend to more delight.

I want to live it through in each vain moment
And in its honor I must spread my song
And laugh my laughter and shed my tears
When she is sad or when she is contented.

And thus, when afterward comes looking for me
Who knows what death, anxiety of the living,
Who knows what loneliness, end of the loving

I could say to myself of the love (I had):
Let it not be immortal, since it is flame
But let it be infinite while it lasts.

On 19 October Protected content , Vinícius de Moraes would reach Protected content old. Let’s mark the centenary of his birth with poetry reading and bossa nova played and sung by some of Rio’s most talented Brazilian and expat artists.

Venue: TOCA DA FORMIGA Live Jazz Art Gallery
Address: Rua da Lapa, Protected content to ACM), Lapa
Phone: Protected content
House open 21h00 till late