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Abstract
A Modern Modinha: An exploration of Afro-Brazilian music history. This music and research is centered around the African influence in idioms such as the Modinha and the sung Lundu during the late 18th and early 19th century. My project is a reimagining of Modinhas, utilizing the idioms’ eclectic blend of Portuguese Opera, European poetic forms, African rhythms and dances, as well as Afro-Brazilian folk melodies and plots utilizing historically accurate instrumentation.
My interviews and research are centered around the composer and poet Domingo Caldas Barbosa (1740-1800), Carnaval and the Afro-Brazilian religion of Tambor De Mina, and the late seventeenth/eighteenth century gold rush of Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais. These are only a few of what could be many points in Afro-Brazilian history, and the inspirations for my compositions are meant to spark interest in a topic that is not often discussed in modern academia. These Modinhas were originally written on guitar and voice and my music is aimed at using the bass and voice as the focal point.
Publication Date
7-1-2023
Campus
Boston Campus
Recommended Citation
Ashby, Ian. “The Modern Modinha.” Master's thesis, Berklee College of Music, 2023. https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-global-jazz/141.