São Paulo Voices and the Canons of Brazilian Song

Rachel Beausoleil is a multi-lingual Canadian jazz fusion singer-songwriter, and award-nominated producer. She has produced four jazz albums. The latest, Sol da Capital, is a full-length album of originals, in collaboration with Brazilian-guitarist-composer Evandro Gracelli. Rachel has also produced a French children’s music collection called Trille des voix. She holds a PhD in Cultural Mediations from Carleton University, and a Master’s in Ethnomusicology from the University of Ottawa. She has been a private voice teacher since 1999 and is a valued faculty member at the CAMMAC Music Centre (Harrington, Quebec).

This presentation explores the category of music called Música Popular Brasileira (MPB). The conference will touch briefly on the ways in which this category “represents” Brazil as a nation. While shining a spotlight on the central players of MPB (i.e. the vocalists) she will discuss how MPB coheres as a category in spite of it representing many musical genres and styles. Using musical samples, she will explore the most salient values in MPB, and how national identity is performed via the singing voice. The presentation will be based on her PhD research and field work, as well as her personal experience as a performer.