João Araújo: Wilhelmshöhe Park, Heracles and Frevo!

sábado, 25 de junho de 2016

Wilhelmshöhe Park, Heracles and Frevo!

In this video I am in the Wilhelmshöhe Park, located in the city of Kassel, Germany. In this park there is a statue of the divine hero Heracles. Hercules is known for his many adventures, which took him to the far reaches of the Greco-Roman world. A list of his labours is as follows:

Slay the Nemean Lion.
Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra.
Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis.
Capture the Erymanthian Boar.
Clean the Augean stables in a single day.
Slay the Stymphalian Birds.
Capture the Cretan Bull.
Steal the Mares of Diomedes.
Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.
Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon.
Steal the apples of the Hesperides.
Capture and bring back Cerberus.

In the video I tell a little about this history and make a parallel with a Brazilian musical genre: the Frevo.

RELEASE JOÃO ARAÚJO

João Araújo is a poet, composer, percussionist and musical producer. He was born in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, a place with many different cultural influences including European (Iberian), African and Native American. Maybe this origin produced eclectic expressions in his work. He composes many different musical genres like choro, samba, bossa nova, waltz and rock, in addition to Brazilian regional styles like baião, frevo, toada, maracatu and caboclinho.

Some of these compositions are made with most special partners, for example, Luciano Magno (guitarist), Dalva Torres (pianist and singer), Bozó 7 Cordas (guitarist), Nuca (guitarist), Walmir Chagas (actor), Beto do Bandolim (bandolinist) and Samuel Valente (composer).

In his artistic way, he produced many CD’s in general styles. Among them, the CD “Valsas Pernambucanas”, made with the participation of many musicians and composers. This CD was supported by the government of the city of Recife. Another line of his artistic work is in the style that is the musical symbol of his hometown: the Frevo. In this musical genre, João Araújo made two new CD’s: the CD “Um Bloco em Poesia”, with the style frevo-de-bloco and the CD “Pernambucarnaval” (in partner with the producer Mangaba Produtos). Particularly, in this last CD in addition to the three frevos’ genres (frevo-de-bloco, frevo-canção and frevo-de-rua) it includes all the rhythms of the Carnival of Pernambuco.

Still in the musical production, João Araújo made the CD “Verso e Canção”, where he gave attention to the local rhythms of North eastern Brazil. This CD had the participation of many local artists. Another work is the CD “Inspirações” of the local musician Adalberto Cavalcanti. The main style in this CD is the Choro.

In 2001, João Araújo established (together with a group of artists and friends) the “Trupe Lírico-Musical Um Bloco em Poesia”, making its anthem “Estandarte Poesia” (with the partnership of Adalberto Cavalcanti). This music is a frevo-de-bloco and it already is famous in the Carnival of Pernambuco. The “Um Bloco em Poesia” is a group of artists and lovers of poetry, frevo music and the cultural values of North eastern Brazil.

João Araújo

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sábado, 25 de junho de 2016

Wilhelmshöhe Park, Heracles and Frevo!

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