Far beyond the country universe

Between 2018 and 2021, Ivan Vilela participated in a research project at the University of Aveiro, in Portugal, where he was able to deepen his studies on the viola.

In addition to the differences between the Portuguese and Brazilian instruments, he noted that chordophones there – instruments that produce sound from the vibration of one or more strings – have evolved little over the centuries and that, although groups of players can be found in different villages, some do not know each other.

In Brazil, on the contrary, the viola gained greater prominence and began to be used in orchestras, which led to its use in a variety of settings. Although it is a musical element closely linked to country music, the viola, especially since the 1990s, has been incorporated into many musical styles in the country.

These and other stories – some of them discovered during research carried out in Portugal – are reported in the book História e Cultura no Som da Viola, by Ivan Vilela.

Violist, composer, arranger, researcher and professor of Brazilian Viola at the University of São Paulo, Vilela is the author of other works that have become references on the subject, such as the book Singing One's Own History – Caipira Music and Rooting (Eduso) and the album Paisagens, from 1998.

History and Culture in the Sound of the Guitar. Ivan Vilela. Editorial Studio (240 pages, 78 reais)

In the work released in 2024, the author presents historical foundations and reflections on the instrument that arrived in Brazil through the hands of the Jesuits, at the beginning of colonization.

The fact that the viola was adopted, above all, by musicians from the most popular classes, meant, according to him, that its practice, over the centuries, was little recorded or studied.

The graphocentric perspective in music education – that linked to the existence of scores and other writings – cannot be disregarded in this process of devaluing music closer to popular manifestations, which always have a strong oral tradition.

The researcher describes how the appreciation of the guitar in urban centers, following the arrival of the Royal Family in Brazil in 1808, relegated the viola to a more rural identity.

Throughout the narrative, Ivan also portrays personal experiences in this universe and criticizes the adherence – especially in academic circles – to European musical culture to the detriment of Brazilian traditions. What he doesn't give in to the temptation of doing is establishing any kind of counterpoint between the viola caipira and sertaneja music. •

Published in issue no. 1371 of CartaCapital , on July 23, 2025.

This text appears in the print edition of CartaCapital under the title 'Far beyond the country universe'