Estudo em Dobrado
by Weberton Figueiredo
The dobrado is a Brazilian musical genre, which had its origins influenced by European military marches. Typically composed in a binary time, the emphasis falls on the first beat, typical of marches. Formally, the dobrado varies very little, remaining within a ternary structure consisting of three sections. It generally presents a short introduction, which serves as a call for the listeners and announces the performance (fig 1). Section A presents the first theme, generally on woodwind instruments at first, and later with full ensemble. Section B, also known as Cheio de Baixo, is generally played by the whole ensemble, but the low brass is the predominant part and accompanied by the higher instruments. The Section C, commonly known as Trio, is characterized by a lighter texture, similar to Section A but more contrapuntal. The structure is expressed as follows:
Intro – AA – BB – A – CC – Intro – AB
Figure 1. Introduction of Estudo em Dobrado by Weberton Figueiredo.
Harmonically, Sections A and B are in the same key, while Section C generally modulates to the subdominant key. In the minor mode, Section C commonly modulates to the parallel major or its relative major. There are exceptions to the structural form and tonality; however, most dobrados follow this structure. The Estudo em Dobrado by Weberton Figueiredo illustrates the standard modulation scheme: section A and B is written in the key of C minor, and section C modulates to the subdominant key of F major.
The dobrado typically portrays a lively and joyful character, suitable for festive celebrations and parades. The tempo of the genre, circa 112 bpm, is suitable for the displacement of the musicians while marching and playing. Moreover, among its performance practices stands out the rhythmic figure of a dotted eighth followed by sixteenth notes, commonly played as a triplet (fig. 2).
Figure 9. Dobrado's characteristic rhythmic figure (dotted eighth followed by sixteenth note) in Estudo em Dobrado by Weberton Figueiro (mm 41-62).
Weberton Figueiredo
Weberton Altair Figueiredo, born in Lavras, Minas Gerais, began his musical studies at the banda de música São Sebastião in the Macuco de Minas. He earned a certificate from the Coltec UFMG and currently studies music education at the Centro Universitário do Sul de Minas.
Dobrado
Listening Examples
Gerad Béhague, an eminent Franco-American ethnomusicologist and professor of Latin American music, relates that the dobrado appeared in Brazil with the arrival of Banda Da Brigada Real in 1808 when the Portuguese court transferred to Brazil.[1] Fernando Binder, however, in his research of the origins of wind bands from 1793 to 1826, indicates similar wind bands to the Portuguese formations prior to 1808. He highlights wind bands with similar instrumentation at the end of the 18th century in Recife, Olinda, and the former province of Pernambuco.[2] In accordance with Binder, José Tinhorão, a Brazilian historian, states that before the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil, there were the so-called ternos (groups of woodinds, brass, and percussion) and the bands of barbers, which were bands formed by formerly enslaved people who played by ear.[3]
The musical genre that best defines the bandas de música is the dobrado, derived from the military marches practiced by soldiers and cavalry while crossing the battlefields. It is a term used almost exclusively in Brazil, where it bacome one of the most popular musical genres of wind bands.[4] The expansion of the genre was related to the decline of the gold exploration economy during colonization. The bandas, as they were commonly called by the musicians, inherited the religious musical service previously performed and proliferated by orchestras, becoming typical in every village during this period. They played in processions, funerals, patron saint festivals, Holy Week, other religious festivals, and civic celebrations.[5]
José Rodrigues, in his dissertation about Bandas de Música, highlights that the ensemble remains one of Brazil’s most widely found traditional groups. In 2017, a census showed that Brazil had 2,794 musical groups registered at the National Foundation of Arts.[6] These groups frequently receive support from the local government but are supported mainly by their participants, amateur musicians of all ages. It is also common that the core members of the groups, generally family members, carry the tradition and musical culture forward through time. In his analysis of the musical tradition, Renato Rodrigues also indicates that this musical group is the primary music source for the community, serving as an essential vehicle of culture and entertainment and an essential element in commemorative events. In addition, he states that bandas serve as practicum centers for musicians, responsible for training most wind musicians and percussionists of the country’s military bands and symphonic orchestras.[7]
The most important event for Bandas de Música is known as Encontro de Bandas (gathering of bands). It occurs annually, and musical groups from nearby cities participate in the festivities, generally a total of 10 to 15 groups. The festivities starts in early morning, as each group marches through the town’s main avenue, greeting the audience and the other musical groups playing dobrados. Then, the musical groups are united in the town’s main square and together form a large ensemble and play two dobrados, Capitão Caçula and Dois Corações, and the Brazilian national anthem. Afterward, each group makes its presentation with three or more pieces from its selected repertoire. This confraternization is a chance for musicians to connect and build a community and ultimately keep alive a tradition at the core of Brazilian culture.
Above all, the existence of a huge number of dobrados is evidence of the importance of this type of composition, as well as the number of important composers who dedicated themselves to such compositions, among them Anacleto de Medeiros, Antônio Manoel do Espírito Santo, Francisco Braga, João Cavalcante, José Barbosa de Brito, Mário Zan, Pedro da Cruz Salgado, and Joaquim Antônio Langsdorf Naegele.
Notes:
[1] Gerard Béhague, "Brazil: Central and Southern Areas," in Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 2: South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, ed. Dale A. Olsen and Daniel E. Sheehy (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 329.
[2] Fernando Binder, “Bandas de música no Brasil: revisão de conceitos a partir de formações instrumentais entre 1793-1826” (paper presented at the VI Encontro de Musicologia Histórica, Juiz de Fora, July 2004), 287-288.
[3] José Ramos Tinhorão, Música Popular: um tema em debate (Sao Paulo: Editora 34, 1997), 140.
[4] Arnaldo Antonio Moreira Costa, A Marcha Portuguesa e o Dobrado Brasileiro (São Paulo: Pimenta Cultural, 2021), 64.
[5] Vinicius Mariano Carvalho, “As bandas de Música de Minas Gerais.” Gláuks Revista de Letras e Artes 1, no. 1 (1996): 118.
[6] José Luis Rodrigues, “Entre a banda civil e a banda sinfônica: características das práticas musicais da Banda Municipal de Uberlândia entre as décadas de 1950 e 1990,” (Master’s thesis, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, 2017), 29-30.
[7] Renato Rodrigues Lisboa, “A escrita idiomática para tuba nos dobrados seresteiro, saudades e pretensioso de João Cavalcante,” (Master’s thesis, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 2005), 1.
About the
Dobrado
References:
Amado, Paulo Vinicius, and Robson Miguel Saquett Chagas. “Dois Corações e Ouro Negro: distinções entre um dobrado tradicional e um dobrado sinfônico nas obras de Pedro Salgado e Joaquim Naegele.” Paper presented at the XXVII Congresso da Associação Nacional de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Música, Campinas, 2017.
Amado, Paulo Vinicius, and Robson Miguel Saquett Chagas. “Carlos Rotary e Janjão: a forma dobrado sinfônico nas composições de Joaquim Neagle.” Paper presented at Jornada De Pesquisa em Arte, São Paulo, 2017.
Béhague, Gerard. “Brazil: Central and Southern Areas.” In Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 2: South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, edited by Dale A. Olsen and Daniel E. Sheehy, 320-342. New York, Garland Publishing, 1998.
Binder, Fernando. “Bandas de música no Brasil: revisão de conceitos a partir de formações instrumentais entre 1793-1826.” Paper presented at the VI Encontro de Musicologia Histórica, Juiz de Fora, July 2004.
Carvalho, Vinicius Mariano. “As bandas de Música de Minas Gerais.” Gláuks Revista de Letras e Artes 1, no. 1 (1996): 115-123.
Chagas, Robson Miguel Saquett, and Glaura Lucas. “Tradição e inovação no repertório das bandas de música.” Paper presented at the XXIV Congresso da Associação Nacional de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Música, São Paulo, 2014.
Costa, Arnaldo Antonio Moreira. A Marcha Portuguesa e o Dobrado Brasileiro. São Paulo: Pimenta Cultural, 2021.
Lisboa, Renato Rodrigues. “A escrita idiomática para tuba nos dobrados seresteiro, saudades e pretensioso de João Cavalcante.” Master’s Thesis, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 2005.
Rodrigues, José Luis. “Entre a banda civil e a banda sinfônica: características das práticas musicais da Banda Municipal de Uberlândia entre as décadas de 1950 e 1990.” Master’s Thesis, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, 2017.
Tinhorão, José Ramos. Música Popular: um tema em debate. Sao Paulo: Editora 34, 1997.