Poetic improvisation in the Brazilian Northeast

Abstract

This study concerns the singing called repente or cantoria, a modality of improvised sung poetry, practiced in the Northeast region of Brazil. Its practitioners are called repentistas, cantadores or violeiros, and they always sing in duets, alternating in the composition of strophes according to strict parameters of meter, rhyme and thematic coherence. There is a set of rules formulated for this purpose, but the repentistas improvise their verses on a practical basis, such as the poetic rhythm incorporated. The improvisation places the repentista in relation to aesthetic models, such as the rhythm of the poetry, the melodic patterns and the singing rules, at the same time it puts him into a dialogue with the other singer and with the expectations and reactions of the audience. The improvisation, therefore, is not only the poetic vibrant v.8 n.1 joão miguel sautchuk creation, but also the unfolding of a game of interaction between the poets and the other participants in the singing situation.

Distributed cognition in oral poetry improvisation: a semiosis-centered approach

“…Repente is a competitive challenge between the repentistas. The singers must display their skill by improvising metrified and rhymed verses, according to the theme developed in the performance, and in dialogue with each other (Sautchuk 2011). The audience plays a major role in the evaluation of the performers (Sautchuk 2009), reacting negatively to mistakessuch as hesitations, metric inconsistencies, overused rhymes, thematic repetitions, difficulty in developing a theme or in responding to the opponent -, and highlighting skillful movessuch as creative thematic developments and twists, perfectly metrified verses delivered fluently and without hesitation, quick reaction time, and provocative personal challenges and answers to these challenges.…”

A Glosa No Sertão Do Pajeú (Pernambuco, Brasil): Formas Poéticas E Interações Sociais

“…Nas poesias improvisadas e cantadas do Nordeste, as toadas são referências sensoriais das métricas poéticas, pois cada nota corresponde a uma sílaba da estrofe que vai se criar. Daí, mesmo poetas de bancada e do cordel, para naturalizar a métrica, dizem escrever cantarolando toadas e recordam que aprenderam os padrões das modalidades de estrofe ouvindo repentistas quando crianças (Iphan, 2021;Sautchuk, 2011Sautchuk, , 2012Sautchuk, , 2014. Feld (1982) mostrou algo semelhante em relação à poética e aos cantos dos Kaluli da Nova Guiné.…”

Cegos rabequeiros cantadores of Northeast Brazil: Manifestation of the Blind Poet-Singer and Blind Fiddler Archetypes

“…1 "Repente or Cantoria [nordestina] is a genre of sung poetry common to Brazil's Northeast region. Its poets are called cantadores, repentistas or violeiros" (Sautchuk, 2011); also defined as "improvised sung poetry" by Crook (2009.) (Our translation.) 2 Original Portuguese: "Muitos dos velhos cantadores que conheci, já aposentados, vivendo de pequenas roças, sem voz e sem história, guardavam a tradição das rabecas, dos temas tristes, executados antes e depois da cantoria."…”