Chiquinha Gonzaga
Music List
Publications
Principle Archives
Composer Essay
Born Francisca Edviges Gonzaga do Amaral, in Rio de Janeiro, October 17, 1847; died in Rio de Janeiro, February 28, 1935.
Education: Early education unknown; studied piano as a child; mentored by Joaquim António da Silva Callado Jr.
Composing and Performing Career: Began composing earliest pieces as a child; played the piano in Callado’s choro group; “Atraente,” first published work, 1877; composed Festa de São João for the musical theater, 1884; composed “Ó abre alas!,” the first Carnival song of Brazil, 1899; traveled to Europe, 1902, 1904; moved to Lisbon, 1906; theatrical works regularly performed, 1906–09; returned to Brazil, 1909.
Memberships: Sociedade Brasileira de Artistas Teatrais (SBAT), organizer and founding member, 1917.
Honors/Awards: Festival given in her honor by SBAT, 1925.
Music List
Instrumental Solos
Piano
“Ada” (polca inglesa). Unpublished manuscript.
“Água do vintém” (tango brasileiro). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1897.
“Aguará” (valsa). Unpublished manuscript.
“Alegre-se viúva” (tango). Rio de Janeiro: Casa Artur Napoleão, n.d. Also arranged for small orchestra. Recorded: FENAB 114-115.
“Alerta!” (polca militar). Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão, n.d.
“Angá” (mazurca). Unpublished manuscript. Originally titled “Antoinette.” Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Animatógrafo” (valsa). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d.
“Anita” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1894.
“Araribóia” or “Não morreu” (polca). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Arcádia” (quadrilha). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, 1885.
“Ari: Filha do céu” (valsa de salão). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for various instrumental ensembles.
“Atraente” (polca). 1877. Rio de Janeiro: Narciso, A. Napoleão e Miguéz, 1881. Also arranged for various instrumental ensembles. Recorded: Eldorado 13.79.0333; Philips-Phonogram 6349 156.
“O bandolim” (serenata espanhola). ca. 1899. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d.
“Bandolineira.” 1898. Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost.
“A bela jardineira” (valsa). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“Bella fanciulla io t’amo” (walzer d’amore). Rio de Janeiro: Viera Machado e Cia., n.d. Recorded: EMI-Angel 064 422884.
“Bijou” (tango). Rio de Janeiro: Nascimento Silva e Cia., 1909. Also arranged for band.
“Biónne” (tango). 1883. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1895. Also arranged for small orchestra. Recorded: Eldorado 13.79.0333; EMI-Angel 064 422884.
“Borboleta” (valsa). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“O Boulevard da Imprensa: El amor es la vida” (habanera do Café da Cascata). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, ca. 1888.
“Café de São Paulo” (tango). Unpublished manuscript. Note: from Cá e lá.
“Camila” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Miguéz, 1879. Also arranged for chamber orchestra.
“Cananéa” (valsa). ca. 1900. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães. Also arranged for band; string orchestra.
“Candomblé” (dança africana). 1888. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1893. Also arranged for voice and piano; chorus and piano; small orchestra.
“Cariri” (valsa). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Carlos Gomes” (valsa brilhante). ca. 1880. Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Miguez, ca. 1880. Also arranged for orchestra.
“Catita” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“Ceci” (valsa). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Conspiradores” (tango). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d.
“Cubanita” (habanera). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d.
“Dama de ouros” (habanera). ca. 1890. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d. Also arranged for mezurca.
“Dança brasileira” (polca). ca. 1892. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1898. Also arranged for chamber orchestra. Recorded: EMI-Angel 064 422884.
“Dança das fadas” (valsa de salão). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1887.
“Day-break: Ainda não morreu” (tango). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1888. Recorded: EMI-Angel 063 422908.
“Desalento” (valsa de concerto). 1877. Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão, n.d.
“Desejos” (fado português). 1901. Rio de Janeiro: Vieira Machado e Cia., n.d.
“O diabinho” (tango carnavalesco). Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., n.d.
“Diário de notícias” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1886.
“Djanira” (polca). 1881. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1881.
“É enorme!” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1888.
“Em guarda!” (dobrado). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d. Recorded: EMI-Angel 064 422884.
“Eu já volto” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“Evoé” (tango carnavalesco). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1897.
“Faceiro” (tango). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1889.
“Fado de Coimbra.” Unpublished manuscript.
“Falena” (valsa). ca. 1899. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d. Recorded: Abril Cultural MPBCHIG A.
“Fantasia: Introdução no. 1.” Unpublished manuscript.
“Fênix” (habanera). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“Filha da Noite” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, 1885.
“Gaúcho” (tango brasiliero). ca. 1895. Rio de Janeiro: Vieira Machado e Cia., 1895. Recorded: Abril Cultural MPBCHIG A; Orpheus 01.
“Genéia” (valsa). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1894. Also arranged for voice and piano. Recorded: EMI-Angel 063 422908.
“Gondolineira” (barcarola). Unpublished manuscript.
“Grata esperança” (valsa). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1886.
“Gruta das flores” (polca). 1887. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“Guaianazes” (polca brasileira). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Guasca” (polca). Unpublished manuscript.
“Harmonia das esferas” (valsa brilhante). Rio de Janeiro: Cia. de Música e Pianos Sucessora de Artur Napoleão, 1881.
“Harmonias do coração” (valsa de concerto). 1877. Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., n.d.
“Heloísa” (valsa de salão). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1897.
“Hip!!!” (polca-galope). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, 1881. Recorded: EMI-Angel 063 422908.
“Iara: Coração de fogo” (valsa de concerto). 1885. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d. Recorded: EMI-Angel 063 422908.
“Invocação” (capricho elegíaco). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for voice and orchestra.
“Io t’amo” (gavota). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d.
“Ismênia” (valsa). Rio de Janeiro: Cia. de Música e Pianos Sucessora de Artur Napoleão, 1881.
“Itararé” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1897.
“O jagunço” (tango característico brasileiro). Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., ca. 1897.
“Jandira” (quadrilla). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, ca. 1903.
“Janiquinha” (schottisch). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1897. Recorded: EMI-Angel 064 422884.
“Júlia” (tango). Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão, n.d.
“Jurací” (valsa de salão). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1897. Recorded: EMI-Angel 064 422884.
“Laurita” (mazurca). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1889. Recorded: EMI-Angel 064 422884.
“Leontina” (habanera). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1889.
“Linda morena” (choro). 1919. Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Marcha fúnebre” or “Á memória do general Osório.” 1879. Rio de Janeiro: Narciso e Artur Napoleão, 1879. Recorded: EMI-Angel 064 422884.
“Marcha palaciana.” Unpublished manuscript.
“Maria” (valsa). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, ca. 1899.
“Meditação” (noturno). 1893. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann, Guimarães e Irmão, n.d. Also arranged for chamber orchestra. Note: from O crime do Padre Amaro. Recorded: EMI-Angel 064 422884.
“A meia noite!” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1890.
“Minha pátria” (marcha palaciana). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, ca. 1904.
“Mordaguinha” (polca). N.p.: Newparth e Carneiro, n.d.
“Musiciana” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, 1882. Also arranged for various instrumental ensembles.
“Não insistas, rapariga!” (polca). ca. 1877. Rio de Janeiro: Narciso e Artur Napoleão, 1881. Also arranged for chamber orchestra.
“A noite” (gavota). Unpublished manuscript.
“Oh! Não me iludas” (habanera). Rio de Janeiro: I. Bevilacqua e Cia., n.d. Recorded: EMI-Angel 063 422908.
“Os olhos dela” (polca). ca. 1881. Rio de Janeiro: Cia. de Música e Pianos Sucessora de Artur Napoleão, 1881. Recorded: Orpheus 01.
“Olhos irresistíveis” (polca). Porto: Costa Mesquita, n.d.
“Ortruda” (valsa). Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., n.d.
“O Padre Amaro” (valsa). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1890.
“Paraguaçu” (choro). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Passos no choro” (polca brasileira). 1911. Unpublished manuscript.
“Pehô-Pekim” (dança característica chinesa). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1889. Recorded: EMI-Angel 064 422884.
“Perfume: Feno de Atkinsons” (valsa de salão). 1892. Unpublished manuscript.
“Piu-dudo: Beija Flor” (batuque brasileiro). 1889. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1896. Also arranged for chamber orchestra.
“Plangente” (valsa sentimental). ca. 1877. Rio de Janeiro: Cia. de Música e Pianos Sucessora de Artur Napoleão, n.d. Recorded: EMI-Angel 063 422908.
“Polca militar.” 1900. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d.
“Prelúdios.” Unpublished manuscript.
“Primeira gavota.” Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“Promessa!” (valsa americana). Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., n.d. Also arranged for voice and piano.
“Psique” (habanera). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1885. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Radiante” (polca de salão). ca. 1885. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, 1885. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Robertinha” (valsa). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1897.
“Rosa” (valsa característica). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“Saci-pererê” (cateretê brasileiro). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for chamber orchestra as batuque.
“São Paulo” (tango brasileiro). 1885. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, 1902. Also arranged for chamber orchestra. Recorded: EMI-Angel 064 422884.
“Satã” (lundu brasileiro). 1891. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d. Also arranged for chamber orchestra; orchestra.
“Saudade” (valsa de salão). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“SBAT” (tango). 1917. Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for orchestra.
“Se o ferreta está de veneta” (polca). ca. 1885. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1885.
“Sedutor” (tango). 1877. Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., 1881.
“Serenata” (balada). Unpublished manuscript.
“Si fuera verdad!” (habanera). 1885. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, 1885. Also arranged for voice and piano.
“Só na flauta” (polca). 1911. Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost.
“Só no choro” (tango característico). 1889. Rio de Janeiro: I. Bevilacqua e Cia., n.d.
“Soberano” (tango). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“Sonhando” (habanera). 1879. Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., 1881. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble; chamber orchestra. Recorded: EMI-Angel 063 422908.
“Sultana” (polca). 1878. Rio de Janeiro: Viúva Banongia, 1878. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble; guitar; chamber orchestra. Recorded: FENAB 114-115.
“Suspiro” (tango). Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., ca. 1881. Recorded: EMI-Angel 063 422908.
“Tambiquererê” (tango). ca. 1894. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d.
“Tamoio” (pas-de-quatre). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Tango” or “Carlino.” Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1887. Note: from Carlino desempregado.
“Tango brasileiro.” ca. 1880. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, ca. 1898. Also arranged for chamber orchestra.
“Tango característico.” ca. 1887. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1889. Also arranged for chamber orchestra.
“Tapuia” (mazurca). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Teu sorriso” (polca). 1879. Rio de Janeiro: Cia. de Música e Pianos Sucessora de Artur Napoleão, 1881.
“Tim-tim” (tango). ca. 1885. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d. Recorded: Eldorado 13.79.0333.
“Timbira” (valsa). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Toujours et encore” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1897.
“Tupã” (tango brasileiro). ca. 1890. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d. Also arranged instrumental ensemble; chamber orchestra.
“Tupí” (valsa). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Tupiniquins” (valsa). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for instrumental ensemble.
“Vida ou morte” (dobrado). Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost.
“La Violette” (pas-de-quatre). Unpublished manuscript.
“Viva la gracia” (valsa espanhola). Rio de Janeiro: Vieira Machado e Cia. Ed., n.d. Recorded: EMI-Angel 064 422884.
“Viva o Carnaval!” (polca). 1884. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1886. Also arranged for chamber orchestra.
“Viver é folgar” (valsa). 1885. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“Vou dar um banho em minha sogra” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., n.d.
“Xi!” (tango). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, ca. 1883.
“Yo te adoro” (tango). 1881. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, 1881. Also arranged for orchestra as Eu te adoro.
Instrumental Ensemble
“Aguará: Garca vermelha” (valsa). Rio de Janeiro: [Author’s edition], 1932. Also arranged for piano.
“Ai que amor!” 1889. Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost.
“Angá-catu-rama: Alma bondosa” (rancheira). ca. 1890. Rio de Janeiro: [Author’s edition], 1932. Also arranged for piano.
“Aracê: O Dia sai” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: [Author’s edition], 1932. Also arranged for piano.
“Caobimpará: Mar azul” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: [Author’s edition], 1932. Also arranged for piano.
“Carijó” (choro). Rio de Janeiro: [Author’s edition], 1932. Also arranged for piano.
“Carioca” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: [Author’s edition], 1932. Also arranged for piano.
“Rancheira-platina” (choro). Rio de Janeiro: [Author’s edition], 1932. Also arranged for piano.
“Sabiá da mata” (polca). Rio de Janeiro: [Author’s edition], 1932. Also arranged for piano.
String Orchestra
Juriti (prelúdio). 1919. Unpublished manuscript.
Dança no. 1 or Uma página triste (minueto). 1915. Unpublished manuscript.
Coco velho (dança). 1902. Unpublished manuscript.
Dança no. 2. 1915. Unpublished manuscript.
Os mineiros (chula). Rio de Janeiro: [Author’s edition], n.d.
A noite. 1901. Unpublished manuscript.
Os oito batutas (tango). 1919. Unpublished manuscript.
Full Orchestra
Habanera. Rio de Janeiro: [Author’s edition], n.d.
Menina faceira (tango). 1885. Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for voice and piano as a canção; chorus and piano as a canção.
Sada (tango). 1886. Rio de Janeiro: [Author’s edition], n.d.
Valquíria (valsa). 1884. Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for piano.
Orchestra (Chamber or Full) with Soloists
Meu Deus por fim já creio (romance de Luiz). Unpublished manuscript.
Band
Chautemoc (marcha). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for voice and piano.
Duquesne (marcha militar). 1894. Unpublished manuscript.Solo Voice
“À Nossa Senhora das Dores” (prece). 1908. Unpublished manuscript.
Agnus Dei. ca. 1899. Unpublished manuscript.
“Ai morena” (canção). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“Ai que broma!” (bolero). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, 1885.
“Amarguras” (balada). In Futuro das moças 18 (August 1917).
“Amendoim” (cançoneta). Unpublished manuscript.
“Amor” (canção). Unpublished manuscript.
“L’Ange du Seigneur” (invocação). ca. 1894. Unpublished manuscript.
“Angelitude.” ca. 1900. Unpublished manuscript.
“Aurora” (fado). 1909. Unpublished manuscript.
Ave Maria. 1909. Unpublished manuscript.
“A Baiana dos pastéis” (canção). N.p.: Almanaque Editora, n.d. Note: lost.
“Balada.” Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d. Also arranged for violin and piano.
“Barcarola.” Unpublished manuscript.
“O beijo” (romance). ca. 1914. Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for chamber orchestra.
“Beijos.” Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, ca. 1899.
“Beijos do céu: Um sonho” (romance). ca. 1900. Unpublished manuscript.
“A brasileira” (canção). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d.
“Cá por coisas!” (canção brasileira). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, 1904.
“Canção brasileira.” Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for orchestra.
“Canção dos pastores” (noite de Natal). 1858. In Chiquinha Gonzaga: Grande compositora popular brasileira (Rio de Janeiro: FUNARTE, 1978).
“Carmencita” (tango). 1901. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d.
“Carta à Zitinha” (canção brasileira). Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., n.d.
“O coió” (cançoneta). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, n.d.
“Compensação” (cançoneta). Unpublished manuscript.
“Coro de virgem.” Unpublished manuscript.
“O cozinheiro” (canção brasileira). Unpublished manuscript.
“Democrático” (tango). Unpublished manuscript.
“Desejos” (fado português). Rio de Janeiro: Vieira Machado e Cia. Ed., n.d. Recorded: Odeon 40.491.
“Diálogo” (valsa). Unpublished manuscript.
“Doce fado.” 1909. Unpublished manuscript.
“Dona Adelaide” (cançoneta). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, n.d. Recorded: Odeon 108185; Victor 98.953.
“Dueto de amor.” Unpublished manuscript.
“Eis a sedutora.” Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, 1896. Note: from O burro de carga.
“Elvira” (fado português). 1901. Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“O esfolado” (tango da quitandeira). 1902. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, 1904. Note: from O esfolado. Recorded: Odeon 10.091.
“Espanha e Brasil” (canção). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Guimarães, ca. 1903.
“Faceira” or “Faceira, escuta” (raconto). In Boletim SBAT 240 (October 1947).
“Fado da sabina.” Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d. Notes: lost; included in A República, by Artur Azevedo.
“Fani” (valsa de salão). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“Feijoada do Brasil” (canção). Rio de Janeiro: Vieira Machado e Cia., 1909.
“A fiandeira” (raconto). 1913. Unpublished manuscript.
“Foi um sonho!” (barcarola). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, ca. 1890. Note: from O crime do Padre Amaro.
“A guitarra” (fado). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for chamber orchestra.
“Iaiá fazenda etc. e . . . tal!” (canção brasileira). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, 1911.
“Lua branca” (canção). 1911. Rio de Janeiro: Irmãos Vitale, 1939. Also arranged for chamber orchestra; accordion. Recorded: Abril Cultural MPB CHIG A; Atlantic/WEA BR 20054; Contintental 16.425; Odeon 10.420.
“Machuca” (cançoneta). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, n.d. Recorded: Columbia 12.193; Eldorado 12.79.0333.
“Manhã de amor” (balada). Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., 1881. Recorded: Eldorado 13.79.0333.
“O mar” (balada). 1926. Unpublished manuscript.
“A morena” (canção). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, ca. 1901.
“Morena” (canção luso-brasileira). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, ca. 1901. Recorded: Columbia B 211; Eldorado 12.79.0333.
“A mulatinha” (canção brasileira). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, n.d. Recorded: Odeon 120378.
“Os namorados da lua” (serenata). ca. 1900. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, n.d. Recorded: Eldorado 13.79.0333; Victor 98.950; Zon-o-phone 1516.
“O namoro” (canção brasileira). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, n.d. Recorded: Odeon 10008.
“A noiva.” Unpublished manuscript.
“Noivado” (valsa de amor). Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., n.d.
“Ó abre alas!” (maxixe). 1899. Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for chamber orchestra as a marcha carnavalesca. Recorded: Abril Cultural MPBCHIG A; Favorite 1-452023; Odeon 120174; SECC-1000.
“Oh! Mon étoile” or “Duas horas” (tango brasileiro). ca. 1881. Rio de Janeiro: Artur Napoleão e Cia., 1881.
“Para a cera do Santíssimo” (cançoneta cômica). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, ca. 1886.
“A Peroba.” Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“Poesia e amôr” (romance). 1888. Unpublished manuscript.
“As pombas.” 1890. Rio de Janeiro: Casa Bevilacqua, ca. 1929. Also arranged for piano; string orchestra.
“Por que choraste?” (romance). Unpublished manuscript.
“Prece à Virgem.” ca. 1894. Unpublished manuscript.
“Roda ioiô” (cançoneta). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, n.d.
“Rondolini-Rondolão” (cançoneta cômica). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, ca. 1886.
“Santa” (canção brasileira). Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, n.d.
“A sereia” (balada). 1887. In A semana 127 (June 9, 1887): 180.
“Simpatia” or “Que é simpatia?” (modinha). Rio de Janeiro: Buschmann e Guimarães, n.d.
“A sorte grande” (cançoneta). 1909. Unpublished manuscript.
“Tachi!” (romance). ca. 1900. Unpublished manuscript.
“Teus olhares” (canção brasileira). Unpublished manuscript. Also arranged for orchestra.
“Trigueira” or “Desgarrada minhota.” Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, n.d.
As tricanas de Coimbra: Pus-me a cantar . . . e chorei (fado). Unpublished manuscript. Recorded: Columbia B 290.
“Vamos à Missa.” ca. 1901. Rio de Janeiro: Manoel Antônio Gomes Guimarães, n.d.
“Villancete” (balada). Unpublished manuscript.
Voice with Instrumental Ensemble
“Não sonhes” (romance for voice, harp, piano). 1909. Unpublished manuscript.
Choral Music
“Heróica” (marcha). Unpublished manuscript.
“Hino à redentora.” 1888. Unpublished manuscript.
“Vinde! Vinde!” (sacro). Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost.
Dramatic Music
Abacaxi! 1893. Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost. Premiere, 1893.
Abolindemrepcochindego. 1889. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1889.
Abre alas! 1913. Unpublished manuscript. Co-composer, Luz Junior. Note: lost. Premiere, 1913.
Alba (operetta in three acts). 1921. Unpublished manuscript. Note: incomplete.
Amapá. 1896. Unpublished manuscript. Co-composers, Cavallier, Costa Junior, L. Moreira, Manoel Passos, Elia Pompilio, A. Gama, Luiza Leonardo. Premiere, 1896.
Os amores de um taberneiro. ca. 1903. Unpublished manuscript.
A avozinha (operetta in two acts). 1917. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1917.
A batota. 1908. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1908.
A bicha de sete cabeças. 1892. Unpublished manuscript. Co-composers, Henrique Alves de Mesquita, R. Domenech, Luiz Moreira, and others. Note: lost. Premiere, 1892.
A bota do diabo (fantastic play in three acts). 1908. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1908.
Casei com titia (operetta in one act). 1911. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1911.
Os ciganos (drama in three acts). ca. 1893. Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost.
Colégio de senhoritas (operetta in three acts). 1912. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1912.
Conspiração do amor (burlesque in three acts). 1920. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1920.
O conto do vigário (burlesque in three acts). 1900. Unpublished manuscript.
Cora (comic opera in three acts). ca. 1891. Unpublished manuscript.
A corte na roça (operetta in one act). 1885. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1885.
O crime do Padre Amaro. 1890. Unpublished manuscript. Note: incomplete manuscript. Premiere, 1890.
A dama de ouros (zarzuela in three acts). 1890. Unpublished manuscript. Co-composers, Chueca, Valverde. Note: lost. Premiere, 1890.
De 13 de maio a 15 de novembro. 1890. Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost. Premiere, 1890.
Depois do forrobodó (burlesque in three acts). 1913. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1913.
A desfilada dos mortos (fantastic tragedy in three acts). 1915. Unpublished manuscript.
O destino (O que é o destino!). 1886. Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost.
É êle! 1915. Unpublished manuscript. Note: incomplete manuscript. Premiere, 1915.
O esfolado. 1903. Unpublished manuscript. Co-composers, Assis Pacheco, Luis Moreira, Hallier, Paulino Sacramento, Luis Amabile, Nicolino Milano, and others. Note: lost. Premiere, 1903.
Estrela d’alva (pastoral operetta in two acts). 1920. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1920.
Festa de São João (operetta in one act). 1884. Unpublished manuscript.
FFF e RRR (comedy in one act). 1903. Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost.
A filha do Guedes. 1885. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1885.
Forrobodó (burlesque in three acts). 1912. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1912.
Há alguma novidade? 1886. Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost.
Idalio. 1917. Unpublished manuscript. Note: incomplete manuscript.
Jandira (operetta in three acts). 1921. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1921.
Jurití (operetta in three acts). 1919. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1919.
Manobras do amor (operetta in three acts). 1911. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1911.
Manto de arlequim. 1925. Unpublished manuscript. Co-composers, Assis Pacheco, Eduardo Souto, Sá Pereira, Freire Júnior, Paulino Sacramento. Premiere, 1925.
Maria! 1933. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1933.
O Minho em festa or De volta á pátria (operetta in three acts). 1919. Unpublished manuscript.
Os mistérios do convento (drama in three acts). 1890. Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost. Premiere, 1890.
A mulher homem. 1886. Unpublished manuscript. Co-composers, Henrique Alves de Mesquita, Carlos Cavalier, Miguel Cardoso, Henrique Magalhães. Premiere, 1886.
Não venhas! (dramatic parody of Quo Vadis?). 1904. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1904.
Nú e crú. 1906. Unpublished manuscript. Co-composers, Costa Júnior, Luiz Amabile. Premiere, 1906.
Ordem e progresso. 1917. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1917.
O perdão (lyric drama in three acts). 1901. Unpublished manuscript. Note: only one piece for voice and piano extant.
Quebra primas (comedy in one act). ca. 1905. Unpublished manuscript. Note: lost.
Pomadas e farofas. 1912. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1912.
Pudesse esta paixão (burlesque in three acts). 1912. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1912.
Redes ao mar (operetta in two acts). 1921. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1921.
Romeu e Julieta or Mário e Beatriz. 1921. Unpublished manuscript.
O sargento de milícias (operetta in three acts). 1926. Unpublished manuscript. Note: incomplete.
A sertaneja (burlesque in three acts). 1915. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1915.
As três graças (comic opera). 1908. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1908.
A trombeta mágica. ca. 1904. Unpublished manuscript.
Viagem ao Parnaso. 1883. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1891.
Você me conhece? ca. 1913. Unpublished manuscript.
Zé Caipora. 1887. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1887.
Zizinha maxixe (burlesque operetta). 1895. Unpublished manuscript. Premiere, 1895.
Publications
About Gonzaga
Books and Monographs
Boscoli, Geysa. A pioneira Chiquinha Gonzaga. [Natal]: Departamento Estadual de Imprensa, 1968.
Diniz, Edinha. Chiquinha Gonzaga: Uma história de vida. Rio de Janeiro Coderi, 1984. Reprint, [Rio de Janeiro]: Editora Rosa dos Tempos, 1991.
Lira, Mariza. Chiquinha Gonzaga: Grande compositora popular brasileira. Rio de Janeiro: [Impressão da Pap. e typ. Coelho], 1939. Reprint, Rio de Janeiro: FUNARTE, 1978.
Dissertations
Fernandes, Adriana. “O balanço de Chiquinha Gonzaga: Do carnaval à opereta.” M.A. thesis, Universidade de Campinas, Instituto de Artes, n.d.
Articles
Andrade, Mário de. “Chiquinha Gonzaga.” In Música, doce música, 329–333. São Paulo: Martins, 1963.
Azevedo, Luiz Heitor Corrêa de. In 150 anos de música no Brasil: 1800–1950, 148–151. Rio de Janeiro: José Olympio, 1956.
Mariz, Vasco. “O início de uma nova era: Chiquinha Gonzaga.” In A canção brasileira, 64–68. Rio de Janeiro: Serviço de Documentação do Ministério da Educação e Cultura, 1959.
Vasconcelos, Ary. “Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847–1935).” In Panorama da música popular brasileira, 33–35. São Paulo: Martins, 1964.
—. “Chiquinha Gonzaga.” In Raízes da música popular brasileira (1500–1889), 263–289. 2nd ed. Rio de Janeiro: Rio Fundo, 1991.
Vidal, Barros. “A primeira maestrina.” In Precursoras brasileiras, 191–199, 252, 260. Rio de Janeiro: A Noite, n.d.
Principal Archives
Divisão de Música e Arquivo Sonoro, Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, Rio de Janeiro
Sociedade Brasileira de Autores Teatrais, Av. Almirante Barroso, Rio de Janeiro
Francisca “Chiquinha” Hedviges (or Edviges) Gonzaga do Amaral (1847–1935) was Brazil’s first woman composer and one of the principal originators of the music that evolved into the samba. A talented mulatta, she defied tradition in order to fulfill her musical abilities and ambitions. Struggling with family ostracism and with prejudice against women who participated in public life, Gonzaga finally won respect and acceptance.
Gonzaga was born on the margins of upper-class life as the illegitimate child of a mulatta woman and an upper-class military man. Because Gonzaga’s father recognized her and eventually married her mother, his unhappy family was insistent that Gonzaga overcome her mulatta appearance and lower-class origins by playing the rigid, limiting upper-class female roles of society hostess and pampered wife and mother.
Gonzaga’s education included piano lessons and a musical environment of recitals by relatives. From an early age, she excelled at the piano and composed music. The family’s attempts to mold the strong-willed, rebellious teenager into a society matron resulted in her marriage into a moderately high-class family. Her dowry piano was her constant companion and consolation in her stifling home environment. When forced by her jealous husband to choose between her music and the society life he offered, Gonzaga chose music. This decision caused her to be expelled from the family, who denied her access to her daughter and second son and considered her dead. Alone and ostracized, she pursued a career as a music teacher, composer, and musician in the Bohemian fringes of Rio de Janeiro society.
Because of this life, Gonzaga came to value Africa-inspired popular music and became one of the first to bridge the gap between the African and European musical cultures. Her compositions were some of the earliest to combine elements from these two cultures. She found the polka to be the European form that best lent itself to fusion with the African lundu because of the similarities of their tempos and sensual implications.
After a brief interlude in the countryside, where she and a lover were forced to reside because of social criticism, Gonzaga returned to Rio, ending the liaison. Although already an accomplished composer of polkas and a skilled pianist, Gonzaga had to restart her career. For this purpose, Gonzaga chose as her mentor the mestiço flutist Joaquim António da Silva Callado Jr. (1848–80). He had created a special type of musical group that fused popular African rhythms with socially acceptable European melodies and popularized the African innovations that were still scorned by the elite. The hybrid form that resulted evolved into the choro, the first nationalized form of popular music.
The Callado/Gonzaga relationship was mutually beneficial. Callado’s support of the young, struggling musician helped launch Gonzaga’s professional career, while she, in turn, through her piano accompaniments supported his innovations on the flute and made arrangements of his music. Through her collaboration with Callado, Gonzaga became the first professional piano player to be associated with the choro, which stimulated the popular success of her own compositions. Callado even introduced her into Rio’s elitist musical society when he dedicated his song “Querida por todos” (Loved by All) to the aspiring composer.
After Callado’s premature death in 1880, Gonzaga pursued even more actively her mentor’s work in Afro-Brazilianizing popular music and became one of the principal promulgators of the innovative genre of the choro. Gonzaga’s work and Afro-Brazilianized music in general gained widespread acceptance during the tumultuous period between Callado’s death and the end of the century, and she emerged as a composer of the majority of the most successful pieces of the period.
Always the rebel, Gonzaga gave her first pieces (written in 1877) such provocative titles as “Atraente” (Captivating), “Não insistas, rapariga!” (Don’t Insist, Wench!), and “Sedutor,” thereby increasing the hostility she experienced in this period of already intense societal rejection (the years 1877–85). Even in her style of dress, she was iconoclastic and flouted convention, such as when she replaced the customary hat with silk scarves entwined in her hair.
Not only was Gonzaga one of the first composers to move traditional Brazilian music toward the composition of national forms through her fusion of European and African styles, but she was also the first to use lower-class speech and customs in songs, in the theater, and in light opera. After Callado’s death, Gonzaga began to compose for an early Brazilian, popular (lower-class) musical theater called the magazine theater (o teatro de revista). In this style of musical theater, several events and personalities of the past year were presented; happy, charming, and spirited music sustained the action and added sensuality and decorative exuberance.
In 1884, Gonzaga wrote the libretto and music for one such show, Festa de São João (The Feast of St. John). Although this love story filled with rural customs was neither published nor performed, it revealed Gonzaga’s audacity and determination to excel and was a prelude to better works to come. Five years later when she wrote the music for a work titled A corte na roça (Court in the Hinterlands), she broke with convention by ending the work with a maxixe dance that was subsequently censored by the police. Still, this theatrical piece was praised for its happy, spirited instrumentation, its national character, its use of rhythms from popular songs and dances, and its touch of lasciviousness. These works were followed by various light operas such as Corta-Jaca Gaúcho, which was composed in 1895 and played in the presidential palace.
In 1899, Gonzaga wrote the first song for a Carnival march of a particular Carnival group, the Rosa de Ouro. This popular marcha-rancha, “Ó abre alas!/Que eu quero passar” (Oh, Open the Wings [of Dancers]/I Want to Go Through) is noteworthy because it was composed specifically for Carnival and definitively established the relationship between the marcha-rancha and Carnival songs. This song also brought social recognition to the previously scorned street manifestations of Carnival and established a new genre that persists to this day. Another of her famous Carnival songs, “Forrobodó,” was part of a theater piece by the same title that caricatured the customs and speech of the lower classes. The malicious, sexual, common language of this piece reveals the revolutionary nature of its themes.
As Gonzaga approached middle age, she was finally accepted in elite musical circles. Despite this acceptance and her enhanced popularity, Gonzaga was never accepted by her family, and although she helped her now penniless and aged father, she continued to suffer from his insistence that she had died many years before. Only her adult sons were part of her life, her daughter having long since been lost to her.
Because she was marginalized for her nonconformist behavior, Gonzaga identified with other marginalized people and extended herself to help them. She was especially active in the abolitionist movement, even selling her music door to door in order to buy a slave’s freedom. In reaction to her own exploitation by others who gained financially by using her music without her permission, she organized a group to protect artists’ rights, the Sociedade Brasileira de Artistas Teatrais (Brazilian Society for Theater Artists). Her contribution to this movement was recognized by the festival given in her honor by the Sociedade in 1925 when she was 78 years old.
At the end of her life, Gonzaga was recognized as a composer who radically changed Brazilian music to reflect the various components of Brazilian life. This music, which evolved into the samba, finally became accepted by the upper classes. She was recognized as a woman who had made her way alone in a man’s world, a woman who had held true to her artistic and humanistic convictions in spite of prejudice and condemnation.
Joyce Carlson-Leavitt
Selected Works
Chiquinha Gonzaga achieved great success with the polka “Atraente” (Captivating), composed in 1877, her first published work. This short piano piece appeared in February 1877, and by November of the same year it was already in its 15th edition. “Atraente” is a rondo in five sections (ABACA) with an introduction. Each of the three main parts has an individual character, demonstrating the influence of her mentor, Joaquim António da Silva Callado. According to Gerard Béhague, this piece reconstructs the musical dialogue between different instruments of the choro, such as the flute and clarinet in section A and the cavaquinho—a ukulele-like instrument—in section B, but overall it presents few national characteristics. Nevertheless, “Atraente” marks the beginning of Gonzaga’s career as a composer in a male-dominated field.
“Gaúcho” (1895), a tango for piano, is arguably Gonzaga’s most famous composition. It first appeared in the operetta Zizinha maxixe, which premiered in 1895, and left the stage that same year, after only three performances. “Gaúcho” began to circulate widely only after the piano score was published by Casa Vieira Machado. It was later recycled as the last number of the musical revue Cá e lá (Here and There) from 1904, in which it achieved a remarkable success. In this revue, “Gaúcho” was danced as a maxixe, widely regarded as an extremely indecent and lascivious dance. In 1910, a performance of “Gaúcho” during a presidential festivity caused a great scandal due to the risqué connotations of the piece. Nevertheless, the work continued to be very popular, and in 1920, Darius Milhaud, who was then living in Rio, borrowed the whole of section A for his ballet Le boeuf sur le toit. The first part of “Gaúcho” is in D minor and alternates the original sung parts with a batuque, imitating the beating of Afro-Brazilian percussion instruments. Section B is explicitly labeled “Chorus and Dance,” and its melody in double thirds and sixths is in the key of F, the relative major. Overall, “Gaúcho” clearly exemplifies a typical characteristic of Gonzaga’s works, which is the constant repetition of syncopated rhythmic patterns of one or two measures over entire sections.
Forrobodó (1912) was Gonzaga’s most successful theatrical work. It was frequently revived and performed during the first quarter of the 20th century, more than 1,500 times throughout Brazil. Its outstanding feature, however, is the libretto written by Carlos Bettencourt and Luíz Peixoto, which depicts the way of life of the lower classes of Rio de Janeiro, including their spicy use of slang and bawdy language; and it portrays in vivid terms the musicians known as chorões. Two of its individual numbers acquired a life of their own—the Brazilian tango “Não se impressione” (Don’t Be Impressed) and the modinha “Lua branca” (White Moon), both of which received new lyrics and, in the case of the latter piece, a new title as well.
The first act concludes with the exuberant “Não se impressione,” also known as the “Tango of the Night Guard.” A lively syncopated rhythm, typical of the choros, provides unity to this ternary piece (ABA), and the middle section, with its modulation to the subdominant, has deliciously chromatic melodic lines. “Lua branca,” originally set as a duet between Escaldanhas and the mulatta Zeferina, consistently employs the chromatically descending bass so typical of the modinha. Its brief introduction sets the key of D minor and is followed by two eight-measure phrases ending with the same melodic refrain (abcb). In its simplicity and lyrical pathos, “Lua branca” successfully captures the sentimentality and nostalgia of the Brazilian modinha.
Juriti (1919) can appropriately be described as an operetta, and its action takes place in one of the rural and less developed villages of the northeastern states of Brazil. According to Mário de Andrade, it is a work of lasting significance and perhaps the most important of Gonzaga’s compositions. She was at the height of her career, and the combination of her music and the libretto by Viriato Correia, a member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras, was a winning one. The premiere of Juriti on July 16, 1919, at the Teatro São Pedro de Alcântara in Rio was highly acclaimed by both the public and the press. This operetta was the most successful work of its kind and was revived many times and widely performed throughout the country during the first half of the century. The main heroine is Juriti, whose name is that of a dove from Brazil. She is genuinely loved by two locals, Graúna, her fiancé, and Corcundinha (the hunchback), who is hopelessly in love with her. Juriti is also desired by the son of the powerful Major Fulgêncio, Dr. Juca, who comes back to his native village after completing his studies in Rio. Temporary havoc ensues when Sofia, a woman of dubious reputation, is seen with Dr. Juca and is mistakenly identified as Juriti by the gossipy Bonifácia. As a result, Juriti is rejected by Graúna but is rewarded with the sincere love of Corcundinha, who remains by her side through adversity. Local color is provided by an onstage marching band in the first act and the celebration of the Feast of St. John in the third act, including scattered bonfires, colorful banners, and a performance of the bumba-meu-boi, a dramatic folk dance that mixes native Indian and African elements.
Gonzaga composed a total of 27 individual pieces for this work, including numbers for soloists and chorus, solo songs, duos, trios, and ensembles. The opening instrumental prelude is a slow samba, an Afro-Brazilian dance and musical form. Lively syncopated rhythms, bright major keys, and simple harmonies predominate throughout, such as in Juriti’s opening number with chorus. All this provides a deep contrast with the melancholic song of Corcundinha, marked by gloomy diminished chords and pedal tones, which reappears many times in different minor keys. The trio for Juriti, Raposo (Juca’s friend from Rio de Janeiro), and Juca finds its counterpart in the trio for Sofia, Raposo, and Juca, both pieces being typical Brazilian waltzes set in F major. In these two trios, Gonzaga treats the wholesome Juriti and the dubious Sofia with equal sympathy through similar musical means, perhaps reflecting the two sides of Gonzaga’s own personality, as a woman of strong morals rejected by a society who frowned on female composers. Comic relief is provided in numbers such as the automobile song of Major Fulgêncio, which like the revistas (musical revues) of the day, often provided an ironic framework for contemporary events. The operetta ends with the reprise of “Number Eight,” a samba for Juriti and chorus, now entitled “Fogo, foguinho” (Fire, fire) and accompanied by handclaps.
Chiquinha Gonzaga belongs to a period of transition in Brazilian music, in which imported and native elements still co-existed. Juriti, however, is a late work in which the example of Offenbach’s operettas is left far behind while the powerful influence of the European polka is subtly but unequivocally transformed, and the whole can be considered as a legitimate contribution to musical nationalism in Brazil.
Luiz Fernando Vallim Lopes
References
Andrade, Mário de. “Chiquinha Gonzaga.” In Música, doce música, 329–333. São Paulo: Martins, 1963.
Appleby, David. The Music of Brazil. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1983.
Béhague, Gerard. “Popular Musical Currents in the Art Music of the Early Nationalist Period in Brazil, circa 1870–1920.” Ph.D. diss., Tulane University, 1966.
Diniz, Edinha. Chiquinha Gonzaga: Uma história de vida. Rio de Janeiro: Codecri, 1984.
Guillermoprieto, Alma. Samba. London: Jonathan Cape, 1990.
McGowan, Chris, and Ricardo Pessanha. The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova, and the Popular Music of Brazil. New York: Billboard, 1991.
Vasconcelos, Ary. Raízes da Música Popular Brasileira. 2nd ed. Rio de Janeiro: Rio Fundo, 1991.