A Choro, also popularly called a Chorinho, is an instrumental Brazilian popular music genre which originated in 19th century in Rio de Janeiro.
Ernesto Júlio de Nazareth (March 1863 – February 1934) was a Brazilian composer and pianist, especially noted for his creative maxixe and choro compositions. Influenced by a diverse set of dance rhythms including the polka and the habanera. he combined these elements with his classical training to create compositions that he called “Brazilian tangos". These would be the precursors for what is known today as Choro. His piano repertoire is now part of the teaching programs of both classical and popular styles, as Nazareth once served at the boundary between these two worlds. Nazareth was born in Rio de Janeiro, one of five children. His mother, Carolina da Cunha, gave him his first piano lessons. At the age of ten, after his mother's death, he continued his piano studies with Eduardo Madeira and Charles Lucien Lambert. Strongly influenced by Chopin, Nazareth published his first composition Você Bem Sabe (which means "You know it well") in 1877, at age 14. At that time, he had begun his professional career playing in cafes, balls, society parties and in the waiting rooms of movie theatres. In 1879, he wrote his first tango, Cruz perigo. In 1880, at age 17, he made his first public appearance at the Mozart Club. The following year, he composed the tango Não caio n'outra, his first great success, with several reprints. In 1885, he performed in concerts in different clubs of the court. In 1893, Casa Vieira Machado launched a new catalogue of his compositions, including the tango Brejeiro, which achieved national and even international success; the Republican Guard band of Paris included it in their repertoire and recorded it. Nazareth was noted for creatively combining diverse influences into his music, not only of Brazilian music but also from the music of Europe, Africa and ragtime. Many of his compositions remain part of the repertory today. He composed 88 tangos, 41 waltzes, 28 polkas and numerous sambas, galops, quadrilles, Schottisches, fox-trots, romances and other types of scores, totaling 211 complete compositions.
A Choro, also popularly called a Chorinho (meaning a little cry or little lament), is an instrumental Brazilian popular music genre which originated in 19th century in Rio de Janeiro. Despite its name, the music often has a fast and happy rhythm. It is characterized by virtuosity, improvisation and subtle modulation, and is full of syncopation and counterpoint. A Choro is considered the first characteristically Brazilian genre of urban popular music. The serenaders who play Choros are known as Chorões. Originally a Choro was played by a trio of flute, guitar and cavaquinho (a small chordophone with four strings). Other instruments commonly played are the mandolin, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet and trombone. These melody instruments are backed by a rhythm section composed of 6-string guitar, 7-string guitar (playing bass lines) and light percussion. Structurally, a Choro composition usually has three parts, played in a rondo form: AABBACCA, with each section typically in a different key.
