From the romanceiro to the songbook

An intermedia analysis of Zé Ramalho's songs

Abstract

The article aims, through the intermedial approaches between the Romanceiro Popular Nordestino and the Cancioneiro, to demonstrate how the composer Zé Ramalho incorporates typical Cordel modalities into the texture of his songs and updates them. In order to capture the impact of these approaches, we refer to some theorists who contribute to this study, which does not focus on a hermeneutic analysis but on the way Zé Ramalho worked with the mediatic materiality of his songs in the album A peleja do diabo com o dono do céu (1979). To this end, we sought insights from the studies of Irina Rajewsky (2012), Adalberto Müller (2012), Claus Clüver (2006), and Maria Cristina Cardoso Ribas (2018) to elucidate the combinations, references, and media transformations. For a more specific investigation of the connection between literature and music, we bring the reflections of Solange Oliveira (2000) and Joaquim Aguiar (2001). In order to understand the intermedial linkages between the Cordel and the artist’s songs, we considered the studies of Rosana Malafaia (2022) and Idelette Muzart (2009). The result demonstrates technical, aesthetic, and political originality in the analyzed songs: the composer made the compositional complexity of the romanceiro resonate, while bringing to the forefront voices that had been silenced and stigmatized in literary compendiums.