Thursday, July 17, 2008

Maria Helena Raposo - Encantamento (1958)

Hello, good evening! I saw this album for the first time at Jorge Mello’s place, and this is another amazing contribution sponsored by Jorge Mello. Actually, some Jorge Mello’s albums were selected by my feeling. I remember that day, a great day. It was a hot day and we were talking about many things such like two kids. While talking, I was also browsing Jorge Mello’s collection and making decisions. It was a challenge to keep the conversation and selecting the contributions. I admit that some of them were selected only by instinct; such like this one, but every selection I made with no detailed examination brought great surprises, such like this one. Let’s see.

This is Maria Helena Raposo – Encantamento com Maria Helena Raposo (1958), for the legendary label Mocambo, featuring the first and probably the only album recorded by the Brazilian singer Maria Helena Raposo, a classical singer making her initial steps towards the popular music. Actually, Maria Helena Raposo recorded a 78RPM at the same Mocambo in 1956. The repertoire features three Ary Barroso compositions, and the first recording of Estrada do Sol, written by Antonio Carlos Jobim in 1956 with lyrics by Dolores Duran in the end of the same year, a real treat for Antonio Carlos Jobim admirers, essentially, everybody. Estrada do Sol is available at Loronix Preview Center. Tracks include:

01 - Prece (Marino Pinto / Vadico)
02 - Na Baixa do Sapateiro (Ary Barroso)
03 - Estrada do Sol (Tom Jobim / Dolores Duran)
04 - Ninguém (Flávio Cavalcanti / Celso Cavalcanti)
05 - Só Você (César Cruz / Silvinha Drumond)
06 - Se Todos Fossem Iguais a Você (Tom Jobim / Vinicius de Moraes)
07 - Bebeco e Doca (Ary Barroso / Luis Peixoto)
08 - Antigamente (Vadico / Jarbas Melo)
09 - Portão Antigo (Antônio Maria)
10 - Nega Nhanhá (Ary Barroso)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I see a beautiful lady on LP cover, I am always intrigued and curious to hear how she sounds.
Maria Helena Reposo has a rich deep voice and the song list is prominent. But there is a worldvide
problem with classical musicians and singers in general when they are recording popular music.
They are instinctively protecting their reputation. You can actually hear the thoughts that are passing through their minds while performing. Like:
"I will show the world that even popular music can reach a high aritistic level" or: "Nobody should think that I a doing it for money, because I am not..." etc, forgetting that the so called classical music was a few centuries ago actually popular music.
In fact I know only one classical singer who is singing folk and popular music out of the heart: When we go out for a dinner in a
restaurant with live music, and the musicians recognize her, she tells them which song to play and starts to sing without any restraint, enchanting herself, me and the whole audience. Without giving a damn about what people will think about her.
But, she is an exception.

Milan Filipovic

Eternal Leathers said...

Hey Zeca, Im a longtime fan of your great posts. The other day i was trying to open a Baden Powell RAR I downloaded from you a while back and it has a password lock on it... I wonder if you could help me find the password?

The album was: Baden Powell - Baden Powell Swings With Jimmy Pratt (1963)

I know its great I hope I can hear it!

Thanks again.

Jacob

zecalouro said...

Hello, Jacob, how are you? I will check this RAR file soon as I get home. I never used RAR at Loronix and I'm curious to see what is going on.

Cheers, zeca

Eternal Leathers said...

Hmm, maybe I made a mistake? I assumed I had gotten it from you, because you've got all the Brasilena magic, but I guess I could have scavenged it somewhere else...

Thanks for responding anyway!

j

zecalouro said...

Hello,

Not a mistake, I'm sure your A Brazileira was taken from Loronix. Caetano Rodrigues owns the original vinyl, he took it from is collection and made this share to our community.

Cheers, zeca

Anonymous said...

I need to say "thank you" for several albums you have provided me...too many to list now, but your blog is too good to be true. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and I'm sorry I haven't been commenting. I'm 36, live in the US, and love all this 1950s and 1960s stuff. I like Tropicalia and newer Brazilian music too, but as you probably know, this older work is not written about, not reissued, not known in the U.S. at all (except of course for a couple of things like early Joao Gilberto). Take care, and thanks again.

Neil

SALUD NATURAL said...

Buenas noches, gracias a mi esposa que tuvo el instinto de buscar una foto de mi madre, encontramos este sitio, soy Leonardo Raposo hijo único de la fallecida María Helena Raposo, me emocionó, no apenas ver una foto de mi madre en la web, sino saber que aún hoy, su preciosa voz de contralto es apreciada, quiero aportar que mi madre fue aclamada en los escenarios mundiales como por ejemplo el teatro bolchoi de Moscu, como heredera de Chaliapin, en China y muchos otros teatros de Europa y Brasil, nuestro país. Fue única una vez más gracias por su reconocinimiento, mi correo es corposano.omni@gmail.com , agradecería si tiene más fotos de ella, enviarme o el archivo que tengan, muchas gracias Leonardo Raposo

Anonymous said...

Buenas noches, gracias a mi esposa que tuvo el instinto de buscar una foto de mi madre, encontramos este sitio, soy Leonardo Raposo hijo único de la fallecida María Helena Raposo, me emocionó, no apenas ver una foto de mi madre en la web, sino saber que aún hoy, su preciosa voz de contralto es apreciada, quiero aportar que mi madre fue aclamada en los escenarios mundiales como por ejemplo el teatro bolchoi de Moscu, como heredera de Chaliapin, en China y muchos otros teatros de Europa y Brasil, nuestro país. Fue única una vez más gracias por su reconocinimiento, mi correo es corposano.omni@gmail.com , agradecería si tiene más fotos de ella, enviarme o el archivo que tengan, muchas gracias Leonardo Raposo