Choro is the original Carnival music of Brazil, predating both samba and bossa nova. The music emerged in Rio de Janeiro in the 19th century, and was rooted in Portuguese fado and other European chamber styles. Choro -- which literally means "weeping" -- was played by small combos, usually including guitars, flutes, and small Brazilian guitars called cavaquinhos. Other instruments sometimes included mandolins, clarinets, and even saxophones.
It was one of the first truly homegrown Brazilian musical styles, and offered a foretaste of the musical explosion that would take place in the country in the next century. By the turn of the century, cafes and bars all over Rio began to feature choro -- offering it a new outlet to outgrow its genteel salon roots and become a true popular music. Even Brazil's great classical music composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887 - 1959) cut his teeth playing the music as a young man in Rio.
Choro was extremely popular in Brazil during the early days of radio, when composers like Pixinguinha (1898 - 1973) enjoyed some of Brazil's first national hits with songs like "Lamento." But by the 1960s, the music had largely disappeared; supplanted by the samba and bossa nova. In the late '70s there was a concerted effort to revive the genre, which was largely successful. Spearheaded by a younger generation of musicians such as Paulino da Viola, choro is once again a thriving sound in Brazil, attracting new fans and adherents every day. -- Tom Pryor
