The presence of the viola caipira in Kilza Setti’s Missa Caiçara: objective and subjective aspects

Resumen

This article analyzes the Brazilian composer Kilza Setti’s Missa Caiçara (Caiçara Mass), focusing on the fact that the viola caipira (peasant viola) was widely used in this piece, along with other instruments that are frequently employed in this musical genre. Some objective and subjective aspects of the compositional process of this piece are discussed here, as an attempt to clarify the technical and stylistic procedures used by the musician in her oeuvre. Among the objective aspects is the employment of specific musical elements typically found in the fishing communities’ music. Two of them are strumming chords and rhythmic motives that derive from the Portuguese fandango. On a more subjective tone Kilza pays tribute to São Gonçalo by quoting tunes that were traditionally sang in folk festivities. São Gonçalo is a saint who is worshipped by the fishing communities for protecting infertile married women and prostitutes. Due to the limited amount of publications on Kilza Setti’s Missa Caiçara, the main sources used were: an interview with the composer, which occurred in 2016; Kilza’s Doctoral research about the coastline communities’ music; José Luiz Chamorro Ribalta’s Masters Dissertation about Missa caiçara, and the score and recording of the piece itself.