Rosa, Noel (1910–1937)

Noel Rosa (Noel de Medeiros Rosa; b. 11 December 1910; d. 4 May 1937), Brazilian songwriter. Rosa was born in Rio de Janeiro; complications at birth left him disfigured and partly paralyzed. Raised in the neighborhood of Vila Isabel in São Paulo, Rosa began to play the mandolin by ear at the age of thirteen and later took up the guitar. Together with friends from his high school, Colégio Batista, Rosa formed the band Flor do Tempo. Invited to record in 1929, the group renamed themselves the Bando de Tangarás. That same year, Rosa composed his first pieces, "Minha viola" (My Viola) and "Festa no céu" (Party in the Sky), both of which he recorded in 1930.

Rosa's first hit came in 1930 with the samba "Com qué roupa?" (With What Clothes?), featuring humorous observations of life in Rio de Janeiro that would characterize his future work. He was a prolific songwriter; in 1933, his best year, he recorded more than thirty pieces. Beyond the successes of Carnival such as "Até amanhã" (Until Tomorrow) and "Fita amarela" (Yellow Ribbon), other major works of that year included the sambas "Onde está a honestidade?" (Where Is the Honesty?), "O orvalho vem caindo" (The Dew Is Falling), and "Três apitos" (Three Whistles).

Rosa's bohemian lifestyle and his frequenting of bars and nightclubs had a deleterious effect on his health. After years of intense composing, performing, and traveling, Rosa died in 1937 at the age of twenty-six. Since 1950, when his music was rediscovered through the recordings of singer Araci de Almeida, Rosa is always included in any retrospective collections of Brazilian popular music.

See alsoMusic: Popular Music and Dance .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Marcos Antônio Marcondes, ed., Enciclopédia da música brasileira: Erudita folclórica popular (1977).

Additional Bibliography

Fernandes, Juvenal. História da música brasileira: Com tópicos da história do Brasil (1500–2000). São Paulo: EDICON, 2004.

Máximo, João. Noel Rosa: Uma biografia. Brasília: Linha Gráfica Editora: Editora UnB, 1990.

                                        Lisa MarÍc