Vinicius De Moraes

A pivotal presence within Brazilian music history, Vinícius de Moraes supplied words to countless compositions destined to rank among the most enduring bossa nova and samba standards. He also created melodies of lasting quality and issued several recordings that continue to hold historical weight. Born into a household steeped in music, he turned to verse at an early age. At fourteen he formed a close bond with brothers Paulo and Haroldo Tapajós; together with Haroldo he created the fox song “Loura ou Morena,” which the siblings cut for Columbia in 1932 to immediate commercial response. In 1929 he entered law school in Catete, Rio. Between 1932 and 1933 he furnished lyrics for ten pieces ultimately recorded by his collaborators—seven with Haroldo Tapajós, two with Paulo, and one with J. Medina that João Petra de Barros preserved. Upon completing his legal studies in 1933 he brought out his debut volume, O Caminho Para a Distância. In 1935 Forma e Exegese received an award; the following year he took a post as cinema censor under the health and education ministry. He completed Ariana, a Mulher in 1936 and, two years later, sailed for England on a British scholarship to read literature at Oxford, where he composed Novos Poemas while married by proxy.

The outbreak of World War II prompted his return to Rio. In 1941 he began contributing film commentary and criticism; two years afterward he entered Brazil’s foreign service, Itamaraty, and simultaneously published Cinco Elegias. Posted in 1946 as vice consul in Los Angeles, he released Poemas, Sonetos e Baladas. He came back to Brazil in 1950 upon his father’s death. His initial samba, “Quando Tu Passas por Mim,” written with Antônio Maria, dates from 1953, the same year he departed for France as second secretary at the Brazilian embassy. The play Orfeu da Conceição captured the IV São Paulo Centennial Contest prize in 1954. The next year he supplied texts for several chamber works by Cláudio Santoro. In 1956 Orfeu da Conceição reached the stage and was later adapted for the screen by Marcel Camus. During that production de Moraes met the then-unknown pianist Antônio Carlos Jobim, who received the commission to score the play; Jobim supplied “Se Todos Fossem Iguais a Você,” “Um Nome de Mulher,” and additional numbers that Odeon later recorded with Luiz Bonfá and others. After another Paris posting in 1956 and a Montevideo assignment in 1957—where Livro de Sonetos appeared, followed by Novos Poemas II in 1959—he remained abroad until 1960.

Elizeth Cardoso’s 1958 album, which signaled the arrival of bossa nova, contained five pieces credited to the partnership of Tom and Vinícius: “Canção do Amor Demais,” “Chega de Saudade,” “Outra Vez,” “Luciana,” and “Estrada Branca.” João Gilberto’s distinctive rhythmic approach surfaced on two of those tracks. The record propelled the careers of all three participants, and the songs written by the duo quickly attracted numerous interpreters. The film Orfeu do Carnaval, drawn from the original play, received the Golden Palm at Cannes in 1959 and, in Hollywood, the award for best foreign picture. Around that time de Moraes and Jobim completed “Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar” and “Amor em Paz.” He published O Amor dos Homens in 1960. In 1961, working with Carlos Lyra, he produced “Coisa Mais Linda,” “Primeira Namorada,” “Nada Como Ter Amor,” and “Você e Eu.” The following year he joined Pixinguinha to score the film Sol Sobre a Lama (Alex Viany), contributing “Lamento,” and began an enduring collaboration with Baden Powell that yielded “Samba da Bênção,” “Só por Amor,” “Canção de Amor e Paz,” “Pra Que Chorar,” “Deixa,” “Samba em Prelúdio,” “Apelo,” “Berimbau,” “Consolação,” and further classics. After Powell’s research trip to Bahia, the pair assembled the Afro-sambas series, including “Samba de Oxossi,” “Canto de Xangô,” and “Canto de Ossanha.” With Lyra he also wrote “Marcha da Quarta-Feira de Cinzas” and “Minha Namorada” for the play Pobre Menina Rica. In August 1962, alongside Jobim, João Gilberto, and Os Cariocas, he inaugurated the Encontro revue at Rio’s Au Bon Gourmet nightclub, where “Garota de Ipanema,” “Insensatez,” “Ela é Carioca,” “Só Danço Samba,” “Samba do Avião,” and “Samba da Bênção” received their first public hearings. The same venue mounted Pobre Menina Rica, scored by Lyra with “Sabe Você,” “Primavera,” and “Pau-de-Arara,” and introduced Nara Leão to audiences. Para Viver um Grande Amor appeared that year. In 1963 de Moraes met Edu Lobo, resulting in “Arrastão”—winner of the I FMPB in 1965 via Elis Regina—“Zambi,” and “Canção do Amanhecer.”

He resumed UNESCO duties in Paris until 1964. Back in Brazil he partnered with Francis Hime on “Saudade de Amar,” “Sem Mais Adeus,” and “Eu Te Amo, Amor.” A celebrated engagement at the Zum-Zum nightclub with Dorival Caymmi was recorded live for Elenco and also launched the vocal quartet Quarteto em Cy, whom de Moraes had discovered. At the I FMPB, “Valsa do Amor Que Não Vem,” again with Baden Powell, placed second in Elizeth Cardoso’s interpretation. He contributed to the screenplay of Garota de Ipanema and mounted a second season of the Caymmi show. O Mergulhador came out in 1965. The following year he joined Maria Bethânia and Gilberto Gil for the Pois É revue at Teatro Opinião, presenting Gil’s material. Claude Lelouch’s Un Homme et une Femme, which carried “Samba da Bênção” on its soundtrack, won at Cannes. That year he also completed Para uma Menina com uma Flor. In 1968 the military regime removed him from Itamaraty after twenty-six years. He toured Europe extensively with Chico Buarque and Nara Leão and Argentina with Dorival Caymmi, Quarteto em Cy, Baden Powell, and Oscar Castro-Neves. In 1969 he appeared in Punta del Este, Uruguay, alongside Maria Creuza and Dori Caymmi. That same year he formed a lasting partnership with Toquinho; together with Marília Medalha they opened a 1970 engagement at Teatro Castro Alves in Salvador. The trio also performed at Buenos Aires’s La Fusa; in January 1971 Toquinho and de Moraes returned there with Maria Bethânia. In 1970, adapting a twenty-year-old melody by Garoto, he supplied lyrics with Chico Buarque for “Gente Humilde.” His book Arca de Noé later supplied material for televised productions scored by Toquinho and issued on the Ariola albums A Arca de Noé (1980) and A Arca de Noé, Vol. 2 (1981). An RGE LP pairing Toquinho and de Moraes yielded the successful 1971 tracks “Tarde em Itapoã” and “Como Dizia o Poeta,” prompting numerous domestic and international engagements. Subsequent releases included “Maria-vai-Com-as-Outras” and “Testamento” (1971) and “Regra Três” (1972). In 1973, with Toquinho and Clara Nunes, he presented O Poeta, a Moça e o Violão at Teatro Castro Alves, Bahia.