Idiosyncrasies in rabeca making in Pernambuco: The case of Valério Bizunga, Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33871/vortex.2025.13.9210

Keywords:

Rabeca, Brazilian fiddle, Organology, Sociology, Making of musical instruments

Abstract

Valerio Bizunga's rabeca (a Brazilian fiddle) is widely recognized by rabeca players throughout Brazil. In this article, we investigate his artisanal practices from an organological and sociological perspective. We describe in detail his construction process, exploring the influence of local traditions from the Zona da Mata Norte of Pernambuco and violin-making techniques. This analysis contributes to the preservation of Bizunga's legacy and paves the way for future research on the relationship between the organological characteristics of his rabecas and the musical practices associated with them.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Erasmo Estrada, Independente

Erasmo Estrada is an independent researcher based in Recife, Brazil. He studied fortepiano and clavichord in Amsterdam, harpsichord in Freiburg im Breisgau, and completed a PhD in musicology at the University of Edinburgh. Currently, he is documenting traditional and modern instrument-making practices in Pernambuco, researching the piano culture of Recife at the turn of the twentieth century, and investigating the use of endemic natural resources in the construction of instruments in North-eastern Brazil during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Jorge Ventura de Morais, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

Jorge Ventura de Morais holds a PhD in Sociology from the London School of Economics (1992). Professor in the Department of Sociology and the Postgraduate Program in Music at the Federal University of Pernambuco. He conducts research in the area of luthiery and LP collecting. He is a CNPq productivity scholarship holder.

References

ESTRADA, Erasmo; MORAIS, Jorge Ventura de. Idiossincrasias na construção da rabeca em Pernambuco: o caso de Airon Galindo, Caruaru-PE. OPUS 27, no. 1, 2021. https://dx.doi.org/10.20504/opus2021a2705

ESTRADA, Erasmo. An instrument for the concert stage: an investigation into the redesign of the rabeca in Pernambuco. Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society, v. L, pp. 131–169, 2024.

GRAMANI, José Eduardo; GRAMANI, Daniella da Cunha (Org.). Rabeca, o som inesperado. Curitiba: Fundação Cultural de Curitiba, 2002.

HENRIQUE, Luís L. Instrumentos musicais. Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 2004.

HERON-ALLEN, Edward. Violin Making: as it was and is. London; New York: Ward, Lock and Co., 1884.

JOHNSON, Chris; COURTNALL, Roy. The Art of Violin Making. Ramsbury: Robert Hale, 1999.

LIMA, Fabiana de Oliveira (Org.). Rabequeiros de Pernambuco. Recife: Editora Universitária da UFPE, 2012.

MORAIS, Jorge Ventura de. Entrevista com Valério Bizunga. Olinda, 13/11/2019. Entrevista com o construtor na sua oficina.

MORAIS, Jorge Ventura de. Entrevista com Valério Bizunga. Olinda, 26/10/2021. Entrevista com o construtor na sua oficina.

MURPHY, John. The “rabeca” and its music, old and new, in Pernambuco, Brazil. Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana, v. 18, n. 2, pp. 147–172, 1997. https://doi.org/10.2307/780395

NÓBREGA, Ana Cristina Perazzo Da. A rabeca no cavalo marinho de Bayeux, Paraíba: um estudo de caso. João Pessoa: UFPB/Editora Universitária, 2000.

OLIVEIRA, Sérgio Roberto Veloso de. A rabeca na zona da mata norte de Pernambuco: levantamento e estudo. Monografia (Trabalho de conclusão de curso). Departamento de Música, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, 1994.

PACHECO, Gustavo; ABREU, Maria Clara. Rabecas de Mané Pitunga. Rio de Janeiro: Funarte, 2001.

SENNETT, Richard. Juntos: os rituais, os prazeres e a política da cooperação. Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo: Record, 2012.

SENNETT, Richard. O artífice. 4ª. edição. Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo: Record, 2013.

WEISSHAAR, Hans; SHIPMAN, Margaret. Violin restoration. A manual for violin makers. Weisshaar-Shipman: Los Angeles, 1988.

Downloads

Published

2025-04-15

How to Cite

Estrada, E., & Ventura de Morais, J. (2025). Idiosyncrasies in rabeca making in Pernambuco: The case of Valério Bizunga, Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil. Vortex Music Journal, 13, 1–50. https://doi.org/10.33871/vortex.2025.13.9210

Issue

Vol. 13 (2025): Revista Vórtex

Section

Research Papers

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Erasmo Estrada, Jorge Ventura de Morais

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Autores mantêm os direitos autorais e concedem à revista o direito de primeira publicação, com o trabalho simultaneamente licenciado sob a Licença Creative Commons Attribution que permite o compartilhamento do trabalho com reconhecimento da autoria e publicação inicial nesta revista.

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC