Afro-Sambas

My housemate just took delivery of Afro-Sambas, another CD featuring Mônica Salmaso--but this time just Mônica's stratospherically beautiful voice, accompanied on guitar by Paulo Bellinati.

The Afro-Sambas is an 11-song suite resulting from a remarkable partnership between two giants of Brazilian music, Baden Powell and Vinícius de Moraes. While music fans will recognise "Canto de Ossanha" and certainly the popular "Berimbau", both of which have become Brazilian standards, the piece is rarely performed or recorded in its entirety. Here's more about Afro-Sambas from Mônica's web site:

The Afro-Sambas mixed the popular bossa nova style with African musical elements into an operatic story-line in which rituals of the Orixás (Gods) are told. Baden Powell and Vinícius de Moraes explored the Afro-Brazilian roots of Bahia, incorporating musical ideas drawn from the regional Capoeira (popular dance-like martial art form of Brazil) and the Candomblé (the main Afro-Brazilian religion).

Listening to #6, "Bocochê". So far, so sublime.