Authenticity in Fusion Music

A Case Study among Indigenous Churches in Brazil

Elsen Portugal

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN:
  9781666769531
  9781666769548
• eBook ISBN:
  9781666769555
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music

Indigenous peoples of Brazil have come to faith in Christ in large numbers in recent decades. As Christianity takes root in each culture, it may incorporate expressive forms of music and art, which can range from those identical to earlier cultural forms to those which are fully imported. But what happens when musicians and artists of a local indigenous community fuse elements from a variety of genres and create their own music? Are they just imitations of external forms? Or are they authentic creations from elements that have now become their own sounds, too? Christian musicians among the Xerente (pronounced Sheh-´ren-teh) have created their own fusion genre(s) to express their faith, communicate the gospel, and edify their churches. Their music includes elements from their cultural tradition as well as from (secular) genres of the northeastern region of Brazil. Is it, then, authentically Xerente? As we discuss in this book, independent of tangible markers or its long history, the authenticity of an art form can be demonstrated through a number of connections with the community and signposted by its meaning and function among the people, as well as the competence and agency of the people in their artistic choices.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Prelude
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: The Xerente and Christian Faith
• Chapter 3: The Xerente and Their Musics
• Chapter 4: Fusion Genres
• Chapter 5: Musical Meaning Development in Christian Genres
• Chapter 6: Signposts of Authenticity
• Chapter 7: Considerations of Authenticity in Xerente Church Fusion Genres
• Chapter 8: Applications and Conclusion
• Appendix A: Characteristics of Xerente Music
• Appendix B: Xerente Musical Instruments
• Appendix C: Xerente Music Recordings, Transcriptions, and Lyrics
• Appendix D: Musical Symbol and Meaning
• Appendix E: Xerente Mission Records
• Bibliography