Arcos Brasileiros reinvents violin and rabeca

“Arcos Brasileiros” brings together Vanille Goovaerts and Ricardo Herz in an album rescuing rabeca and violin in Brazilian popular music, with digital releases on January 23.

Blending Brazilian sonic worlds

Arcos Brasileiros merges violin and rabeca, sibling instruments in Brazil’s musical history. Vanille Goovaerts and Ricardo Herz craft original unpublished repertoire. They delve into genres like xote, baião, maracatu, frevo, chamamé, toque de Iuna, boi, forró, samba, ijexá, choro, and marchinha.The album challenges the view of the violin as purely European. It adopts a rhythmic, harmonic style suited for accompanying and improvising in popular music. Meanwhile, it revives the rabeca, its direct predecessor and icon of rich cultural traditions.

The rabeca, despite its historical importance, remains little known outside traditional circles. This project spotlights it, celebrating its unique sound.

Vanille Goovaerts emphasizes this need. Ricardo Herz notes the violin was once called rabeca in colonial Brazil. Urbanization created a false split between classical and folk. The project reunites these stories.

Four products for access and education

The launch features four key items. First, an audio album with original tracks, out January 23 on digital platforms. Second, a playback album with separated tracks for teaching, aiding musicians without sheet music or with visual impairments.Third, PDF scores for academics and students. Fourth, video documenting the creative process, showcasing gestures and expressiveness in popular music. All content rolls out fully online, ethically and sustainably.Social projects teaching bowed strings train thousands of young violinists in Brazil. Yet Brazilian repertoire is scarce. Arcos Brasileiros fills this gap with accessible, culturally rooted materials.