O SERESTEIRO

The album by the great singer and guitarist Silvio Narciso de Figueiredo Caldas (1908-1998) is believed to have been originally released in 1958, in the midst of the bossa nova break. In it, there are some of the most inflated interpretations by Silvio, with a little help from maestro Renato de Oliveira. The symphonic arrangement that opens the beautiful Rosa de Maio (Custódio Mesquita/Evaldo Ruy) could sound interesting, if it weren’t for the keyboards abruptly popping up throughout the track. Also the classic Carinhoso (Pixinhguinha/João de Barro) get its icing, although this time around in a more palatable fashion. The pre-bossa samba-tune Um Cantinho e Você (José Maria de Abreu/Jair Amorim) gets a jazzy treatment. The classical intentions of the arranger combined with Silvio’s melodramatic interpretation are effective in Villa-Lobos’ piece, Modinha (Serestas – peça no. 5). But the crooked arrangement written for O Balão do Amor (Francisco Alves/Orestes Barbosa) leaves the impression that the concept of the album went out of tune.(Tárik de Souza)