The present work focuses on the major figures of MPB who established their artistic reputations in the late sixties and early seventies and whose work has been fundamental in shaping the concept and practice of Brazilian song of the last two decades. In the introduction to this study, the evolution of urban popular song in Brazil is traced from the nineteenth century to the present, with emphasis on the sixties. Subsequent chapters evaluate individual songwriters who have been instrumental in the development of popular music in Brazil since 1965. There is considerable variety in the approaches of these different songwriters, as well as thematic and musical diversity within the individual repertories. Their work involves the rethinking and refinement of national musical legacy, investigation and reformulation of regional heritage, and assimilation and adaptation of foreign models.
Compositions range from stylizations of simple folk tunes to avant-garde sound collages.
Song is used to address social issues, to voice protest of authoritarian control, to make aesthetic statements, and to explore philosophical and spiritual themes. The music of Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, and Jo o Bosco-Aldir Blanc reflects broad cultural trends and embodies both the continuity and the diversification of Brazilian popular music.