Alceu Valença (born July 1, 1946) is a Brazilian singer, musician and songwriter. Alceu Valenca was born in countryside

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...

, Northeast Brazil. He is considered the most successful artist in achieving an aesthetic balance between traditional northeastern Brazilian music and a broad range of electronic sounds and effects from pop music. One can find traces of maracatu, coco and "repentes de viola" (improvising fast-paced Brazilian folk music) in most of his songs. Alceu was able to utilize the electric guitar, the electric bass, and lately even a synthesizer was added to his broad scope of musical instruments. Because of that, Alceu was able to recreate Northeastern traditional music, like baião, coco, toada, maracatu, frevo, caboclinhos, embolada and repentes: all sung with a sometimes rock sometimes alternative sounding music background. His music and his themes are intangible, universal and unlimited. However, his aesthetic basis is genuinely Brazilian Northeastern music.

Biography

Alceu Valença was born in

São Bento do Una São Bento do Una is a city from the Northeastern Region of Brazil at the Pernambuco state. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, IBGE, it has an estimated population of 60,042 inhabitants (2020). It is located at latitu ...

Northeast Brazil The Northeast Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Nordeste do Brasil; ) is one of the five official and political regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six states, it comprises ni ...

. When he was young, he used to listen songs by

Dalva de Oliveira Dalva de Oliveira or Vicentina de Paula Oliveira (May 5, 1917 – August 31, 1972) was a Brazilian singer and one of "divas" of the "Radio Era." Her greatest hits included ''Segredo'' (Secret) (1947), ''Tudo acabado'' (It's All Over) (1950), '' ...

Orlando Silva Orlando Silva Infante (born 29 April 1929) is a Chilean basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Oly ...

, Sílvio Caldas etc. When he was 5 years old, he participated in a music contest, singing a song by Capiba. Some years later, his mother got sick and his family moved to Recife to live in his aunt's house. In this period, Valença got interested in some musical instruments, such as acoustic guitar and

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

. However, he only won his own guitar when he was 15. In 1970, Valença earned a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

at the

Recife Law School The Recife School of Law, is the law school of the Federal University of Pernambuco (formerly in Portuguese ''Faculdade de Direito do Recife'' and now ''Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco''), it is located in Recife, Pern ...

. However, he only followed the career for a few of months. In fact, in the early 1970s, the reason he had no time for a law career was that he had already launched into a musical direction. He started his musical career in 1968, with the group Underground Tamarineira Village, later known as

Ave Sangria Ave Sangria is a Brazilian rock band and one of the leading names of the 1970s psychedelic music scene of Pernambuco, along with Alceu Valença, Flaviola e O Bando do Sol, Lula Côrtes, Marconi Notaro and Lailson. History 1970s Most members ...

. He also played with

Zé Ramalho Zé Ramalho (born José Ramalho Neto on October 3, 1949 – Brejo do Cruz, Paraíba, Brazil) is a Brazilian composer and performer. Zé Ramalho has collaborated with various major Brazilian musicians, including Vanusa, Geraldo Azevedo and A ...

and

Elba Ramalho Elba Ramalho (born August 17, 1951, in Conceição, Paraíba) is a Brazilian songwriter, performer, poet and actress. She is sometimes called "The Queen of Forró". In addition to her successful solo career, Elba has collaborated with a number ...

during this period. In 1972, he joined

Geraldo Azevedo Geraldo Azevedo (born January 11, 1945) is a Brazilian singer and guitarist. He is famous for his contributions to the Brazilian Popular Music scene, especially his partnerships with Alceu Valença Alceu Valença (born July 1, 1946) is a Braz ...

. Together, they participated of many festivals and, in that same years, recorded their first album: ''Alceu Valença & Geraldo Azevedo'', also known as ''Quadrafônico''. Along his career, Valença recorded more than 20 albums and travelled around many countries, such as Portugal, France, Netherlands and United States. Actually, he is considered one of the greatest exponents of the music of Pernambuco. Finally, with the 2013 release of ''Três Tons de Alceu Valença'', a box with the oldies ''Cinco Sentidos'' (1981), ''Anjo Avesso'' (1983) and ''Mágico'' (1984) all of Alceu Valença's solo work is available on CD. In 2014, his album ''Amigo da Arte'' was nominated for the

Latin Grammy Award for Best Brazilian Roots Album The Latin Grammy Award for Best Portuguese Language Album is given every year since the 1st Latin Grammy Awards ceremony which took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. In 2009 the category was divided in Best Native Brazilia ...

Discography

Albums

*1972: ''Alceu Valença & Geraldo Azevedo'', Copacabana (aka ''Quadrafônico'') *1974: ''A Noite do Espantalho'', Continental (soundtrack, movie by Sérgio Ricardo, with Alceu Valença and Geraldo Azevedo) *1974: ''Molhado de suor'', Som Livre *1976: ''Vivo!'', Som Livre *1977: ''Espelho cristalino'', Som Livre *1979: ''Saudade de Pernambuco'', released in 1998 as a supplement of the newspaper Jornal da Tarde *1980: ''Coração bobo'', Ariola *1981: ''Cinco sentidos'', Ariola *1982: ''Cavalo de pau'', Ariola *1983: ''Anjo avesso'', Ariola *1984: ''Mágico'', Barclay *1985: ''Estação da luz'', RCA Victor *1985: ''Ao vivo'', Barclay/Polygram *1986: ''Rubi'', RCA Victor *1987: ''Leque moleque'', BMG Ariola *1988: ''Oropa, França e Bahia'', BMG Ariola *1990: ''Andar, andar'', EMI Odeon *1992: ''7 desejos'', EMI Odeon *1994: ''Maracatus, batuques e ladeiras'', BMG Ariola *1996: ''O grande encontro'', BMG Brasil, with Elba Ramalho, Geraldo Azevedo and Zé Ramalho *1997: ''Sol e chuva'', Som Livre *1998: ''Forró de todos os tempos'', Oásis/Sony Music *1999: ''Todos os cantos'', Abril Music *2001: ''Forró lunar'', Columbia *2002: ''De janeiro a janeiro'' *2003: ''Ao vivo em todos os sentidos'', Indie Records/Universal Music *2005: ''Na embolada do tempo'', Indie Records/Universal Music *2006: ''Marco Zero ao vivo'', Indie Records *2009: ''Ciranda mourisca'', Biscoito Fino *2014: ''Amigo da Arte'', Deck *2014: ''Valencianas'', Deck, with Orquestra Ouro Preto

DVD

*2003: Ao vivo em todos os sentidos *2006: Marco Zero ao vivo *2014: Valencianas, with Orquestra Ouro Preto

References

External links

Official Alceu Valença website

The Music of Alceu Valença
independent site with all the lyrics and sound clips
Alceu Valença at NordesteWeb
*
MTV's Alceu Valença page

Alceu Valença at Música de Pernambuco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valenca, Alceu 1946 births Brazilian agnostics Brazilian composers Federal University of Pernambuco alumni Living people People from Pernambuco Latin Grammy Award winners