Fernando Rocha Brant (October 9, 1946 – June 12, 2015) was a Brazilian poet, lyricist and journalist, born in Caldas,

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

. Brant's interest in music and literature began to increase while he studied law at

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais The Federal University of Minas Gerais ( pt, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, UFMG) is a federalIn the Brazilian Higher Education context, ''Federal'' does not mean ''collegiate'' (even though most Federal Universities in Brazil enjoy a sim ...

. At the beginning of the 1960s, Brant made friends with

Milton Nascimento Milton Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has toured across the world. Nascimento has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his alb ...

who soon became his creative partner and encouraged him to write his first lyrics, "Travessia". The song won the second place in the II Festival International da Canção (International Song Festival) in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

in 1967. In the same year, "Travessia" was included in Nascimento's first album and became one of the better known songs in his repertoire. In 1969 Brant got a job as a journalist in

O Cruzeiro ''O Cruzeiro'' (initially just ''Cruzeiro'') was a Brazilian illustrated weekly magazine, published in Rio de Janeiro from 1928 until 1985, with the exception of the period from August 1975 to June 1977. History and profile The publication, subt ...

magazine affiliate in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

. That same year, in Belo Horizonte, Brant and friends began articulating a project that would become

Clube da Esquina Clube da Esquina (, , in English "Corner Club") was a Brazilian music artists collective, originating in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is also the name of a double album from 1972. Clube da Esquina mixes rock and roll, progressive rock ...

, an influential Brazilian music artists collective. His partnership with Milton Nascimento resulted in over 200 songs recorded by the most respected artists in Brazil. Among Milton-Brant most famous compositions are "

Travessia ''Travessia'' (English title: ''The Path'') is a Brazilian telenovela created by Glória Perez. It is produced and broadcast by TV Globo, and aired from 10 October 2022 to 5 May 2023. The telenovela follows the story of Brisa (Lucy Alves), who see ...

", "Maria Maria", "Canção da América", "Encontros e Despedidas" and "Nos Bailes da Vida". Brant composed more than 300 songs with multiple partners. He also wrote scripts and lyrics for ballets and plays, and soundtracks for Brazilian

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

s. On June 12, 2015, Fernando Brant died in Belo Horizonte from complications of a second

liver transplantation Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, al ...

surgery.

References

External links

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Fernando Brant interview

Fernando Brant at Clube da Esquina Museum
1946 births 2015 deaths Brazilian songwriters Brazilian composers People from Minas Gerais {{Brazil-composer-stub