Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

is a

Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China The special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China are one of the provincial-level administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China directly under the control of its Central People's Government (State Co ...

. It was formerly a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, which left a legacy of linguistic and other cultural elements. The music is called Macanese music, a mixture of Cantonese and Portuguese music. This kind of hybrid music had its boom in early 20th century and the groups that used to perform it were called "Tunas". In Portugal, the "tuna" groups consisted of young men which would get together at universities and form

estudiantina The Estudiantina waltz (or Band of Students Waltz) is a musical arrangement, made in 1883, by Émile Waldteufel, his Opus 191, No. 4. Its melody was composed earlier in 1881 by Paul Lacôme, with lyrics by Julien de Lau Lusignan. Waldteufel first a ...

-like groups, but in Macau, this kind of musical group took a different orientation, blending it with Carnival ballroom celebrations and street festivities. The repertoire consisted of carnival marches, ballads, waltzes, Cantonese-inspired ballads, fados, polkas, etc. One of the most known songs from this period was the version in

Patuá Macanese patois, known as to its speakers, is a Portuguese-based creole language with a substrate from Cantonese, Malay and Sinhala, which was originally spoken by the Macanese community of the Portuguese colony of Macau. It is now spoken by ...

for the Brazilian carnival march "Mamãe eu Quero", which received the title "Mama Sa Filo". Also, the popular Portuguese song "Oh Careca tira a bóina" (Portuguese for: Hey bald man, take off the beret) received also a Macanese version, named "Sium Careca”; also worth of mention are the version in patuá for the fado song "Uma Casa Portuguesa", named "Unga Casa Macaísta" and the songs "Bastiana" and "Assi Sa Macau". This last one is a composition of the cultist of patuá language in the territory, the

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

José dos Santos Ferreira José dos Santos Ferreira, better known as Adé (28 July 1919, in Portuguese Macau – 24 March 1993, in Hong Kong), was a Hong Kong poet. He was a son of Portuguese father and a Cantonese mother. He was the last poet of distinction to write i ...

, nicknamed "Adé", a prolific composer of music in patuá. The Macanese group Tuna Macaense, with which Adé was closely associated, emerged in 1935 and still perform today, although with some changes in its line-up. It currently has eight members (António Lopes – mandolim, guitar, vocal and percurssion; Rui Coelho – mandolim, bass, solo guitar and singing; Filomena Jorge – bass, rhythm guitar, solo guitar and singing; Carlos Pereira – drums and percussion; Judas Manhão Jorge – solo guitar; Pedro Santos – bass and percurssion; Isabel Carvalhal – singing and percussion; A Yiu - keyboard). The Musical institutions in the city include the

Macau Orchestra The Macao Orchestra also known as the Macau Orchestra ( pt, Orquestra de Macau, ) is a professional orchestra based in the Chinese special administrative region of Macao. Consisting of approximately 60 members from Asia, Europe, North America an ...

,the Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Macau Conservatory, which has played an important role in music education in the area since its foundation in 1991. The

Macao International Music Festival Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a popu ...

is an important annual event. One of the most important

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

musicians,

Xian Xinghai Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqing ...

, was born in Macau. The pop music in Macau is still in an early period. However, the boy band

Soler Soler may refer to: * Soler Township, Roseau County, Minnesota * Soler (band), Hong Kong based rock band * Soler (grape), French wine grape, also known as Peloursin People with the surname Soler * Alay Soler (born 1979), Cuban baseball player ...

has gone to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

develop their music career.

Indie Band Scene

Throughout the years since the 80's, the indie scene has been considered a minor scene in Macau. Currently the live venue Live Music Association is the only Live House in Macau which is hosting regular shows. List of bands Special Force - awarded the Champion in Carlsberg music festival 1991 and also took the Best Vocal, Best Guitars & Best Bass Guitar awards. The members are: brothers Lawrence Lei (Vocals) & Leo Lei (Drums), John Ho & Jose da Silva (Guitars) and Angelo de Assis (Bass Guitar). Special Force disbanded in 1993 Defender - awarded the first winner up in Carlsberg music festival 1991, Byran Cheng (Vocal)Lao Song Fai(Vocal) Yan Ung (Guitar), Joives Leong (Guitar), Ricky Wu (Drum) , Gabriel Ho (Bass)

Dr. Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

- released their debut album OD in 2003 although they've been act as the main alternative music pioneer for several years. L.A.V.Y. - the name of the band is made up by the first letter of the band members Leo(Drums), Angelo (Bass Guitar and Backing Vocals), Vincent (Vocals) and Yaz (Guitars). Although the band is formed in 2007, but each member is highly experienced and well respected musicians in Macao, their strong music portfolio guarantees a powerful performance whenever they hit the stage. L.A.V.Y. started songwriting in 2008 with lyrics about personal experiences. The band, featuring pithy, melodious songs that are good at bringing out the elegance in rock music. Released their debut album "My Lonely Journey" in late 2012, produced by Macau-based Producer Eric M.Y. Chan who is known for fronting the Alternative Rock band Forget the G. Forget the G - 3 piece band formed with Eric Chan aka e:ch (Vocal/ Guitar), Frog Wong (Piano) and Fi Chan (Drums). Their unique approach and variation on music styling has been widely praised by fellow artists and music critics in the region over the years. The vocalist/ guitarist of the band Eric is also known as Producer & Engineer for other indie bands in Macau, Hong Kong & Taiwan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Of Macau Culture of Macau