Jaime Rojas de Aragón y Ovalle. "A weird person, a very nice person, very infantile too. Most probably a saint but definetely not made for this world". This is how Virginia Peckham defined her husband: Jayme Ovalle (1894 Belém, Pará -1955 Rio de Janeiro). Self taught poet, musician and composer with a problem in writing down on paper, bohemian bon-vivant, model officer of the Brazilian Customs serving as well in London (1933-37) and New York(1946-50).

Ovalle´s world fame is due to his composition "Azulão", on lyrics by the recifense poet Manuel Bandeira (1986-1968), a significant figure of the brazilian parnassianism and modernism. But Ovalle´s real value resides on his best work : his life and his almost surealistic attitude, according to his biographer Humberto Werneck. And, on his friends : a pigeon, a mannequin, prostitutes, celebrities, bohemians of Lapa and the pantheon of brazilian poets like M. Bandeira, M. de Andrade, C. Drummond de Andrade, V. de Moraes etc who adored him.

Azulão was composed most probably at the end of the 1920´s-early 1930´s. It was immediately recorded both by popular and operatic voices. Victoria de los Angeles recorded it in 1964 or 1965. I can not resist to the tenderness of her voice which has a melting effect on me. I am quiet sure that this recording would be Ovalle´s favourite version since he cherished most of all singers the voice of Ninon Vallin, so close in softness and sweetness with de los Angeles´s voice. Bandeira would be a bit sullen (trompudo) seeking at times the company of Salgado or Ribeiro.I also enjoyed Gerard Souzay´s recording but the biggest of pleasures in our days came from armenian-canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian.

Rafael Frubeck de Burgos conducts the Sinfonia of London. We do not know who arranged the suggestive orchestration of this simple toada- I adored the discrete use of xylophone-marimba to suggest the song of the bird.

Usually the singers sing:
Vai, Azulão, Azulão companheiro, vai. Vai ver minha ingrata. Diz que sem ela o sertão não é mais sertão. Ai, voa, Azulão, vai contar companheiro, vai.
Go Azulao, Azulao my companion, go.Go to see my ungrateful girl. Tell, that without her the wilderness is not the same. Ai, fly Azulao, go and say it my companion, go.
I asked the permission of the cearense painter Cláudio Dickson to use his paintings for my collages and I thank him. Azulão, the song bird of south america, is probably the bluebird. Sertão (lit. big desert) is a cruel ecosystem of the interior of the north-eastern Brazil with few vegetation, six months of rain, six months of horrible drought and lots, lots of legends and mysteries...
Video made for my friend Sergio Plutão.
Enjoy.

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