I met Ricardo Herz while researching the rabeca at the “1st Encontro de Fandango Caiçara do Marujá” on Cardoso Island (SP) in January 2019. I had just graduated in Jazz Violin from the Conservatoire de Chambéry (France) and was intuitively searching for new ways to express myself. I already liked playing in the lower register, with a more raw and raspy sound (like the rabeca can have), working harmonically as an accompanist as well as improvising. I was already enchanted by my encounter with the rabeca, but I can honestly say that this unexpected meeting with Ricardo was the greatest gift of my life, because it revealed a new path, a whole new dimension on the violin that I would never have imagined.
The duo was born on the very first day, and it made me want to learn the subtleties of Brazilian rhythms on the violin. Ricardo was essential in my learning process: I took the Brazilian Popular Violin Course he launched in 2017, and at the same time he supported me so much along the way. I’m very grateful for that.
That same year (2019) I moved for good to São Paulo. We stuck together, fused (the pandemic helped a little bit), and never separated again, building a repertoire of more than 50 pieces (and it keeps growing). We could have material for five albums! It was so hard to choose that we ended up recording 18 tracks.
The album Arcos Brasileiros sums up this artistic partnership and life together. All the arrangements are brand new. In the repertoire, we chose many compositions (both new and older ones) by Ricardo Herz. There are also new compositions of mine, reflecting my connection — from my very first steps in Brazil — with Pernambuco, with the rabeca, with forró, and more recently with frevo.
Long live Brazilian popular culture and the dialogue between the violin and the rabeca!
Vanille
Ten bows, two violins, eight rabecas.
Two musicians celebrating six beautiful years of making music together.
"Arcos Brasileiros" grew out of more than two decades of individual research and seven years of sharing life and music intensely — deep exchanges, joint explorations, many trips, a lot of love, and a lifetime of experiences brought into the studio.
This is my 12th album, entirely devoted to Brazilian music. Over the past 20 years as a violinist and researcher of our national music, I’ve been learning how to compose, improvise, take solos, and accompany on the violin — a path that resonates strongly throughout this record.
Vanille came from a very distinct world — jazz improvisation — and fell in love with the rabeca of Brazilian forró, which opened doors to other traditions and to the Brazilian violin itself. Our meeting, early on in this journey, was truly transformative. We learned so much from each other: she connected with my approach to the Brazilian violin, and I with her way of playing rabeca and violin — her improvisation, her compositions, her arrangements.
I hope you enjoy it and take your time with it.
Long live meaningful encounters. Long live Brazilian music — and music from all over the world!
Ricardo
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