Ex. 2-12: A sereia

Composed in 1887, with words by the novelist and playwright Aluízio de Azevedo. First published in the magazine "A Semana" (No. 127, 4 June 1887).

A printed copy of the score was found among the personal papers of Rui Barbosa, the prominent Brazilian politician and jurist. This is an ironic discovery: Barbosa had publicly denounced Gonzaga's music in the Senate in 1914, when the First Lady played Gonzaga's "Corta-jaca" on guitar at the presidential palace, calling it a scandal that degraded the dignity of the residence. Yet he privately owned a copy of this very song.