In 1963, a trio formed by Rui Alexandre Faria (Rui, the lead vocalist), Aquiles Rique Reis (Aquiles), and Milton Lima dos Santos (Miltinho) in Niterói (Rio de Janeiro) started to perform at the Popular Center of Culture (CPC) of the National Student League (UNE). The CPC of Niterói was founded in Aquiles' home. At the same time, Magro (Antônio José Waghabi Filho) had a bossa nova group with Miltinho and a flutist, bassist, and drummer, called MPB-5. With Magro (the group's lifelong musical director) invited to join the original vocal trio, the quartet became known as Quarteto do CPC. With the extinction of the CPC (and of the UNE) after the military coup in 1964, the group adopted the name of MPB-4, playing in local bars and doing a double single with the first recording of Zé Kéti/Elton Medeiros' "Mascarada" with "Samba Bem" (Luís José) and other songs.
With all of them as college students, they took a period of vacations in 1965 to go to São Paulo, where they did their professional debut at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica's Theater (Tuca). They met producer Chico de Assis and were invited by him for a season with Quarteto em Cy (which was already professional), on the condition that they abandon other aspirations to devote themselves full-time to their group. Deciding for the music, they opened with Quarteto em Cy at the show No Samba Que Eu Vou, when they met Chico Buarque, also introduced to them by de Assis. From 1969 to 1974, Buarque was almost the fifth member of MPB-4 as all of his shows were with the quartet. Together they toured several countries and were deeply influential on the Brazilian youth. de Assis also introduced them to Manoel Carlos, who was one of the directors of the O Fino da Bossa TV Record show hosted by Elis Regina. MPB-4 participated right on the first show singing together with Regina, which was their definitive consecration.
Back in Rio, they participated in the show Contraponto, together with Quarteto em Cy, Oscar Castro-Neves, and Rosinha de Valença. At the Opinião theater, MPB-4 participated in the historic show O Samba Pede Passagem with Aracy de Almeida, Baden Powell, Ismael Silva, and others. The show was recorded live and released in June 1966 as O Samba Pede Passagem. Also in 1966, they released their first LP, which had the first recording for Buarque's "Olê Olá." Having participated in Nara Leão's show Quem Tem Medo de Nara Leão?, in the same year they defended "Canção de Não Cantar" (Sérgio Bittencourt) at the II Festival de Música Popular Brasileira (Festival of Brazilian Popular Music, FMPB, TV Record of São Paulo), which won fourth place. In the next year's edition of the same festival, the group was consecrated definitively with "Gabriela" (Maranhão) and "Roda Viva" (Buarque), achieving, respectively, sixth and third places. Also in 1967, they participated in the II FIC (International Song Festival, TV Globo, Rio) with "O Sim Pelo Não" (Alcivando Luz/Carlos Coquejo) and "Cantiga" (Nelson Motta/Dori Caymmi), which reached sixth and ninth places. In 1968, they opened a show shared with Buarque at the Teatro Toneleros, and also had a season in São Paulo. Three years later, they did the historic show Construção at the Canecão with Buarque, Jacques Klein, and the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira (Brazilian Symphony Orchestra) conducted by Isaac Karabtchevski. In the next year, MPB-4 toured Portugal and in 1973, Buenos Aires, Argentina, both with Buarque. In 1975, they participated, with Buarque, in the show República de Ugunga. In 1980, the group released, together with Quarteto em Cy, the children's LP Flicts/de Ziraldo e Sérgio Ricardo. Recording another children's LP in the next year with "O Pato" (Toquinho/Vinicius de Moraes), they had the song presented in the TV Globo musical A Arca de Noé. The LP Caminhos Livres (1983) had another of their hits with an Aldir Blanc song, "A Nível De..." (with João Bosco). In 1991, the quartet launched another of their themed albums, the CD Sambas da Minha Terra, dedicated to the works of Dorival Caymmi, Toquinho/Vinícius, Zé Kéti, and Ary Barroso, among others. Always doing shows and recording frequently, the group commemorated their 30-year career in 1995 with the show Arte de Cantar and the eponymous album. ~ Alvaro Neder, Rovi
Sites: MusicBrainz & Discogs.
Porto
MPB-4 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rito que se esvaira pelos cantos e mostra a rimação
Curumim exala pelas salas de quem vê brilho e a cor
Vida que não para feito planta crua no jardim
Noite de searas traz magias de um querubim
Nada se compara pois quando se cala diante há um clamor
Penso que é emoção, emoção
Olhar a ventania que já vem do céu
Correr atrás do mundo mesmo que em um rapel
Na aposta do milagre da videira (cegueira)
Sentido que ainda nada se estragou
É terra de verdade para arar e dar flor
Acho que é amor, acho que é paixão
E longe o dia vai na razão
Acho que é amor, acho que é paixão
E longe o dia vai pelo chão
The song "Porto" by MPB-4 speaks about a place that provides shelter and protection. The lyrics describe the essence of this place, characterized by its gentle breezes at dawn and its rituals that fade away into the corners, revealing a sense of poetic rhythm. The presence of a young indigenous child is felt, their fragrance permeating the rooms of those who perceive brightness and color.
The song also reflects on life, comparing it to a raw plant in a garden that never stops growing. The nights bring enchantment, like the magic of a cherub, and there is nothing that can compare to this feeling because when everything falls silent, there is still a clamor. The repetition of the phrase "Penso que é amor, amor / Penso que é emoção, emoção" (I think it's love, love / I think it's emotion, emotion) suggests a contemplation of the profound emotions experienced in this place.
Line by Line Meaning
Porto que ampara, castas, brisa do amanhecer
The harbor that shelters, pure, morning breeze
Rito que se esvaira pelos cantos e mostra a rimação
Ritual that dissipates through the corners and reveals the rhyming
Curumim exala pelas salas de quem vê brilho e a cor
The child emanates through the rooms of those who see brightness and color
Vida que não para feito planta crua no jardim
Life that doesn't stop like a raw plant in the garden
Noite de searas traz magias de um querubim
Night of fields brings the magic of a cherub
Nada se compara pois quando se cala diante há um clamor
Nothing compares because when silence falls, there is outcry
Penso que é amor, amor
I think it's love, love
Penso que é emoção, emoção
I think it's emotion, emotion
Olhar a ventania que já vem do céu
Watch the gale that already comes from the sky
Correr atrás do mundo mesmo que em um rapel
Run after the world even if it's like rappelling
Na aposta do milagre da videira (cegueira)
In the bet of the vine's miracle (blindness)
Sentido que ainda nada se estragou
The feeling that nothing has been spoiled
É terra de verdade para arar e dar flor
It's true land to till and bloom
Acho que é amor, acho que é paixão
I think it's love, I think it's passion
E longe o dia vai na razão
And far away the day goes with reason
Acho que é amor, acho que é paixão
I think it's love, I think it's passion
E longe o dia vai pelo chão
And far away the day goes on the ground
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Hudo Guedes
UMA VEZ NA VIDA
Uma vez na vida
teus beijos, teus
carinhos tenho,
uma vez na vida.
Quisera eu sempre
tê-los e trazê-los do
voar das borboletas
🦋 🦋 🦋 sobre o jardim
dos meus desejos de amor.
Quisera eu tê-los assim
pra não mais sentir dor,
e sim sentir teu odor
do bom cheiro do sonho
perfumando o meu dormir
que tanto eu componho
quando a tua imagem vem bulir
e vem de uma só vez refletir
no meu sono este sonho
que me faz de uma só vez ir
te buscar na minha realidade
pra te deixar em mim a vontade
das borboletas que é de unir
olho e atenção com curiosidade
para que assim a velocidade
não seja mais veloz ao se referir
aos afãs bons da amorosidade.
Hudo Guedes
Gabriel Sá
Isso que é MÚSICA. Deveria tocar nas escolas para educar os ouvidos das crianças.
Keiv
Essa música faz tão parte de mim pela vida todo que parece até que tá no meu DNA já
Sah Braz
Esse som me lembra a minha terra, Ilhéus, a terra do cacau, essa música me leva pra lá...quero voltar!
andreia souza araujo
Sah Braz da uma certa nostalgia da gente não saber o certo do que não é!?
Júlia Britto
@andreia souza araujo sim ❤
temis pereira
Minha eterna boy band favorita,MPB4,rsrsrs.
Ouvindo e ainda me maravilhando em 2022,queria voltar para 1975,quando eu,uma menina de dez anos de idade,a ouvi pela primeira vez,minha infância foi perfeita.
Veronica S. S.
Belo arranjo do MPB4 dessa linda música que até hoje, ninguém conseguiu colocar um letra que tornasse a obra ainda mais bonita…😌
Claudio Soares
Quer letra, pra que?
Francisco de abreus Tavares junior
Acho q se tivesse letra iria estragar a beleza da melodia e da música. Do jeito q ela é já é maravilhosa
Antonio Carlos Vianna Braga
Do Magro, que era o gênio arranjador