Bandas de sopro – um diálogo transcultural

Brass bands are among the most widespread instrumental ensembles in the world, yet there has been little academic interest in them. This is because they stand in a space between art and authenticity, as their repertoires are thought to lack artistic merit while their military legacies have disconnected them from the ‘authentic’ music of ‘the people’. This paper aims to show how it is precisely this intermediary position which has attracted the attention of some (ethno)musicologists, and a growing number of studies demonstrate the analytic potential of this musical universe in a wide range of contexts across the globe.