The Brazilian National Anthem, one of the main symbols of the country's identity that celebrates 204 years of Independence this Monday (7), has its original records preserved in institutions in Rio de Janeiro.
The manuscript of the lyrics, which contains the definitive version written by Osório Duque-Estrada, is part of the collection of the Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL), and g1 visited the archive room.
To maintain the document with its original characteristics, strict procedures are adopted. Among the measures are exclusive handling with gloves, temperature and humidity control and storage in appropriate materials to prevent paper deterioration.
The original score of the melody, composed by Francisco Manuel da Silva, is under the care of the School of Music of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). There, handling with gloves and extra care is also the standard.
In the ABL archive, the manuscript of the lyrics bears the date of August 3, 1922, just over a month before the composition was made official as the national song through the decree of September 6 of that year, on the eve of the centenary of Brazil's Independence.
"The documentation receives specific treatment. It is packaged in neutral pH paper to reduce the risk of deterioration. As the paper itself is already acidic, we need to use a material that contributes to the conservation of the original", explained Maria Ribeiro, head of the Múcio Leão Archive, at ABL.
The manuscript also went through a process to stop the damage caused by the ink used in writing.
"It is a ferrogallic ink, which contains iron in its composition. Some documents need to undergo treatment to stop this deterioration process, because the ink can corrode the paper. That is why we carry out this work", stated Maria.
Poet, critic, teacher, essayist and playwright, Osório Duque-Estrada was born in Vassouras, in the interior of the State of Rio de Janeiro, still during the Empire. He joined the Brazilian Academy of Letters in 1915 and was the 2nd occupant of chair 17, currently belonging to actress Fernanda Montenegro.
The space that houses the hymn manuscript has restricted access to a few employees. The environment was designed specifically for the storage of collections and has permanent temperature and humidity control, as well as a strict fire prevention system.
"It is a room entirely built to store collections, with a focus on security and preservation. The air conditioning is monitored 24 hours a day and works to control temperature and humidity", said Maria Ribeiro.
The same care given to the hymn manuscript is applied to other historical documents kept by the academy. Among them are originals by authors such as Machado de Assis, João Ubaldo Ribeiro and Guimarães Rosa.
"Every document or book that arrives at ABL first goes through a cleaning process. After that, it goes to the collections and returns to the conservation center for the necessary procedures. It is not always necessary to restore a piece; we often only carry out preventive conservation", explained Renata Albino, archivist and restorer at the institution.
Although the hymn in its current form is just over 100 years old, the melody is much older than the lyrics. The musical composition was created in 1831 by Francisco Manuel da Silva with the name Hymn to the 7th of April, in reference to the abdication of Dom Pedro I.
"From a rhythmic point of view, the punctuated figures and marching tempo stand out, typical characteristics of hymns. Aesthetically, it is linked to Italian operatic music, which was the most popular genre in Rio de Janeiro in the 19th century", said professor and conductor André Cardoso, from UFRJ.
The first letter was written by the poet Ovídio Saraiva. In 1841, during the coronation of Dom Pedro II, the melody gained another textual version, whose author remains unknown.
"The melody became popular and became popular. It was only in 1922, during the celebrations of the Centenary of Independence, that the definitive lyrics were made official", explained the maestro about Osório Duque-Estrada's composition.
The authors of the music and lyrics never met. Francisco Manuel da Silva died 5 years before the birth of Osório Duque-Estrada. The current version of the anthem also featured the contribution of Alberto Nepomuceno, responsible for standardizing the melody.
"The melody of the anthem was standardized by Alberto Nepomuceno. The lyrics by Osório Duque-Estrada were created for the melody by Francisco Manuel da Silva, with the prosody perfectly adapted", highlighted Cardoso.
For the maestro, preserving the manuscript of the lyrics and the original score is fundamental to the country's historical memory.
“These are documents of enormous historical importance, especially the music manuscript, which was consolidated among the public to the point of being maintained even when the first republican government tried to replace it”, he stated.
Cardoso also assesses that the National Anthem continues to fulfill its role as a symbol of collective identity.
"They are also documents that refer to historical moments in national life. Despite the Parnassian lyrics, typical of the time in which it was created, it is a popular anthem, sung at the top of its lungs by the population at Brazilian national team games and at political demonstrations, that is, it awakens feelings of nationality that link the people with their land, their culture and their history."
