«Unidade, trabalho e vigilância»:

O «homem novo» nos hinos revolucionários de Moçambique (1962-77)

Abstract

This article aims to evaluate the values of Mozambique’s Liberation Front (FRELIMO) and its ‘new man’ project through the musical analysis of a repertoire known as ‘revolutionary anthems’—a 4-part choral expressive practice with religious influence. Building on several sources such as articles published in local newspapers, documentation consulted at the audio archives of Rádio Moçambique in Maputo, and interviews with political decision-makers and music producers, I aim, through the analysis of this repertoire, to clarify some aspects of FRELIMO’s cultural policy, from its foundation in 1962 as a «Liberation Front», to its transformation into a party at the Third Congress held in March 1977, two years after the formalisation of independence. This article is divided into two parts: the first will historically contextualise this practice and some aspects of its instrumentalisation in order to promote the values of the liberation front; the second will focus on the musical and literary analysis of a series of anthems published immediately after the independence in a double LP.