Fancisco Xavier da Cruz (B. Léza)
- Compositor
Francisco Xavier da Cruz (B. Leza or Beléza) was a musician from Cape Verde.
Born in Mindelo, B.Leza innovated the morna by often using chords of passage, (called Brazilian halftone in the jargon of Cape Verdean musicians), previously little used in this musical genre.
His style and work, which began to be successful in the 1950s, marked the music of Cape Verde in the following twenty years. He composed dozens of mornas, including Eclipse, Miss Perfumado, Resposta de Segredo Cu Mar e Lua Nha Testemunha, which, says the legend, was composed in the hospital bed, days before his death on June 14, 1958.
- The legend also says that many people would go to Master B. Leza to ask him for a morna for the loved one, for a serenade or to mark an event. In a matter of days, B. Leza had the work done. Moacyr Rodrigues writes that "influenced by Brazilian and Argentinean music — B. Leza — will enrich not only the music with the introduction of halftone but also the lyrics through the development of ideas".
Francisco Xavier da Cruz (B. Leza or Beléza) was a musician from Cape Verde.
Born in Mindelo, B.Leza innovated the morna by often using chords of passage, (called Brazilian halftone in the jargon of Cape Verdean musicians), previously little used in this musical genre.
His style and work, which began to be successful in the 1950s, marked the music of Cape Verde in the following twenty years. He composed dozens of mornas, including Eclipse, Miss Perfumado, Resposta de Segredo Cu Mar e Lua Nha Testemunha, which, says the legend, was composed in the hospital bed, days before his death on June 14, 1958.
- The legend also says that many people would go to Master B. Leza to ask him for a morna for the loved one, for a serenade or to mark an event. In a matter of days, B. Leza had the work done. Moacyr Rodrigues writes that "influenced by Brazilian and Argentinean music — B. Leza — will enrich not only the music with the introduction of halftone but also the lyrics through the development of ideas".
