HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS

HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS

Villa-Lobos came to occupy a leading position in the musical life of his native Brazil, a country the varying musical traditions of which he absorbed as a young man by extensive and adventurous travel throughout the region. After a period in Paris, he returned home in 1930, eventually winning official recognition and making a significant contribution to Brazilian music education. His varied compositions include stage-works, choral and instrumental compositions, chamber music, songs and piano music. His instrumental works include a series of Bachianas brasileiras and Chôros, the latter called after the traditional street-music of Rio de Janeiro.

BACHIANAS BRASILEIRAS (2005)
320 KBPS

How wonderful it is to have a fresh, new, all-digital interpretation of the great 9-piece cycle of the Bachianas Brasilieras of Villa-Lobos. We so often hear just the highlights -- the 5th, with soporano and eight cellos, and the "Little Train" of the second -- but here is a thoughtful performance of all these unusual and creative compositions combining the discipline and chromatic transitions of Bach with the untempered wildness and melodic exuberance of Brazil.
While I enjoyed the earlier recording by Alfonso Moreno and the Orquestra Filharmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico on EMI, that recording seems to have all the notes, but not all of the music -- in places it sounds heavy, mechanical, and not imbued with deep understanding of the music. This new recording is a great effort, and it's a shame that this music is so seldom programmed by the major symphony orchestras.
There are a few items I could quibble with -- I don't like the wide vibrato of soprano Rosana Lamosa in the fifth, and the bassoon sound of the unattributed player in the sixth is somewhat muffled, as if played in the French style. But these are really minor points when considered in the light of the overall performance cycle. You have the wonderful cello sound of the Modinha (2nd movement of No. 1 -- "one long sigh" as one reviewer has called it); the excellent trombone solos in the 2nd; an accurate playing of the "Little Train," not a caricature, and still perhaps the best "train" image in music; and I could go on and on.
But let's just stop here and say that this is a really wonderful addition to the Villa-Lobos literature, as well as to all music, and let's hope that others will become aware of the marvelous music of this most prolific Brazilian composer.

Disc: 1
1. Introducao - Embolada
2. Preludio - Modinha
3. Fuga - Conversa (Conversation)
4. Preludio - O Canto Do Capadocio (Scamp's Song)
5. Aria - O Canto Da Nossa Terra (Song Of Our Lamb)
6. Danca - Lembranca Do Sertao (Rememberance Of The Bush)
7. Toccata - O Trenzinho Do Caipira (The Peasant's Little Train)
8. Preludio (Ponteio)
9. Fantasia (Devaneio) (Digression)
10. Aria - Modinha
11. Toccata (Picapu)

Disc: 2
1. Preludio (Introducao)
2. Coral (Canto Do Sertao) (Song Of The Bush)
3. Aria (Cantiga)
4. Danca (Miudinho)
5. Aria (Cantilena)
6. Danca (Martelo)
7. Aria (Choro)
8. Fantasia

Disc: 3
1. Preludio (Ponteio)
2. Giga (Quadrilha Caipira) (Country Quadrille)
3. Toccata (Desafio) (Joust)
4. Fuga (Conversa) (Conversation)
5. Preludio
6. Aria (Modinha)
7. Toccata (Catira Batida)
8. Fuga
9. Preludio (Vagaroso E Mistico)
10. Fuga (Poco Apressado)