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Technical Notice
| Classical Composer: | Villa-Lobos, Heitor |
|---|---|
| Lyricists: | Bandeira, Manuel; Corrêa, Ruth Valadares |
| Work: | Bachianas brasileiras No. 5 |
| Year Composed: | 1945 |
| Instrumentation: | Soprano, 8vc or multiples |
| Publisher: | Associated Music Publishers |
| Duration: | 00:10:00 |
| Period: | 20th Century |
| Work Category: | Vocal |
Work Information
Available Recording(s)
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Bachianas brasileiras. These pieces range from instrumental and chamber to large orchestral forces, and are given focus through the Brazilian idioms being wedded to harmonic and contrapuntal techniques directly derived from the Baroque era. From his adolescence Villa-Lobos had been fascinated by Bach, finding in his work analogies with the traditional music of Brazil. Thus the present sequence was intended as an explicit homage to Bach, a factor most evident in the designation of almost every movement with twin titles alluding both to the actual movements of Baroque suite forms and also to specific Brazilian popular styles.
Bachianas brasileiras No. 5 has long been Villa- Lobos's best-known work. Its two movements, written in 1938 and 1945, are scored for soprano and an eightpart cello ensemble. Aria (Cantilena) opens with guitarlike pizzicati, the soprano intoning an insinuating melody which cellos accompany in unison, before taking up the melody in their own right. A more dramatic central section features soprano in lines from a poem by Ruth Valadares Corréa, before the vocalise continues in much the same vein. Dança (Martelo), setting lines by the composer's contemporary Manoel Bandeira, is designed to evoke the improvised poetry contests once common in North-Eastern Brazil, and features the soprano in an imitation of various species of birds. The voice's combination with cellos creates a sparkling atmosphere as well as formally articulating the rondo-type movement, which closes with a brief vocal flourish.
Writer: Richard Whitehouse
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