Friday, April 8, 2011

Villa-Lobos - String Quartet no.1: Cantilena



There is unfortunately no complete performance by one group of this wonderful work on YouTube. So I did find six different quartets performing one movement each. This is a wonderful introduction to the huge cycle of string quartets by Villa-Lobos. In the first six quartets Villa-Lobos incorporated Brazilian colours and an incredible sense of being in the middle of the Amazonian rainforest all at the same time. The tragedy of these quartets is that they are seldom performed outside of Latin America.

This is glorious music, so please DISCOVER and ENJOY!

Villa-Lobos - String Quartet no.1: Brincadeira

Villa-Lobos - String Quartet no.1: Canto Lirica

Villa-Lobos - String Quartet no.1: Canconeta

Villa-Lobos - String Quartet no.1: Melancolia

Villa-Lobos - String Quartet no.1: Saltando

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Villa-Lobos - Choros No.3 "Pica-Pau"



Choros no.3 is a perfect example that Villa-Lobos was completely fluent at writing music for chorus/voices. It is one of his most popular and best loved works in his entire repertoire!

PLEASE ENJOY!

Villa-Lobos - Bachianas Brasileiras No.7 1/3



Raul, this one is for you. More glorious music from the great Brazilian master! Please listen and enjoy!

Villa-Lobos - Bachianas Brasileiras No.7 2/3

Villa-Lobos - Bachianas Brasileiras No.7 3/3

Monday, April 4, 2011

Villa-Lobos - Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 - Aria



If you're not sure that you have ever heard the music of Villa-Lobos, this clip should prove that you have heard something written by the Brazilian master.

ENJOY!

Villa-Lobos - Bachianas Brasileiras No.2 1/4



This is marvellous music by the most important composer to come from Latin America and specifically Brazil. Villa-Lobos was a very prolific composer in that he wrote over 2,000 works in every genre known to the Western musical world. He wrote 12 symphonies, 17 string quartets, 5 piano concertos, a virtual ton of solo piano music, 6 operas and many other delightful works. This music is from a great cycle of works named "Bachianas Brasileiras", a Brazilian homage to J.S. Bach. He also wrote another cycle of marvellous music called "Choros". In his music he shows his great pride of being Brazilian. While the Bachianas and Choros are quite nationalistic, the symphonies tend to be more formalistic. It is as if Villa-Lobos was trying to show the world that he could write symphonies that were not nationalistic. The string quartets are every bit as important a cycle as those written by Shostakovich(15 quartets) and Bartok(6 quartets). They are a blend of Brazilian and neo-classical elements. Villa-Lobos also wrote elegant and delightful music for the solo guitar.

After so many years of ignoring his music, my eyes and ears have been opened to this incredibly marvellous music. Recently I purchased the complete symphonies on the CPO label, the complete string quartets on the Dorian label and the best recordings ever of the complete Choros and Bachianas Brasileiras on the BIS label. Please note that in the case of the quartets, these recordings can also be purchased on the Brilliant label, albeit without the bonus DVD offered in the Dorian set. The DVD is a complete performance of the Quartet No.1 and interviews with the performers. The BIS set comes with a bonus CD of the composer's complete solo guitar music. This bonus CD is a total delight!! In every way all these performances along with the complete piano concertos on the DECCA label are all top notch and have received rave reviews from all over the world!

This is great music! PLEASE ENJOY!

Villa-Lobos - Bachianas Brasileiras No.2 2/4

Villa-Lobos - Bachianas Brasileiras No.2 3/4

Villa-Lobos - Bachianas Brasileiras No.2 4/4