Listening Journal

Kevin Sweet
Music History
3-17-08


Listening Journal


Heitor Villa Lobos was born March 5, 1887 in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. He had little formal training as a child but learned to play cello, guitar and clarinet with his father as his teacher. Villa Lobos became one the most well known classical composers from South America, fusing together Brazilian elements with a modernist approach. Between 1930 and 1945, he composed nine works entitled Bachianas Brasileiras (Brazilian Bach pieces,) and they contain some of his most popular work. The works combine influences from Brazilian folk music and stylistic elements of the European classical tradition.

Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 is written for cello ensemble and exemplifies the composer’s love for the tonal qualities of the cello. It consists of three movements, an introduction, preludio and fugue, and it is around twenty minutes long. Embolada, incorporates cellos playing a light, percussive ostinato pattern followed by moments of counterpoint. The use of dissonance within the movement, are slight, and it utilizes thematic material and sequences as the main compositional devices.
Modinha, is a lyrical, slow moving middle section that paints an intense landscape of moods by introducing sweet melodies that slowly melt into darker harmonies. Villa Lobos is possibly utilizing elements of the German empfindsam style, featuring surprising turns of harmony, chromaticism and speech-like melodies. Villa Lobos skillfully incorporates Brazilian harmonic composition into a German sentimental style. The third movement is a fugue and uses a subject that contains dotted rhythms and swung eighth notes that are undeniably aspects of the Brazilian musical vocabulary.

Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6 is a duet between the flute and bassoon and it consists of two movements, an Aria and a Fantasia. The Aria is a choro, a Brazilian form that Villa Lobos helped popularize, composing dozens of works with this title for various instruments. The second movement is pulling inspiration from the Italian process of instrumental composition by not sticking to a strict form and writing subjects that more resemble improvisation.

This was my first introduction to the Bachianas Brasileiras or any Villa Lobos that was not composed for the guitar. I have played several Villa Lobos compositions for the guitar, and I never felt connected to the pieces emotionally. Even though that Villa Lobos has composed works for the guitar that are among the most well known pieces in the repertoire, I felt they were mediocre. His guitar pieces address crucial technical and mechanical elements of classical guitar playing but the harmonic structure and melodic content of his preludes and etudes sound too much like exercises, leaving the listener unfulfilled.

My opinion of Villa Lobos was tainted simply because I was not familiar with how versatile of a composer he was. The Bachianas Brasileiras showcases his craftsmanship and skill for writing moving harmony and beautiful melodies. Villa Lobos should be associated with the standard repertoire of the time because he provided a unique voice that has one foot rooted in Brazilian tradition and another in past European traditions.