courtesy of Naxos of America
Last month Naxos celebrated the 200th anniversary of Brazilian independence with two releases in its Music of Brazil series, the first devoted entirely to music composed by Dom Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil, and the second a survey of Brazilian music for chamber orchestra (performed, ironically, by the English Chamber Orchestra). I must confess, however, that prior to this announcement, my interest in Brazilian concert music had been focused primarily on the composer Heitor Villa-Lobos; and my most recent encounter with that music was the Music of Brazil release of that composer’s three violin sonatas, performed by violinist Emmanuele Baldini accompanied at the piano by Pablo Rossi.
By that time I was beginning to build up a healthy anthology of Villa-Lobos compositions. A major portion of that anthology was the Naxos project (not part of Music of Brazil) to record the complete symphonies, which concluded in November of 2017. The other substantial undertaking involved the composer’s seventeen string quartets in a six-CD collection recorded by Sono Luminus and reissued by Naxos in November of 2015.
Where the 200th anniversary is concerned, my interest in Villa-Lobos turned to a Music of Brazil release from September of 2019 given the title Concertos and Chamber Works. Both of the concertos were composed late in Villa-Lobos’ life, the 1951 guitar concerto and the 1955 harmonica concerto. The chamber selections, on the other hand, span a period from early (“Sexteto mistico,” composed in 1917 and “reconstructed” in 1955) to late (“Quinteto instrumental,” the latest work on the entire album, completed in 1957). Among these selections, the only one familiar to me was the guitar concerto, which had been added to “fill out” the EMI recordings of the nine “Bachianas Brasileiras” compositions on three CDs.
Both concertos are performed by the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (the ensemble that recorded the symphonies) conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero. The guitar concerto is particularly appealing through the solo account given by Manuel Barrueco. On the other hand the harmonica concerto was a “first contact” experience, not just of the music but also of soloist José Staneck.
It is worth noting that neither of these concertos was composed for a Brazilian. The guitar concerto was written for Andrés Segovia, who gave the premiere performance in February of 1956, performing with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. The harmonica concerto was also commissioned by a virtuoso performer, John Sebastian. (Note that this is the father of the John Sebastian that founded the Lovin’ Spoonful!) The premiere performance was given by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, conducted by George Singer. Villa-Lobos clearly understood and appreciated Sebastian’s virtuoso skills, providing an opportunity to exercise a diverse spectrum of them; and Staneck’s performance certainly rises to the heights that Villa-Lobos had presented to Sebastian.
The chamber music is best appreciated for its imaginative instrumentation. The “Mistico” sextet is scored for flute, oboe, alto saxophone, guitar, celesta, and harp. The quintet, on the other hand, brings a string trio (violin, viola, and cello) together with flute and harp. The sextet reflects the ambitious designs of a young composer with a fascination for contrasting timbres. The quintet is not quite as unconventional in instrumentation. While it is a “late” composition, one might think that the music reflects on the composer’s encounters with the music of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel during the time he spent in Paris.
Concertos and Chamber Works may not be a new release; but its approach to less-familiar compositions by Villa-Lobos provides an enjoyable perspective for the recent bicentennial celebration.
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