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45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Complete Bachianas Brasileiras, a Badly Needed New Version, November 21, 2005
Like most music-lovers, I have not paid much attention to Villa-Lobos's collection of nine works called 'Bachianas Brasileiras,' except for the extraordinarily popular No. 5 (the one for soprano voice and eight cellos) and the movement from No. 2 called 'The Little Train of the Caipira.' I had heard them cursorily (in a friend's collection) in the old EMI album, still available, called 'Villa-Lobos par lui-même,' a six-disc set with the composer conducting a French orchestra in his own works, done in the 1950s. But there has not been, as far as I know, a recent complete recording of the set. (I understand there is also one featuring a Brazilian orchestra, but I have never seen or heard it.) So, it is with great pleasure that I report that this set with the late Kenneth Schermerhorn conducting the Nashville Symphony is a real winner. It is the last thing Schermerhorn recorded before his death April 19, 2005. Indeed, Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 had to be recorded with Andrew Mogrelia at the helm.
The nine Bachianas vary wildly in their instrumentation. No. 1 is for 'an orchestra of cellos'; No.2 is for chamber orchestra; No. 3 is for piano and orchestra; No. 4, originally for piano alone, was orchestrated in 1941 by the composer (but, oddly, its first movement is for strings alone); No. 5 is the familiar Aria and Dança for soprano and eight cellos; No. 6 is a duet for flute and bassoon alone; Nos 7 and 8 are for full orchestra, the latter a veritable concerto for orchestra; and No. 8 is for string orchestra. All the works attempt (mostly successfully) tp combine Bachian counterpoint, forms and use of dance rhythms with Brazilian folk song and dance. One hears intimations of two-part invention (No. 6), aria (several movements, including the absolutely gorgeous first movement of No. 4), fugue (several movements, including the marvelous lost movements of Nos. 7 and 9) and so on. Throughout it all is Villa-Lobos's talent for concocting delicious melodies and infectious rhythms. In the process of writing these homages to Bach he mastered manipulation of a ground bass, construction of arching forms, invention of toccata-like motoric drive.
One cannot say enough about the performances. It is true that the Nashville Symphony is not generally considered a front-line orchestra -- although they have made some smashing recordings of Schoenberg, Ives and Beethoven, among others -- and there may be some rough and ready playing in spots. Their strings, who play such an important part in the whole undertaking, sound silken and deep into their strings when necessary. The two Bachianas for cellos alone are simply gorgeous; they may not be the Berlin Philharmonic cello section, but they are darn good. The soulful solo cellist in No. 5 is Anthony La Marchina, the orchestra's principal cellist; I wonder if he is kin to long-time conductor of the Honolulu Symphony, Robert La Marchina. Rosana Lamosa, a Brazilian soprano, sings the cantilena and aria of No. 5; she is excellent but she does not erase memories of other great singers in this work: Bidu Sayão, Galina Vishnevskaya (with M. Rostropovich playing the solo cello part), Victoria de los Angeles, or Renée Fleming.
José Feghali, himself a Brazilian and a former medal winner in the Cliburn Competition, is a superb piano soloist in No. 3. Principal flutist Erik Grafton and principal bassoonist Cynthia Estill make the rather dry two-part inventions of No. 6 sound like great music. And in No. 6 Villa-Lobos conquered the problem of making an unaccompanied wind-instrument duet sound fuller than one might guess, with implied harmonies and Bachian harmonic suspensions.
The excellent booklet notes are by Richard Whitehouse. They are a fount of otherwise difficult to find information about the Bachianas. One final pedantic note: 'Bachianas' is both a singular and plural noun, so one speaks of a single Bachianas or a group of Bachianas. One occasionally (but not in this set) sees this: 'Bachiana Brasileira No. 5.' Wrong!
A strong recommendation for those who want to discover the too-rarely heard products of Villa-Lobos's love for Bach as filtered through his Brazilian sensibility.
Scott Morrison
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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best introduction to Villa-Lobos available, July 22, 2006
The Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) was very prolific, composing 12 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 17 string quartets, 14 "Choros," numerous ballets and other orchestral works, and 9 "Bachianas Brasileiras." Although Villa-Lobos' style is firmly nationalistic, his individual works are highly varied, with some pieces being highly structured while others are virtually improvisatory. Likewise, the forces employed by Villa-Lobos vary substantially. For instance, compare the 9 minute Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6 scored for flute and bassoon against the half hour long Bachianas Brasileiras No. 3 for piano and orchestra. However, the scoring of Bachianas is more uniform and the style more traditional in comparison to, say, the Choros, making them a good entry point for those unfamiliar with this composer.
You may ask "What exactly is a Bachianas Brasileiras?" Well, a Bachianas Brasileiras is a multi-movement musical form developed by Villa-Lobos in which the harmonic and contrapuntal traits of Bach are combined with elements of Brazilian music. Each Bachianas can be thought of as a Baroque suite, with each movement containing two titles; one signifying a Baroque form, such as "Toccata" or "Fugue," and a second title borrowed from Brazilian music, such as "Picapu" or "Modhinha." This combination may seem a little strange, but Villa-Lobos combines the two elements naturally. For Villa-Lobos the combination was almost logical, as the traditional music of Brazil is itself very contrapuntal.
What makes the Bachianas attractive are their consistent high level of inventiveness and variety. The tunes are memorable, while the counterpoint and orchestral coloring are highly distinctive. One of my favorites is the second Bachianas, the final movement of which is a depiction of a train chugging through the forests of Brazil. This Bachianas also features some highly memorable trombone and saxophone solos. Yet, undoubtedly the composer's favorite instrument is the cello. The first Bachianas is scored for "an orchestra of cellos" and the fifth (the most popular) is scored for soprano and eight cellos. The composer's characteristic use of this instrument throughout the set creates a sensuous atmosphere.
These works are filled with other interesting tidbits, such as the composer's incorporation of bird calls into several movements (the woodpecker in toccata of No. 3, the blacksmith bird in the chorale of No. 4, with various birds emulated by the soprano in No. 5). The movements of the works range from exciting dance pieces to lamenting arias. The aria of No. 4 is especially lovely. Another favorite is the toccata of No. 7, with its exotic sounding percussion and aggressive orchestral playing representative of improvised singing contests Villa-Lobos heard on the streets of Brazil, with a Bach-like violin line emerging from the texture.
What makes this set, in particular, a must have is the great playing by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (especially the strings), the Naxos price, and the fact that this release constitutes the complete Bachianas. But, this isn't the only set out there. I can mention that the sound quality here blows the (very poor) sound quality of Villa-Lobos' recordings of certain of these works (dating from the 1950's) clear out of the water. The second, third and fourth Bachianas have been recently recorded by the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra on the BIS label. That recording is very good, and some of the playing by that orchestra slightly cleaner, although I would recommend the Naxos recording over that one, as a starting point, on the basis of completeness.
Fans of twentieth century orchestral music need not hesitate. These colorful, immediately accessible, works will give you years of listening pleasure. Get it.
CD 1: 73:10
CD 2: 40:42
CD 3: 62:22
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful New Recording of the Great Cycle, June 15, 2006
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.
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