Home

Works - Bachianas Brasileiras

 

No. 1 for "an orchestra of cellos" (1930) - Associated Music Publishers (AMP)

Walter Burle MarxPremiere: September 12, 1932, by the Philharmonia Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro, conducted by Walter Burle Marx.

The movements:

1. Introduction - Embolada
2. Prelude - Modinha
3. Fugue - Conversa

Lisa Peppercorn lists the composition dates for BB#1 as 1930-32 and 1936-38. She says: "I believe that the first movement was written only between 1936 and 1938, because until 1936 only the last two movements were ever performed. The first performance of the complete work was given in 1938." 1


 

No. 2 for chamber orchestra (1930-31) - G. Ricordi

Orchestration:


flute oboe clarinet tenor saxophone
contrabassoon bassoon 2 trumpets horn
timpani chocalhos reco-reco triangle
cymbals ganza pandeiro bombo
matraca celesta piano strings


There are four movements, orchestrations of earlier works for cello & piano and solo piano:


Movement Original orchestration Added title
O Canto do Capadocio cello & piano Prelude
O Canto da Nossa Terra cello & piano Aria
Lembranca do Sertao piano solo Dansa
O trenzinho do Caipira cello & piano Toccata



 

No. 3 for piano and orchestra (1938) - Ricordi

Composed in 1938, this piece was first performed on February 19, 1947, by pianist Jose Vieira Brandao with the CBS orchestra conducted by the composer.


 

No. 4 for piano (1930-41) - orchestrated in 1941 - Ricordi

Villa-Lobos' orchestration of this piece was made in 1941. He conducted the premiere on July 15, 1942, with the orchestra of the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro.

 

No. 5 for voice and 8 cellos (1938 and 1945) - AMP

The most famous and popular of Villa-Lobos' works, the Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5 was famously described by Eero Tarasti as a "black box:"

"There are works about which the researcher can only make this a posteriori remark: The work is so evidently a classic that there remains only the task of analyzing on which factors the composition's position and reputation are based. Sometimes one can only confirm that the excellence of the classic cannot be indicated through analysis." [Tarasti, Heitor Villa-Lobos, 1995, p. 206.]

The piece has two movements, written 7 years apart: an Aria (Cantilena), and a Dansa (Martelo.)

Portions of the Aria are sung in wordless vocalise, though the central section is sung to words from a poem by Ruth Valadares Correia. The Dansa has a text by Manuel Bandeira.

 

No. 6 for flute and bassoon (1938) - AMP

 

No. 7 for orchestra (1942) - Max Eschig

Orchestration:


2 flutes 2 oboes 2 clarinets piccolo
English horn bass clarinet 2 bassoons 4 horns
contrabassoon 3 trumpets 4 tombones tuba
timpani tam-tam xylophone coco
strings harp celesta bombo


This piece was written in Rio de Janeiro in 1942. It was first performed in 1944.

 

 

 

No. 8 for orchestra (1944) - Max Eschig

 

Orchestration:


2 flutes 2 oboes 2 clarinets piccolo
English horn bass clarinet 2 bassoons 4 horns
contrabassoon 3 trumpets 4 tombones tuba
timpani tam-tam xylophone madeiras
strings tarol celesta bombo


This piece was written in Rio de Janeiro in 1944, and first performed (there) in 1947.

 

 

No. 9 for chorus or string orchestra (1944) - Max Eschig

Orchestration: for string orchestra or mixed chorus.


1 "Some aspects of Villa-Lobos' principles of composition," in Villa-Lobos: collected studies by L.M. Peppercorn, Aldershot, Scolar Press, p. 15.

Life | Music | Features | VL Home