Villa-Lobos with the score of his String Quartet No. 12

Villa-Lobos with the score of his String Quartet No. 12 (1959)
“Sim, sou brasileiro e bem brasileiro. Na minha música eu deixo cantar os rios e os mares deste
grande Brasil. Eu não ponho mordaça na exuberância tropical de nossas florestas e dos nossos
céus, que eu transponho instintivamente para tudo que escrevo”. —Heitor Villa-Lobos
"Yes, I am Brazilian, very Brazilian. In my music I let the rivers and the oceans of this great
Brazil sing. I put no gag on the tropical exuberance of our forests and our skies, which
instinctively I transpose into everything I write." —Heitor Villa-Lobos
DE 3409
BGQ on cover (left to right):
Luiz Mantovani, Gustavo Costa,
Tadeu do Amaral, Everton Gloeden
Brazilian Guitar Quartet plays Villa-Lobos
Everton Gloeden and Luiz Mantovani, 8-string guitars
Tadeu do Amaral and Gustavo Costa, 6-string guitars
Suite Floral (1918)
1 Idílio na Rede (Idyll in a Hammock) (2:56)
2 Uma Camponeza Cantadeira (A Singing Country Girl) (2:15)
3 Alegria na Horta (Joy in the Garden) (2:28)
from Cirandas (1926)
4 A Canoa Virou (The Canoe Capsized) (2:57)
5 A Condessa (The Countess) (3:03)
6 Terezinha de Jesus (2:11)
String Quartet No. 5 (1931) [15:52]
7 Pouco andantino (6:05)
8 Vivo e enérgico (3:10)
9 Andantino (3:03)
10 Allegro (3:34)
Danças Características Africanas (African Folk Dances) (1916)
11 Farrapós (Young People’s Dance) (4:09)
12 Kankukus (Elder’s Dance) (4:25)
13 Kankikis (Children’s Dance) (2:47)
from Cirandas
14 À Procura de uma Agulha (Searching for a Needle) (3:09)
15 Senhora Dona Sancha (1:50)
16 Que Lindos Olhos (What Beautiful Eyes) (3:53)
Brazilian Guitar Quartet
Everton Gloeden; eight-string guitar
by Martin Woodhouse (2001)
Luiz Mantovani; eight-string guitar
by Martin Woodhouse (2003)
Tadeu do Amaral; six-string guitar
by Martin Woodhouse (2001)
Gustavo Costa; six-string guitar
by Dominique Field (1991)
Recorded at the Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall/Arthur Zankel Music Center (Skidmore College,
Saratoga Springs, NY) between February 13 and February 17, 2010
Delos Executive Producer: Carol Rosenberger
Recording Producer: Brazilian Guitar Quartet
Recording Engineer: Daniel Czernecki, assisted by Brian Peters and Nathan Lawrence
Post-production: Tadeu do Amaral and Plinio Hessel
Microphones: Schoeps MK2H/CMC6XT, DPA 4011 TL
and 4006 TL with nosecones
Preamp and A/D converter: Cranesong Spider
Monitors: B&W 805 Nautilus speakers
All Villa-Lobos photos by courtesy of
Museu Villa-Lobos in Rio de Janeiro.
All BGQ photos by Susane Medeiros Vianna.
Creative Direction: Harry Pack
Graphics: Mark Evans
Special thanks to: Thomas Denny and Joel Brown at Skidmore College, Michael E. Collins, Lisa Sapinkopf,
Gil Jardim, Marcelo Fernandes Dias and Ricardo Manuel Garcia Pereira Dias.
7W
2011 Delos Productions, Inc., P.O. Box 343 Sonoma, CA 95476-9998
(707) 996-3844 • Fax (707) 320-0600 • (800) 364-0645
Disc Made in Canada. Assembled in USA
www.delosmusic.com
Isaac Albéniz Iberia (DE 3364)
of the score, and deliver an outstanding
interpretation … as near to perfection as I
have encountered.”
— SOUNDBOARD MAGAZINE
BGQ MAKES HISTORIC RECORDING OF
ALBÉNIZ * * * * [FOUR STARS, HIGHEST
RATING]
“This CD … will stand as a reference recording of the Catalan composer’s masterpiece …
a performance breathtaking not only for the
exuberant virtuosity in fast passages and syncopated rhythms, but also for virtuosity of
another level, that of fine control of tempo
and tonal qualities, in overlapping layers …
[BGQ’s interpretation] has now taken its place
alongside [those of Alicia de Larrocha and
Daniel Barenboim], beneath the ideal sun of
Iberia, and in no one’s shadow.”
— A FOLHA DE SÃO PAULO
“The Brazilian quartet is a unique musical
group: it consists of two standard guitars and
two eight string guitars à la Paul Galbraith,
who was for a time a member of the group.
What does it sound like? In a word it is magnificent. In this recording they take on
Albéniz’ masterpiece Iberia. The extra pitch
ranges at the bottom and top mean there is
no compromise because of crowding the
music into the available octaves of the standard guitar, and the tone colors of which
pianists can only dream can be exploited
with beautiful effect … The quartet are
effortlessly virtuosic on their parts, preternaturally unified, have gorgeous arrangements
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String Quartet No. 12 (1950) [23:36]
17 Allegro (6:40)
18 Andante melancólico (6:40)
19 Scherzo – Allegretto (ligeiro) (5:23)
20 Allegro (bem ritmado) (4:53)
All arrangements by Tadeu do Amaral
TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 75:41
Making Music in the Authentic Villa-Lobos Style
Exuberance and simplicity are hallmarks
both of Heitor Villa-Lobos’s own personality
and of his rich and diverse oeuvre. As is
characteristic of the culture of the Brazilian
people as a whole, his work is sometimes
bounded by tradition, while at other times it
soars on the wings of experimentation,
absorbing every European and Brazilian
influence from that moment in history, and
incorporating them in his musical creation.
pendent of historical background. Changes in
instrumentation create different acoustical
environments that reveal specific compositional procedures and, in turn, distinct facets
of the composer himself. Works written for
piano, guitar, chorus, or chamber groups
receive different treatments and generate different musical ecosystems. These distinctions
are emphasized when intersections between
types of instrumentation occur.
His music is often characterized according to
different periods in his life. But while it is
obvious that historical events may have an
impact on the artistic production of a certain
epoch, I argue that Villa-Lobos’s oeuvre in toto
does not reflect a linear technical or esthetic
evolution. Its trajectory is instead determined
by variations in the means of expression, inde-
This is the first of several surprises in this
beautiful collection by the Brazilian Guitar
Quartet: works originally written for a variety
of instruments are here skillfully transliterated,
with exuberance and simplicity, for four guitars. The result is that we have the privilege of
a “through hearing” of different esthetic conceptions in one controlled medium.
3
Suite Floral, originally written for piano in
1916-18, demonstrates in its first two parts
something of the ambience of Debussy. This
continues in the third part, “Alegria na
Horta” (Joy in the Garden), in which traces of
a Spanish melody are incorporated into a
French view of the Iberian peninsula, so typical of the time.
Encantamento (DE 3302)
Music by Brazilian composers Mignone,
Guarnieri, Santoro, Miranda, Oswald
cycle of nine Bachianas Brasileiras and the
“Guia Prática“ (Practical Guide), which
would form the basis of his nationwide educational crusade.
Pride in country is inherent already in the
first movement of the quartet, which in typical Villa-Lobos manner quotes a folk theme
(here “Fui no Tororó”) and then moves to
original melodies presented in a folkloric
context. Later he quotes another folk theme,
the gaucho song Pezinho. This provoked a
vehement reaction from critics, since the song
originated in the birthplace of President
Vargas, who had just imposed a dictatorship
that would last until 1945.
The Cirandas are a cycle of piano pieces written in 1926. A ciranda is children’s folksong
that accompanies a circle dance, and this cycle
is one of several in which Villa-Lobos develops Brazilian folk themes through the subtle
manipulation of texture. In so doing he invests
traditional melodies with mysterious new
readings. The Cirandas make frequent use of
pedals and ostinati, which lend to these pieces
a freedom of expression typical of the composer, who here again brings the music of the
Brazilian people to the concert stage.
The Danças Características Africanas were
composed between 1914 and 1915 for solo
piano and orchestrated by the composer the
following year. Farrapós, Kankukus, and
Kankikis are subtitled “Dances of the MixedBlood Indians of Brazil,” and were inspired,
according to the composer, by themes from
songs of the Caripuna indians of Mato
Grosso, an ethnic group formed from the
intermarriage of Indians and Africans. (This
typical Villa-Lobos statement raises anthropological questions better left for discussion
elsewhere.) During Brazil’s pivotal “Semana
de Arte Moderna” (Week of Modern Art) in
1922, Villa-Lobos transcribed the pieces for
String Quartet No. 5, dubbed “Quarteto
Popular No. 1” by the composer, was written
in 1931. With its quotations of folk themes in
its first and fourth movements, it is unique in
his seventeen quartet cycle. Clearly this is a
case where elements of the composer’s life
did influence his music, for it was at this time
when he began his cooperation with the government of President Getúlio Vargas. VillaLobos went on during this period to write his
4
“Their varied and intriguing work here is
infectiously likable … spotless ensemble precision … gets better with repeated hearing.”
— MINNEAPOLIS STAR AND TRIBUNE
Bach: The Orchestral Suites (DE 3254)
“Of all the anniversary albums paying
homage to Bach this year … this disc offers
some of the most unlikely yet consistently
delightful listening … the Suites sound as if
they were meant for this arrangement all
along, with the players bringing out not only
the rich counterpoint but the vibrant color of
the works … the ever-popular Air of the
Suite No. 3 moves with a grace both limpid
and lapidary … a wonderful record.”
— BILLBOARD
“Absolute clarity, rhythmic precision, and
drive … brilliant playing … a welcome
rhythmic vitality that is tempered with a
stylish lilt … sparkling ensemble playing.”
— AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE
“Most North American classical music lovers
are familiar with Heitor Villa-Lobos, but few
are familiar with Brazil’s other composers …
Providing a welcome introduction to those
other figures is [Encantamento] … these
pieces boast a melodic accessibility and
rhythmic sensuality that often eludes northern
hemisphere composers … [the BGQ] executes
the lively, tricky rhythms of this music as only
Brazilians could”
— HOWARD COUNTY
TIMES, Columbia, Maryland
OTHER RECORDINGS ON DELOS
Essência do Brasil (DE 3245)
Music by Brazilian composers Villa-Lobos,
Guarnieri, Mignone, Gomes
“CRITIC’S CHOICE … dazzling music … the
works are in fact thoroughly Brazilian in
character, full of passionate melodies, exciting strumming and dazzling color … a stunning debut … of vibrant music played with
joie de vivre that is infectious.”
— THE DAILY YOMIURI, Tokyo
“Cause for celebration … great brilliance and
enormous musicality … energy and drive …
They play as one, with a gift for tone color at
once varied and integrated. They breathe
together, giving the performances a uniquely
organic aura … An ideal synthesis of brightness and reverie, tropical warmth and clarity
of ideas … An unsurpassable disc.”
— JORNAL DA TARDE, São Paulo
“Strong rhythmic articulation and clarity …
creates much excitement … leave(s) the listener smiling.” — AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE
“Refreshing, highly entertaining and substantial new repertoire … the players’ musicianship and enthusiasm for this venture
shines through every bar. This is a top class
recording of fabulous music from a worldclass quartet. Highly recommended.”
— CLASSICAL GUITAR
12
5
and expressive integration that is the ideal of
every chamber music group. This recording
provides the opportunity to enjoy the way in
which the guitar’s multiple timbres sensitively reveal every nuance of musical experience.
an octet comprising flute, clarinet, piano and
string quintet.
The African Folk Dances occupy a seminal
position in the Villa-Lobos corpus, for
already in 1915 they incorporate typical elements of his later style, such as formal discourse and unorthodox harmonies, together
with the use of whole-tone scales as well as
expanded tonalism, in keeping with early
20th century practice.
Villa-Lobos himself made many transcriptions during his lifetime. This recording is an
authentic reflection of the Villa-Lobos way of
making music; we hope this is the first of
many such experiments, as the music of this
great Brazilian composer is passed on as a
living entity into the future.
String Quartet No. 12 was composed at
Memorial Hospital in New York, where the
composer was recovering in 1950. This quartet
amply refutes any reductive conclusion, based
only on his best known works, that examples
of his creative audacity were limited to the
Chôros cycle from the Twenties, or that, by
extension, his work from the Vargas era and
thereafter was entirely traditional. Quartet No.
12, written when Villa-Lobos was 63, is based
on an atonal conception (like many of his
other chamber works); it demonstrates an
advanced treatment of structure, harmony,
counterpoint, and texture, within a framework
in keeping with global compositional styles of
the first half of the 20th century.
About the author:
Gil Jardim is the author of The
Anthropophagical Style of Heitor Villa-Lobos
(Philarmonia Brasileira). He was awarded
the “Diapason d’Or” Prize and the “Prime de
Cultura” of the magazine Bravo for his CD
“Villa-Lobos em Paris” (2006). Jardim is the
Music Director and Principal Conductor of
the University of São Paulo Chamber
Orchestra, and a professor in the USP’s
School of Communication and the Arts.
English adaptation by Luiz Mantovani, Lisa
Sapinkopf and H. Mack Horton
Praised by the Washington Post for their
“seductive beauty” and “virtuosic gusto,” the
Brazilian Guitar Quartet has established
itself as one of world's leading guitar ensembles. The group’s unique combination of regular six-string and extended-range, eightstring guitars, allows for the exploration of
an original and unusual repertoire. In more
than a decade of activity, the BGQ has performed over 300 concerts in the Americas,
Europe, Australia and Asia, often receiving
ecstatic audience responses, garnering rave
reviews, and meeting sold-out halls.
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, gave the
world premiere of a specially-commissioned
concerto by Brazil’s 2001 “Composer of the
Year,” Ronaldo Miranda. In 2006, the Quartet
gave the Brazilian premiere of this work with
the Petrobras Symphony Orchestra in Rio de
Janeiro. In 2009, as a tribute to the 100th
anniversary of Isaac Albéniz’death , the BGQ
presented the composer’s masterwork Suite
Iberia on a concert tour in some of the most
important capitals of Brazil.
This all-Villa Lobos CD marks the fifth BGQ
recording for Delos. Two are also devoted
to Brazilian Music, Essência do Brasil (chosen
by Audiophile Audition one of the best
recordings of that year) (DE 3245) and
Encantamento (DE 3302). The other recordings present, in their entirety, two great
works of Western classical music, Bach's
Four Orchestral Suites (DE 3254) and
Albéniz’s Iberia (2006) (DE 3364).
Brazilian Guitar Quartet website:
http://www.brazilianguitarquartet.com
Highlights of the BGQ's past seasons include
performances at the 92 Street ‘Y’ and the
Metropolitan Museum in New York, Spivey
Hall in Atlanta, Ravinia Festival in Chicago,
Dumbarton Concerts in Washington, D.C.,
Beethovensaal in Hanover, Chamber Music
Albuquerque, Hong Kong International Arts
Festival, Carmel Bach Festival, Felicja
Blumental International Music Festival in Tel
Aviv, Festival Internacional de Guitarra de
Monterrey and the Adelaide International
Guitar Festival, besides numerous performances and recordings for National Public
Radio in Washington, D.C. and Houston.
The Brazilian Guitar Quartet were “headliners” at the inaugural World Guitar Congress
in Baltimore where they, together with the
In conclusion, I must say that I am amazed
by the superb quality of the Brazilian Guitar
Quartet, who achieve the complete technical
6
11
As Danças Características Africanas ocupam
uma posição estratégica no catálogo de VillaLobos, pois já contém, em 1915, elementos e
diretrizes características de seu estilo: discursos
formais e encadeamentos harmônicos não ortodoxos, utilização de escalas de tons inteiros,
assim como incursões sobre um tonalismo
expandido, ratificando tendências conhecidas
do início do Século XX.
Para concluir, quero dizer que estou maravilhado com a soberba qualidade desse notável
Quarteto Brasileiro de Violões. Integração técnica e expressiva total é o que todo grupo
camerístico de excelência busca. Nesse trabalho
temos a oportunidade de ouvir um instrumento único, com possibilidades timbrísticas múltiplas, capaz de revelar com sensibilidade todas
as nuances sonoras que a experiência musical
contempla.
O Quarteto de Cordas No.12 foi escrito no
Memorial Hospital de Nova Iorque, onde o compositor se restabelecia, em 1950. O arrojo estético
em sua linguagem musical não deve ser atribuído
somente ao Ciclo dos Choros produzidos na
década de 20. Da mesma forma, não é correto
enxergar sua prisão a um estilo tradicionalista a
partir da era Vargas (1930-45). Isso é rotular a produção do autor com base apenas em algumas de
suas obras mais conhecidas, ou seja, um
reducionismo. O Quarteto de Cordas No. 12 é um
típico exemplo produzido quando o compositor
estava em seus 63 anos de idade. Verificamos o
tratamento avançado quanto a parâmetros estruturais, harmônicos, contrapontísticos e texturais
do material sonoro, ou seja, com perfil estético
alinhado com algumas das tendências da
primeira metade do Século XX no mundo. Essa
obra é concebida num ambiente sonoro atonal,
como muitas outras obras camerísticas de seu
catálogo, em que o assunto musical desenvolvido
se volta exclusivamente a ele próprio.
Villa-Lobos fez, ele próprio, muitas transcrições
em sua vida. Esse CD propõe um estilo absolutamente villalobiano de se fazer música.
Ficamos com a expectativa de ouvir ainda mais
dessa experiência que não se esgota aqui e que
abraça a música do grande compositor
brasileiro de forma viva, lançando-a para o
futuro.
GIL JARDIM
Autor do livro “O Estilo Antropofágico de
Heitor Villa-Lobos” (Editora: Philarmonia
Brasileira).
Agraciado com o prêmio “Diapason d’Or” e o
“Prime de Cultura” da Revista Bravo pelo CD
“Villa-Lobos em Paris”, em 2006.
Diretor Artístico e Regente Titular da
Orquestra de Câmara da USP.
Docente do Departamento de Música da
ECA/USP.
10
7
UM ESTILO ABSOLUTAMENTE VILLALOBIANO DE SE FAZER MÚSICA
Gil Jardim
Dessa forma, as obras concebidas para piano,
violão, coro, orquestra ou grupos camerísticos, recebem tratamentos distintos, como se
constituíssem verdadeiros ecos-sistema,
guardando características relativas a cada
grupo. As intersecções confirmam a regra.
Exuberância e simplicidade são características
presentes na rica e diversificada obra de
Heitor Villa-Lobos, bem como na personalidade do autor cuja produção, ora está circunscrita à tradição, ora busca seu futuro nas asas
do experimentalismo, num ato de contínua
antropofagia criativa. Sem dúvida, aspectos
conhecidos da cultura do povo brasileiro.
Essa é a primeira surpresa desse belo trabalho
do Quarteto Brasileiro de Violões: a reunião
de obras escritas originalmente para distintos
meios de expressão, vertidas com grande felicidade para quatro violões, com exuberância
e simplicidade. Como conseqüência, temos o
privilégio de um “ouvir através”, ou seja, de
reconhecermos diferentes propostas estéticas
de um mesmo autor a partir de um mesmo
meio de expressão, o quarteto de violões.
Muitas vezes encontramos a produção musical de Villa-Lobos classificada segundo períodos de sua vida. É evidente que acontecimentos históricos podem impactar na produção
artística de determinada época. Todavia, pretendo sublinhar a não linearidade temporal
da produção do compositor quanto à
evolução técnica e estética em seu catálogo
de obras. Defendo a idéia que são os meios
de expressão que determinam as diversas linhas estéticas presentes em Villa-Lobos, independente da época em que as obras tenham
sido escritas. São as diferentes formações
instrumentais que revelam as propostas composicionais específicas no seu trabalho, estabelecendo ambientes sonoros estimulados
pelas propriedades acústicas de cada um
desses grupos e que revelam facetas distintas
de um mesmo autor.
8
traremos a citação de outro tema folclórico, a
canção gaúcha “Pezinho”. Sobre essa citação se
instalou a famosa polêmica com parte da crítica
especializada, especialmente Mário de
Andrade, que rechaçou com dureza essa obra.
Naturalmente, foi recebida como uma homenagem explícita a Getúlio. Lembremos que a
obra foi dedicada a João Alberto Lins de Barros,
interventor nomeado por Vargas para o estado
de São Paulo, substituindo o governador eleito,
Júlio Prestes. Por outro lado, devemos observar
que essa melodia é a mesma de “Que lindos
olhos” (Ciranda No. 15). Haverá como reler esse
momento histórico?
sobre as quais as diferentes melodias receberam uma nova leitura.
Os pedais e os ostinati são recorrentes nas
Cirandas. A liberdade de expressão é a
essência do gesto villalobiano. Sem dúvida,
mais uma vez, nosso grande compositor
traria a “música típica” do povo brasileiro
para as salas de concerto.
Na Suite Floral, obra escrita para piano em
1916/18, deparamo-nos com a ambiência
francesa originada em Debussy, especialmente nas duas primeiras peças. Em Alegria
na Horta, a 3ª. peça, o traço ibérico da melodia acompanha também o olhar francês da
época em direção à península.
Já o Quarteto de Cordas No.5, batizado pelo
autor como “Quarteto Popular No. 1”, foi
escrito em 1931 e possui proposta bastante distinta e particular dentro do ciclo dos 17 quartetos por conter citações de temas folclóricos no
primeiro e quarto movimentos. Este é de fato
uma exceção. É inegável que o assunto musical
utilizado nesse quarteto tenha sido estimulado
pelas circunstâncias vividas pelo compositor
no começo dos anos 30, quanto iniciava sua
colaboração com o governo de Getúlio Vargas.
Este será o período em que Villa escreverá o
ciclo das 9 Bachianas Brasileiras e os tomos do
Guia Prático, destinado a dar suporte à sua
cruzada educacional pelo país.
As Cirandas, ciclo de peças para piano
escrito em 1926, integram um dos conjuntos
de obras em que o compositor lança mão de
temas do folclore brasileiro, envolvendo-os
em refinadas elaborações texturais, como que
estabelecendo inusitadas paisagens de fundo
A presença do espírito ufanista nesse Quarteto
Popular pode ser observada já no seu primeiro
movimento, onde encontramos a citação do
tema folclórico “Fui no Tororó”, seguido por
melodias criadas com contorno folclórico, gesto
usual e recorrente no autor. Mais à frente encon-
As Danças Características Africanas foram
compostas entre 1914 e 1915, originalmente
para piano solo, e foram orquestradas no ano
seguinte, em 1916. Farrapós, Kankukus e
Kankikis receberam o subtítulo de “Danças
dos Índios Mestiços do Brasil”. Segundo
depoimento do compositor, alguns temas dos
índios Caripunas (Mato Grosso), raça originada do cruzamento com negros, teriam lhe
servido de inspiração. (Esse é um depoimento tipicamente villalobiano e importante de
ser informado, deixando o interesse por uma
investigação antropológica pertinente para
outro momento.) Durante a Semana de Arte
Moderna (1922), o autor transcreveu a obra
para um Octeto formado por flauta, clarinete,
piano e quinteto de cordas.
9