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Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras (Complete) ReviewLike 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 MorrisonVilla-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras (Complete) Overview
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