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The Complete Bachianas Brasileiras, a Badly Needed New Versi

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 11/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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"

A Wonderful New Recording of the Great Cycle

B. Gelin | Cambridge, MA | 06/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

A Glowing Performance of the Entire Cycle of Bachianas Brasi

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 12/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Heitor Villa-Lobos is probably best known for this cycle of works under the title 'Bachianas Brasileiras' and while certain of these enchanting pieces are standard repertoire ('Toccata - O Trenzinho Do Caipira' and the luxuriously gorgeous 'Cantilena' for soprano and eight celli), the remainder of this startlingly fine composition is rarely heard.



Fortunate we are, then, that Kenneth Schermerhorn and the Nashville Symphony made this complete set. The individual works are varied and disparate in orchestration, sort of a 'Concerto for Chamber Orchestra'! Each piece is never less than fascinating in rhythmic detail and structure and there are some very beautiful melodies strung throughout the cycle.



The total of twenty-nine pieces are comfortably spaced over three discs and the recorded sound is rich and warm. This is an important recording and priced at the level that it is generally affordable! Highly recommended on all levels. Grady Harp, December 05

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