HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS by Dr David C F Wright
I have often heard it said that Villa-Lobos wrote too
much music and the implication is that he never made time to construct
a masterpiece! But prolific outputs are known throughout the history
of music and it could be said that people such as Haydn and Mozart produced
so much that not all of it is of the highest standard or appeal. Villa-Lobos
would say that composition was not necessarily inspiration but a therapeutic
necessity. If he did not compose he was ill. He simply had to write
music.
Villa-Lobos was an ordinary man. It may be true to
say that he was quaint or homely. He was not an arrogant man but a very
hard-working musician. He pottered around his house with his hair all
over the place, wearing curious slippers and often with an overweight
cigar in his mouth. He also had domestic skills and one of the few composers
who had a winning personality that both made and kept friends.
His mother, Noemia Umbelina was born in Rio de Janeiro
in 1859 whereas his father, Raul, was born in 1862. Their marriage took
place in 1884. Their first child, Bertha, known as Lulucha, was born
in 1885. Heitor was born on the 5th March 1887 the year before slavery
was abolished in Brazil. Carmen, nicknamed Bilita, was born in 1888.
On 17th January 1889 Carmen and Heitor were baptised at Sao Jose Church
in Rio de Janeiro. Later that year Brazil was declared a republic.
Raul was a scholar. He had to give up medical study
owing to a lack of money and became a librarian. Sadly, he died young
contracting malaria in 1899. Nineteen years later Heitor's electrician
brother, Othon, died at the age of twenty one.
Heitor's first works, both for voice and piano, "Os
sedutores" and "Dime Perche" appeared around 1900. He
entered Pedro II College on 3rd April 1901. Over the next few years
he composed short songs and piano pieces and the "Comedia Lirica".
He attended the Instituto Nacional de Musica in Rio de Janeiro during
1906/7 and in 1910 took lessons with Agnelo Franca and Francisco Braga.
In 1912, his first substantial work, the "Piano Trio no.1 Op. 12",
appeared. Between 1912/13 he earned his living by playing the cello.
He was greatly influenced by the Ballet Russes' first visit to Rio de
Janeiro in 1913. Later that year he married Lucilia Guimaraes and they
lived in the house of her brothers. She was born on 26th May 1886 and
was a teacher, a pianist and became a notable interpreter of her husband's
music.
Villa-Lobos first concerto, the "Cello Concerto
no.1, Op. 50" appeared in 1915 and on the last day of July his
"Suite Caracteristica for string orchestra" was his first
concert work to be performed in public. It was conducted by Braga. On
the 13th November that year Villa-Lobos organised a concert of his own
music.
The year 1916 was significant. It saw the completion
of the "String Quartet no. 2, Op. 56" and the "String
Quartet no. 3", the "Sonata no. 2 for cello and piano"
and the "Symphony no. 1", given the opus number of 112 in
one catalogue, and subtitled "O Imprevisto".
"The first movement is leisurely but interesting
with an occasional sinister feel about it. It is also lugubrious at
times and pervaded by a melodic nullity. There is some very impressive
orchestration which is incredibly well-balanced; it is full and fine
but never thick or turgid. A slow movement of mystery and thoughtfulness
follows. It evokes a peaceful but radiant day showered with musical
iridescence. But despite its beauty it does not get anywhere. It has
more melodic nullity or, if you prefer to say so, an endless melodic
line. The third movement is a fun piece, light-hearted, playful, indeed
mischievous. It is entertaining but never brash or vulgar. The finale
does not come off. Is it an allegro or a slow andante? As often the
case in Villa-Lobos' music there is a violin solo of great beauty but
the music is ramshackle, bits and pieces and it is not cohesive as a
whole. Eventually it does try to break free."
The "String Quartet no. 4" of 1917 is among
his finest quartets. It shows a few influences of his native Brazil
the opening leisurely Allegro is full of both melody and expression.
The slow movement is both restful and therapeutic and quotes from his
ballet "Uirapuru". The scherzo is sheer delight full of virtuosity
and wit and it has also a strange feel of innocence. The finale is in
classical form and its directness makes it all the more endearing
The year 1917 was the year that Villa-Lobos became
acquainted with the music of Stravinsky. One wonders whether the Russian
composer's love of Paris influenced Villa-Lobos to find the pull of
Paris irresistible. At this time Villa-Lobos was playing the cello in
the Odeon Movie House and studying the orchestral treatises of Berlioz
and D'Indy. He also produced three major orchestral works namely "Amazonas",
"Uirapuru" and "Naufrago de Kleonikes".
The symphonies numbered 3 to 5 are a trilogy of war
symphonies respectively called ‘War’, ‘Victory’ and ‘Peace’. They were
all begun in 1919.
The ‘Symphony no.4’ is a splendid piece. At times,
robust and, at other times, it has a childlike innocence and a folkstyle
feel. The brief flutes and piccolo passage is unique in symphonic literature
both startling and scintillating. There are tolling bells and a medieval
brass texture which add to this rich tapestry of colour. It is brave
music. The horn writing is stunning. The second movement has an uncertainty.
Perhaps it is prophetic. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 did not conclude
the problems following the German surrender. The French national anthem
has a brief airing recalling the composer's love of France, and Paris
in particular, and the music is busy with high piercing and very exciting
woodwind, military brass, but not of the pompous sort or Shostakovich's
machine gun fire variety, and swirling strings. There is a terrific
tension. The peaceful moments still retain strength and integrity and
has a beauty that occasionally hints at Brazil. The final chord is startling.
The third movement emerges from the depths. A long oboe solo reminds
me that Villa- Lobos was once asked, "Which instrument can't you play?"
"Oh, I only can't play the oboe", was his response. The movement is
a kind of sad processional evoking for me a picture of sad returning
refugees. Here is true nostalgia undamaged by Edwardian pomp and nauseating
sentimentality. The finale begins with a fanfare figure on muted trumpets.
The music is subdued at first with a soaring violin melody of tremendous
elegance. After all, victory brings peace and the subjugation of the
enemy. I have often wondered whether Shostakovich knew these symphonies
since in his own symphonies numbered 6 to 12 there are so many similarities
with the Villa-Lobos trilogy. This finale introduces a perkiness and
joy. As we know from the music of Elgar and Walton triumphant music
is not necessarily joyous music. Villa-Lobos's music is never over the
top. All is in control. The final fugato begins on the brass and eventually
gives the xylophonist an opportunity to shine. The end is sudden and
makes for something of an anticlimax and with this in mind I have to
say that this movement does not therefore come off. While I value the
composer not going in for the kill or the overkill I think he has erred
in the other direction.
Between 1920 and 1922 Felix Weingartner conducted music
by Wagner in Rio de Janeiro and included two works by Villa-Lobos, ‘Naufrago
de Kleonikes’. and ‘Danca Frenetica’ Weingartner was an Austrian conductor
well respected and admired who had the distinction of studying with
Liszt. Weingartner wrote a treatise on conducting, seven symphonies,
two concertos, five string quartets and a fascinating autobiography.
He was noted for his Beethoven.
Following this the next distinguished visitor to Rio
de Janeiro was Richard Strauss who conducted some of his own works.
In 1922 Villa-Lobos obtained a grant from the Brazilian
government for a years study in Paris where he lived between 1923-24.
At the beginning of 1927 he settled there again. On the 15th February
1924 he conducted a concert of his music in Paris. He did likewise in
Lisbon in March and in Brussels in April. On 30th May he premiered his
‘Nonetto’ in the Salle des Agriculteurs in Paris
He was befriended by the French composer Darius Milhaud
when the Frenchman was a secretary at the French embassy. It is curious
that both composers wrote 12 symphonies ( as well as Milhaud composing
six little symphonies) and 17 string quartets although technically Milhaud
wrote 18 but numbers 14 and 15 can be played together as a String Octet;
they both wrote two cello concertos and a harp concerto. Milhaud wrote
a Brazilian piece, ‘Saudades do Brazil’ which was about the time he
first met Villa-Lobos.
Arthur Rubinstein also befriended the Brazilian composer
and championed some of his piano music.
Back in Brazil he began to compose his second two works
in a series called Choros. He was to write sixteen works under this
title between 1920 and 1945. ‘Choros no. 10’ for chorus and orchestra
is a work of stunning beauty. It dates from 1925. Incidentally, the
numbers do not conform to a chronological order. The first two to be
written are known as numbers 2 and 7; the second two are numbers 4 and
10 and so on.
Villa-Lobos met Stokowski, Albert Wolff, Edgard Varèse
and Florent Schmitt around 1927. In the following November Stokowski
conducted Villa-Lobos' ‘Dancas Caracteristica Africanas’ in Philadelphia
and New York. It was probably the first time North American had heard
any music from South America. Florent Schmitt thought highly of Villa-Lobos's
music
During 1929 he worked on ‘Momoprecoce’, a fantasia
for piano and orchestra premiered at the Salle Pleyel, Paris, on 23
February 1930 with the Brazilian pianist Magda Tagliaferro as soloist.
She had an amazing career but probably only remembered today for her
recording of Saint-Saens Piano Concerto no. 5 (‘The Egyptian’) under
the direction of Jean Fournet in 1953. Born in 1893 she studied with
Cortot was giving concerts when she was in her nineties. She was a legend
in her lifetime but now, sadly, forgotten. She died in 1986. It is curious
to note that Villa-Lobos did not write his ‘Piano Concerto no. 1’ until
1945
They returned to Brazil in the middle of 1930 where
he began his series of works under the title Bachianas Brasileiras.
There are nine in all and they intentionally combine contrapuntal music
in the spirit of Bach with Brazilian elements. ‘Bachianas Brasileiras
no. 2’ of 1930 is famous for the movement ‘The Little Train of the Caipira’
and ‘Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5’ of 1938 is also highly regarded. It
is scored for soprano and eight cellos.
The October revolution of 1930 in Brazil lead to his
increased interest in nationalist and cultural matters. Choral music
became very important to him.
In 1932 the government made choral singing in municipal
schools mandatory. Villa-Lobos was made the head of SEMA, head of musical
education. Villa-Lobos was in full time employment and had a regular
wage packet. For a year he had the Villa-Lobos orchestra but lack of
sponsorship caused it to cease.
But 1936 brought trauma. He attended the First International
Congress for Musical Education in Prague and returned home to Brazil
stopping in Berlin and Barcelona. Things were not happy at home and
in May he left his wife. A few wilderness years follow. But his sights
are set upon North America as a vehicle for his music and its promotion.
‘New York Skyline’ for orchestra appeared in 1940. His American debut
in Los Angeles in 1944 was not successful. He had to wait another eleven
years for recognition in North America. But it was the year of his ‘Symphony
no.6’, his first symphony for twenty four years.
The opening movement is an allegro non troppo which
moves at a moderate pace. The piece teems with ideas. Perhaps too many.
The solo brass have a lion's share of melodic content. The very opening
of the symphony suggests another well-known piece and we can detect
some French influence within its pages, a cross between glimpses of
Debussy and Ravel. The climaxes are short-lived but momentarily brilliant.
It must be remembered that Villa-Lobos loved Paris. There is a marvellous
sense of musical argument although, as with most of Villa-Lobos's music,
there is no clear sense of form as you would enjoy in Beethoven. The
lento opens wistfully but it is good to record that none of his slow
movements are weak or anaemic. There is a curious yearning with a constant
upward sigh. Again there is no obvious development or structural clarity
and episodic music can be disconcerting. But a good performance will
yield its many delights particularly in the final minutes which combines
a strange beauty with a dark realism. The performance I have conducted
by the usually reliable Antal Dorati misses the emotional content. The
allegretto quasi animato is a typical fun movement with cascading notes,
heraldic trumpets and an infectious vigour. But the music subsides and
Villa-Lobos is afraid to be extrovert. This is a curious feature in
much of his music. There is a splendid snarling end. The finale is a
conflict and of all sorts of things, style and musical language included.
There is a sense of elan, horn calls implying summons, warm and tender
string writing and a tautness and, at times, an intimate chamber music
feel. And, although many writers talk about the regular Brazilian influence
in ‘all’ his music, which is not obvious to me, there are glimpses of
that rhythmic energy here. But the music subsides again to profound
cor anglais playing which is decidedly wistful with engaging descending
triplet figures. There is a robust end. This is clearly a war symphony
and among his very best.
He began a cordial friendship with Arminda d'Almedia,
known as Mindinha, who was to become known as Arminda Villa-Lobos. She
was born in Rio de Janeiro on 26th July 1912.
He founded the Conservatorio Nacional de Canto Orfeonico
in 1942 and the Brazilian Academy of Music in 1942.
Intensity may be the best adjective to describe the
‘String Quartet no.9’ of 1945. The scherzo is not a lightweight piece
but highly complex. The slow movement is beyond words. Musicologists
will want to be nosy and try to discover why it is so intense. But does
it matter? The music is a class of its own. The complex finale is the
work of a very clever mind. But we must not dismiss it as mere cerebral
music. Its emotive and communicative skills are evident. By contrast
the ‘String Quartet no.11’ of 1948 is lighter and neo-classical in style.
It ends with a very tender movement but marvel at the virtuosity that
precedes it!
The first major illness was to strike him in 1948.
He was admitted to hospital for an operation for cancer of the bladder.
But he still composed at every opportunity and 1950 saw the completion
of the ‘Symphony no.8’. His large output of music for guitar is important
and his ‘Guitar Concerto’ was completed in 1951. The following year
he choose the Hotel Bedford in Paris for his European headquarters,
conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and completed the ‘Piano
Concerto no. 4’ and the ‘Symphony no. 10’.
In my view, this symphony is dreadful. It is subtitled
Sume Pater Patrium and is a substantial work lasting just over an hour.
The opening movement is curious with so many diverse elements which
seem unrelated and these diversities happen in a short space of time.
And the music is therefore episodic and in seemingly various styles.
There are brief moments of drama, snatches of quasi-epic music, passages
of tenderness and of grandeur with strong horn themes but still this
pervading melodic nullity. There are glimpses of clever counterpoint,
some humour and some banality making the music cheap and seedy. A distant
fanfare opens the second movement which is followed by a glorious oboe
theme the type emulated by Hollywood composers to depict a forlorn landscape.
The wordless chorus briefly enters with ethereal music and a tremendous
atmosphere is evoked. As the title suggests it has a religious feel
but not particularly Catholic as presumably intended. It is more like
a Red Indian chant. The second choral entry seems to evoke a funeral
procession. The tenor soloist briefly appears and the subsequent orchestral
section is busy. The prospect of an howling gale or storm does not materialize
and the women's voices enter. When the male voices enter it sounds like
a Russian nationalistic song sung at full belt. A tenor solo with strange
cries from the chorus which he later repeats and his quasi-declamatory
passage seems absurd. The third movement goes on and on and on and on.
It is weird. There are primitive choral glissandi which do not work
and the mixture of styles simply does not work either. The music is
confused. There is no coherence. It is not that we, the listeners, have
lost the plot. There is no plot. There is no structure or form. The
music is shapeless. The music just meanders and to add to the malaise
the music is often facile and juvenile. However, there are some moments
of note including the slow passages of exemplary choral writing which
sounds like a sad Polish folk song in the style of Dolina and there
is a plaintive tenor solo. The final movement is tedious apart from
the final alleluias.
The next few years saw the appearance of the ‘String
Quartet no. 14, Harp Concerto, the Cello Concerto no. 2, the Piano Concerto
no. 5, the Harmonica Concerto, String Quartet no 15’ and commissions
for a ballet inspired by Eugene O'Neill ‘The Emperor Jones’ and a setting
of Lorca's ‘Yerma’ which was first performed in Santa Fe in August 1971.
In 1958 MGM commissioned him to write the music for the film ‘Green
Mansions’.
The ‘Symphony no.11’ was commissioned by the Boston
Symphony Orchestra for their 75th anniversary which fell during the
1955/6 season. It is dedicated to the memory of both Sergei and Natalie
Koussevitsky. Other commissions were given to Samuel Barber, Bernstein,
Copland, Dutilleux, von Einem, Hanson, Ibert (who died shortly after
completing a movement of a proposed symphony), Milhaud, Petrassi, Piston,
William Schuman and Roger Sessions. Villa-Lobos conducted the first
three movements in Boston. The opening movement is somewhat rhapsodic
but richly coloured with blazing horns and timpani one of whose notes
is high. The slow movement is heart rending with a beauty both glorious
and strange. Friends noted the tears in the composer's eyes while writing
this. He felt this music. He meant this music. The solo violin writing
is literally too beautiful for words. The third movement is a wisp of
a scherzo but a real scherzo.
The year 1958 saw the first Inter-American Music Festival
in Washington where the Juilliard Quartet premiered the ‘String Quartet
no. 15’. This is a truly magnificent piece, a model quartet for would-be
composers. It is intense, warm, mellow, intimate with outstanding melodic
and thematic material. Fortunately I have a recording of this premiere
and it is nothing short of sensational. The Festival also saw the premiere
of the ‘Symphony no. 12’ played by the National Symphony Orchestra of
Washington under Howard Mitchell.
This conductor was born in 1911 and studied the piano
and the trumpet before taking up the cello at the Peabody Conservatory
in Baltimore and then at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia under
Felix Salmond. Mitchell was principal cellist of the Washington orchestra
in 1933 a post he kept until 1946. He was associate conductor from 1940
to 1970 before becoming conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra
in Paraguay.
The ‘String Quartet no. 16’ of 1955 is also a good
piece although it says nothing new. There are some exquisite moments
particularly in the slow movement. The penultimate movement is one of
unmitigated joy and the finale has both character and vigour and not
a little tenderness.
Ill health dogged Villa-Lobos now. He was admitted
to hospital in Rio de Janeiro on 11 August 1959 with kidney problems.
In September he was well enough to attend a concert which included his
‘Magnificat Aleluia’ but died at his home on the 17th November aged
72.
It is difficult to sum up. His music is not as colourful
as that of Revueltas or as structurally sound or original as Alberto
Ginastera. Villa-Lobos wrote too much. By 1950 he had two and an half
thousand works to his credit. His music is too eclectic within the pieces
themselves and therefore confused. Occasionally he wrote a magnificent
work. As for the rest, he just poured it out and, with respect, without
giving due attention to its quality.
But then he is not the only composer to have done that.
Copyright David C F Wright 1989 revised May 2002
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