Heitor Villa-Lobos
Until very recently, I had only been vaguely aware of the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, and had certainly not consciously processed any of his music. The moment that changed this was when I was listening to the radio late at night. Deutschlandfunk really has it all. The host announced a piece called "Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5", and it started playing. I spent the following ca. 15 minutes with my ears glued to the radio: 8 solo celli and soprano solo make for quite an enticing setting, and combining what I can only call "Brazilian flair and melancholy" with strict form and composition inspired by Bach caused an explosion of associations.
I was hooked, and started digging. Soon enough, I found there are altogether nine Bachianas Brasileiras, and started listening my way through the collection. They're each a gem in its own right, and my favourite is No. 4.
The symphonies are next …
Tags: music