HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS: Complete Symphonies = Nos. 1 & 11; No. 2; New York Skyline Melody; Nos. 3 & 9; Overture de l’Homme Tel; Nos. 4 & 12; Nos. 6 & 8; Suite pour Cordes; No. 7 & Sinfonietta 1; Sym. No. 10 “Amerindia” – Soloists/Radio Sym. Orch. Stuttgart des SWR/Carl St. Clair – CPO 777 516-2 (7 CDs box set) TT: 421:38 (Distr. by Naxos) ****:
This time of everything-by-everybody in CD releases has brought a number of very worthwhile items to collectors. While this set isn’t necessarily the best works of the great Brazilian composer, it is extremely worthwhile and even ground-breaking. Only the Symphony No. 5 is missing, whose score has been lost. While not well-known as the composer’s many lovely Choros or Bachianas Brasileriras, these symphonies are impressive examples of Villa-Lobos’ efforts over the years to work with large-scale musical structures. The recordings were made from 1997 to 2000 with the permanent guest conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony, a native of Texas.
I immediately turned for comparison to the 1991 EMI eight-CD set of Villa-Lobos conducting his own works. Unfortunately, the Symphony No. 4 “A Vitoria” is the only one he got around to recording on his own. The 1957 mono recording sounds distant and muffled next to this excellent recent recording from the Stuttgart players. The work was intended to express the composer’s feelings about WWI, and was originally based on a poet’s text celebrating both the joy and sadness of the end of the war. The Marseillaise theme stands out in one portion, and the victorious mood is emphasized in much of the symphony. The third of the four movements is an Andante and is set as a funeral march in honor of the war dead. Though written for the First World War, the symphony was not premiere publicly until June 1955.
When you consider Villa-Lobos’ predilection for programmatic works rather than straight absolute music, the existence of these dozen symphonies is surprising. Some of them were commissions, and others were the result of his wish to show his skills handling this demanding form of art music. Spanning his entire creative life, the symphonies show different phases of his compositional style.
No. 7 of 1945 was written in Rio for a competition in Detroit, and is both more complex and with more dissonant passages than the earlier symphonies. It uses a very large orchestra, and opens with an atonal introduction making use of the entire orchestra. He constructed the theme of the Lento movement from the word “America,” much as he had used the New York City skyline in his earlier Skyline Melody. The 1916 Sinfonietta, which fills out the disc of No. 7, is dedicated to Mozart and uses a classic chamber orchestra in a tuneful work that bows to the Austrian composer but also sounds quite modern in a neo-classical way.
The Symphony No. 10 is probably the standout of the set; it has been recorded before. Written for the 400th Anniversary of the city of Sao Paulo, it is based partly on writings of a 16th century missionary, Jose de Anchieta. It carries the subtitle “O Greatest Father of Fathers,” and employs a tenor, baritone, and bass soloist plus a mixed chorus, pipe organ and large orchestra. Lasting about an hour in length, the symphony has some of the qualities of an oratorio. Its five movements show some programmatic intent, with titles such as “The earth and its creatures,” “War cry,” and “The Voice of the Earth.” The second movement uses choral vocalise to lovely effect. The texts are in the Tupi Indian dialect. The choral writing is expressive, using a variety of voicings.
Sonics on the entire set are excellent, and the note booklets for each symphony provide a good introduction to the works. Time spent with this set will be rewarding for anyone already convinced that Villa-Lobos was South America’s greatest composer.
– John Sunier
