I'

To Augusto Rodrigues andIlervrnnio tlello de Can,olho

Turibio Sontos

tluron \wrA-LsnosAns The qXITNn

kanslated by

Victoria Fordeawd

C'rahaTYlWade

Wise Owl Music

i lejtgr Villa.Lobos and the Guitaroriginaily,published by the M;;;; Viila_Lobos , 1975.

translation, Graham WarJeEnglish by

Gurtnacloona, Ban try,Co. Cork, Ireland.Layout and Typography o Wise Owl Music 19g5.

AII rights reserved. No part of this publicationstored in a retrieval systern or.tru.,'.*iir".a n

@ t las EnelishFirst published inWise Owl Music,

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The publishers wish to thank thg following fbr their;:H:,. assisrance and co_operuilJn"tn the production of this

Victoria Forde, lllackrock, Co. f9..t, Ireland; CrahamWade, Senior Lecturer, Citv oi ie".",t"r.Cutt"g. of Music; LionelLethbridge; oscar cr;r;;; il;. ;r;;i. .Hugon of Messis- MaxEschig, paris, for pennission to -..proarce copyright musicalexamples; Arrnincla Villa Lobos,'i,,. firr.u Villa_Lobos, Rio deJanciro; Herm fnio tsello tle c.*rjr,","ill,t.n l.nningr.

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CONTEN'I'S

lntroduction

Clossary

One Musician? Or Many Mr-rsicians?The Musicians

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Tornds Teran, Anclres Scgtlviu,Heitor Villa-LobosThe Twelve Studies1940

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The PreludesThe Five Preludes which were SixA Concerto was NeededProblenrs of Interpreting Villa-LobosThe Personality of Villa-LobosMore about the Personalitv anc'l lleliel's o1'Villa-LobosThe Beliefs of Villa-LobosThe Song of Villa-LobosThe Influence of his WorkConclusion

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1149525658

5964'71

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APPENDICES

I

IIIIIIV

VI

List of Cornpositions for Cuitarby l{eitor Villa-LobosDiscographyBibliographySuggested Further ReadingConcerto

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Music E,xamplesFacsimile of Villa-Lobos' Manuscript o1Mazurka (1911)

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INTITODUCTION

'I'his is the first presentation itr lirrglislr ol'tire book byTuribio Santos originally published by the lllLt.sctt l/illt!.r..,bt.t.y wtlhthe support of XIEC

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Deparlanrt:ttto tle tlssttttIo,s' ('ultrtruis o1'l{icrde Janeiro in 1975.

Turibio Santos was bont in 1943 in Slt> [.riis, Maranliao, irrNorth Brazil. I{e began playing the gLritar at tltc age ot'ten andstudied with Antonio R.ebello and later with Oscar ('acercs. lrr1962 he made his debut as a recitalist in l{io clc Janoiro anclfollowed this with an extensive tour of llraz.il. ln 1963, at tlrcirrvitation of the Musett Villu Lobos, lre glvc tlre t'irst contlrletcperforrtrance of tire Twelve Sttrclie,s. J'wo yt:urs llter'l'Lr riltioSantos won first prize in the prestigictLts Oll'l'F IntcniationalGuitar Cornpetition in Paris. In l96B he nurrle tlre f irst everrecordirrg of the entire set ol the'l'tvelt,e Stttdies.

Since these early years of his carecr'l'rrribio Santos lrasestablished his reputation as one of thc rnost clistinguishcclguitarists of llrazil. FIe has appearecl with rrurjor orchcstrasthrougltout the world ancl ach.ieved internatiunal acclainr lor hismany recordings on tlie Erato label. T'lius hc is uniclLrcly cpralif iedas one of the foremost authorities on the gr.ritar ruusic ot'lleitor-Villa-Lobos; in the 1950's Turibio Santos atte nde d se nrinars rvillrthe cornposer and becanre closely associated witli rtrany ol' tlrcmusicians of Rio de Janeiro with whorn Vtlla-l-obos had workcrl.

As one miglit expect, this book is intensely llraziliarr. ltrelies to some extent on the reader's knorvleclge ol'Ilraz_il'shistorical and cultural background and o11 sorllg awarcnoss or tlrelocal nrusic, customs and personalities of I{io de Janeiro. A shortglosary has therefore been provicled to f ill in at least sr.rrrre ol'tlicessential background.

Villa-Lobos' own lif'e as a cornposer rellects a constantstruggle to make the Brazilian people, at all social levcls, rnoreconscioLls of their national idcntity, especially as it could bcexpressed through thc rich and varied nrusical traditions ol' IJrlrzil.

He was "scornful of the many influences which tended tounderrnine a sense of .uniquely nruritiu., iO.ntit',

-unO u."," youngman fought against ttre reverencr ro. u more acadenric styre ofmusic and the adverse effect of -ro..ign cultural influences.Paradoxically' it was only after he spent several years in Europethat the rnusic of Vi'a_iob;, ;;;;;.d true popularity in Braziland was given the recognition-ii-orserved. From about 1930onwards villa-Lobos *ur o uigo-ur campaigner for Braziliancurture' achievins rnan-y of iris orjectives not only by the power ofhis conipositioni but 6t'il;r"li' Jn.rg.ti" participation in hiscountry's prog-ramme io.

-uri.-^6oircation in schools. TuribioSantos was one of t'e r"u"v iiroiJ,ii, of primary school childrenwhose cultural upb_ringing;r;;;;; by the educational policiesand methods of Heitor v'ui"L"r."in. composer,s deeply heldconvictions abouf Brazilian .urtr;-i;"" a vital part of thii book.Despite the great tasks undertJen.by VilJa_Lobos, (both inthe field of rarge-scate cho.ai ani-'orctrestral- works and in anumber of ambitiousprojects intended to f;;th";'ilJo#rr.r, orBrazilian music)

^ iuruio S;;;;;-;""stantly reminds us, thecomposer never folSo.t the importan_ce of the guitar as apermanent feature of the nationar art. sin". irr.'ir"rirr"lre firstsettled in Brazil in the ,i"t."nif,

""it.instru m e n ts t' u* 1."n p.opu lar. rn" rir?.i' ilJrt:ttt ri,l,l-*i:ibrings together the artislic a"-u.ra, Lr'the classical guitar with themelodic vitaiity, rhythms .".r rrr."l.ries of ,re folk tradition. Inlooking at each of ,re *"u-r.no*"^"ir")tra^ and studies TuribioSantos intlicates many aspects of this fusion which can only beunderstoocl within the context or-ri.ur'ian culture; we are arsowarned against abusing the spirit oiirri, u.t, ugu'irlri,"*u'gJ"ru,o'and mannerism often inoucei t; th. a"ptn, of feeling *t i.h th.music of v'ra-Lobos and ttre guitar-itJr

"u., bring about. For thefirst time this perenniar pu.t oi it

" t*.ntieth-century guitarrepertoire is presented.in entirely nl"r'ir" p"*;;r;.":'rand forEuropean players sugh u ui.*poi.,iis utterly essential if anapprop-riate interpretation is to U" o.iilu.a.In thc preparation of this t*l-r" English I wourd rike tothank all tltose who r,uu" n"rp"J"io*u.a, the trinslation. Inparticular, acknowledgement it ar" ,o"vi.,oriu Forde for the first

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complete draft of the text frorn the Portuguesc. 'lhanks are dueebo to Lionel Lethbridge, whose rendering of a large part of tliebook undertaken during a visit to Brazil was of intrnense help, anclto Oscar Carrasco, who ofl'ered expert advice on rnany rnatters inconnection with the original text. And as always, to nry wife,Flizabeth, for her indispensable work in the preparation ol themanuscript.

GRAHAM WADENoven-rber 1985

GLOSSARY

llillrar, Siitiro: popr"rlar clrordo attd cotnposer, wltose itnprovis-ational style, along with that of Ernesto Nazareth, was anearly influence on Villa-Lobos.

carioca: native or inhabitant of Rio de Janeiro.cavaquinho: the surall guitar of Portugal and Brazil, related to the

four-string cavaco of Portugal. The four course cavaquinhois said to have reached various parts of the world, includingHawaii, in the fifteenth century, and is thus an ancestor ofthe ukelele. [n Venezuela the cuatro is intimately related tothe cattaquinho. In Brazil, the cavaqttinho has four metalstrings and has been a popttlar folk instrumerrt since themidclle of the nineteentlt century. It is sometimes known asthe machete.

Cearense, Catulo tia Paixdo : a popular poet-guitarist, whoaroused hostility in tl're early days among musicians at theInstituto Nucional de Mhsica wl"ro felt that classical andpopular concerts should not be held under the sameausp ices.

chordo (pl. choroesl. perforttter of choros (iiterally, a weeper).clrorinho: dimintrtive of chrtro, tirerefore meaning a little choro.choro: tron't c'ltnrar to weep. The word is used to signify recitals

of popular rttusic, tlte occasions when the music is played,and the nrusic itself. In the nineteenth century the word wasrused to designate various instrumental ensembles. Tlieseconsisted of instruments sttch as flute, clarinet, ophicleide,or tronrbone, cavaquinho and percussion; such groupsplayed dances, usually of European descent, at variousfestive occasions. An instrurnental improvisation was calleda choro, and this tenrl was applied to the group and to theperlomrance.Heitor Villa-Lobos wrote sixteen pieces under this title,ranging from a work for solo guitar to large instrumentalensembles. In the preface Io Choros No. 3;:Villa-Lobos

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gives a new ancl broader delinition clf the choros as ,a newfonn of musical composition... a synthesis o1' the cliflcrentforms of the ntusic of the lnclian and pitpular nrusic...'and commented how the 'typical rhythntic and nte:loclictypes of expression' wliiclr apl)car aro 'accitlerrtully, lrl,vuystransfonned by the cornposer's personality'.

dobrado: literally rneans 'doublecl'; rrrililary urare lrirrg n.rrisic.Donga: a popular musician , E,rnesto Joaquirri Maria dos Santos

( 1BB9- 1914). Ilis Peolo T'eleJbno ( l9 t 7 ) is be licvcti ro bethe flrst composition to use the ingreclie.ts of' tlrc ur.ba'samba, a popular rhythrl developecl urainly af'tcr WorlclWar 1.

melopbias: musical accompanirnents to nan'ative versg I'onrrs,sometimes found in Amerindian ntusic.

Mindinha: Armincla Villa-Lobos, the seconcl wile of' trre conlposer.modinha: a sentimental type of song, relatecl to the cllcier lornr ol'

mocla, an old Portuguese word ureaning soug or rrrelocly.'lhe motlinha nay be the only genuine llrazilian

,ropula.r.fonn without an origin in lblk music. It rvas particularlypopular in the late eightee'th century in [roth Portirgal a.dBrazil.

m|sica fplcloricu: this tentr, and rnhsica TtoTtulur arc Lrsedfrequently by villa-Lobos and llraz.rlia' 'rusicia's to lnearrmusic of a popular or folk nature.

Nazareth, Ernesto JLilio de: Ernesto de Nazareth ( lg63 1934)was one of the early nationalist cornposers; ire wrote trvcrhundred and twenty compositions for piano irr nrany stylesincluding Braz.ilian tangos, polkas, waltzcs, schot tische s,polca-choros, quadrilles etc. Clnros No. 1 by Villa-l.obos rsdedicated to hirrr.

oJicleide: the ltalian spelling for ophicreide, an obsolcte brasswind instmment of tire keyecl bugle faurily, rrsed to proviclca bass line.

Ovalle, Jayme: A Brazilia' conrposer (b. lB94) wh. urade aspecial study of Afro-Brazilian r,usic. I{c is partic,larlyknown lbr his exquisite melody, Azuldo (T'he llluebrrd),which reflects the folk elements.

panqueca: liJerally, pancake, and the title of one of Villa-Lobos,early compositions.

Pernambuco, Joio: Jodo Teixeira Guimardes (1883 - 1947) isbest known for his choro, Sons cle Carrilh1es (Sound ofBells) which for sonre time guitarists erroneously believeclwas written by Villa-Lobos. He was a Brazilian chorho afmestizo origin, who wrote many compositions and alsomade recordings.

quadrilha: quadrille, originally popular in France in the court ofNapoleon 1. It was brought to England by Lady Jersey in1816, and became exceptionally popular. As the namesuggests, it was at first a square dance, and its music couldoften be based on another popular melody of the tirne,perhaps taken from opera. It reached Brazil in the ea{ynineteenth century and various local Brazilian types ofquadilha were evolved,

rodas de choro: literally, the circles of choro, referring to thegroups of people who contributed to the playing of thechoros, and achieved a reputation.

sattdade: literally, longing, yearning, nostalgia, or ardent desire. analmost untranslatable term applied to the particularly sadand deeply emotional nature of some Brazilian music,and ollen used as an evocative title.

seresta: though it generally has the meaning of serenade, it alsorefers to rnusic played by the chordes when a singer isaccornp anied by instrurnents.

Terdn, Tom6s: a Spanish pianist who in I92l perfomted at theSalle Gaveau in Paris, in a concert of Villa-Lobos' music.He went to Brazil with Villa-Lobos in 1929 and settled inRio de Janeiro.

Tuh[ the family nicknarne for Heitor Villa-Lobos.violdo (pl. violSes): the six-string guitar. (The word ylr-rla is used

to indicate an earlier type of guitar, popular in the seven-teenth century and also used in folk music)

Xango: when spelt with a capital, the god of thunder and lightningin Afro-Brazilian cults. Without a capital letter, it refers toceremonies in honour of the god.

Znnha: the aunt of Heitor Villa-Lobos. l)ona Noenria, thecomposer's mother, wishetl her son to follow a

'teclicalcareer lollowing his father's cleath i' 1899, ancl objected tohis ar'bition for a musical career. EventLrally villa Lobosleft home to live with Aunt Zizi^Ita, a pianist, who playedthe works of Bach to hi'r anri did not rnincl that he spenttime with the chofres.

1ONE MUSICIAN'/ OIT MANY MUSIC--I.\NS'/

Quincas Lara.jei'as, Araclct. tre Mccrei.r *, 'Lt rr. ('rrvlr,quinlto, Catulo da Paixlo ccarensc, Joio l)ernunrbuco. lrrnestoNazareth, Sdtiro Bilhar, arcl l)orga were rr)org tr)osc wlr'obsewed the close connectio. between the grritar .ncl llrazilil.flolk music- in the life of Ileitor Villa-L_obos

Iror the guitar was iris grcat archivc ol'rusic; il.theinstrume't was there, that was all that was uecL'ss.ry. lt was onthe guital th4t !e tr1-ed ogJ ltisrfirst intpre_ssions of Baclr (afterhearing the Ilell-Tentperei ctaiiir, play..a o. rrre piuro by his1!!1Z1ZU]U ), t h e -qliurg-et-o !, the-c l t o ro _q_f ltlg ( e J l neiro, nr elo cl i c scollected from throughout llrazil, anct-his own classical rvriti.g tor.guitar.

A short tirne irgo, Donga recallecl with clecp cur.tio', themany aspects of lleitor Villa-l-obos'

'rrsicia'slrip. 'l lrerc wushis great ability as an acco'rpanist and i'proviscr, a.cl also lris

virtuosity which enabled hirrr to rnake a co'rnercial recordirgof Choros No. l.

His twofold apprenticeship on the instrur'ent I'avourccrbroad horizons. He knew the existing repertoirc ot'thc previ.ustwo cenfuries, the work of Carulli, Carcassi, Agi.racl., Sor, CiLrlia'iand coste, but rvas also familiar with the nrusic of'Ze.clo cava-quinho and the folk chor6e,r of Rio clc Janeiro.'['lris renrar.kablcduality would go even lurtlier. Iior the lirst ti'rc i'tlic gr-ritar,shistory a composer from a more elcvateci spher.e r.vor,rlcl cli:tiicratehimself to the instmnrent i'

Tlre si''ple beginni'gs were Mazttrka in D major ( l g99) andPanqueca (1900). These pieces, begun around the age of twelve,represent the first steps of young Tuh0's progress from a quietnriddle-class horne in Rio cle Janeiro to the great adventure ofbeing a composer of genius. In that sarne period of his rif'e hecomposed Os Sedutores fbr voice and piano, Valsa for piano, andDime Perchi ( l90l ) also for voice and piano.

Frorn this ti're onwarcis, the guitar would be his centrarpoint of reference. The guitar was present both in the formalcompositions of Heitor villa-Lobos and in the Roclas de cltoro(the personalities who nrade r.rp the unique musical atmosphere ofRio de Janeiro and who played the rnelodies, harmonies andrhythms of popular instrumental mr_rsic).

At the beginning of the century, all the chot\es ofknew one another. Although srnall groups got together indistricts, the individual reputation of musicians reachedthese limits and the best players would eventually meet.

The poet llernrinio Bello de carvalho says of'this period:'The chorr,t has a kincl of social structure. The chor6e.s themselveshad great respect for one another, a respect which was alsofelt by those who heard them play. Here in the city everyoneknew that in another district, Madureira for exampl., ii,".. *u. ugreat perfon'er ol the oficleicte, and that in Bttafogo it waspossible to hear a leacl player on the cavaquirtho. Thus th.y *er"well-k'own legendary figures, acrrnired from afar, even before anyactual contact was rnacle with thern.'

So this is how it came about with villa-Lobos: first helistened to what was being said about these musicians; then, whilestill a boy, he went to fincl out for himself about the life of thechor6es. It was relatively easy to take part in theo crtoro. Tobecorne a pe'nanent player was

one of lris works-is delightful. Tira-Poeirc (Drawing in the Dust).Villa-Lobos wrote the F-uga (Conversa) of the Buchianas BrasireirasNo. I in the style of Sritiro Bilhar.

Joio Pernatnbuco joined the chor(tes later than Villa-Lobos;he was another prodigy. Ile played with a lucid sonority, with aperlect right hand position

- and he played by ear. Villa-Lobos

used to say that IJach would not have been ashamed to havewritten the StLrdies of Pernantbuco.

Anacleto de Medeiros was another personality admired byVilla-Lobos. I{e was a true genius of folk music, and later,Villa-Lobos paid homage to him in Choros l0 where heirnrrortalised Anacleto's Rn,sga Coraqdo, based on a poem ofCatullo.

Then we conte to Donga, who was already collaboratingwith Villa-Lobos (to cornpose Mazurka, now forgotten); we nrust

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also mention Macdrio, Kalfr, and ol course the gifted ErnestoNazareth (the dedicatee of Choros No. l); and2,6 do Cavaquinho,Irineu de Almeicla, Casemiro Roacha, and the legenclary JaymeOvalle, who always lost his girl-friends to Villa-Lobos.

But at tire sante tinte as he was involved with the chordo,villa-Lobos developed as a serious musician and classical guitarist.At that point, dissatisfied with the guitar's repertoire, Villa-Lobosbegan to make transcriptions. Though this was a difficult task, itenabled him to acquire a thorough understanding of the guitar.

In 1910 he transcribed two Waltzes by Chopin ( A minorand C sharp ntinor), and in the same year he arranged the preludein F sharp rninor by the same composer, In this connection, healways asserted with satisfaction that he was the first to transcribetlte Chaconne by Bach for the guitar.

The fact that Villa-Lobos was familiar with playing both thecello and the guitar would bring a new colouring to the latte,r. Themelody on the bass strings, and the accompaniment in the treble,are renriniscent of the cavacluinho or the mandolin.

Prelude No. IArrrlattlirro expressivo

@-l4 O Editions Max schig. Used by perrr,issron

cltoros No. I is tlre I'irst corrpositi'' lirr s.lo gtritar lrl'terthe period of transcriptions anc] ,s'ttitt populur lJru.s'ilcira, l-.igtrtDobrados, Fantasia, Dobraclo pitoresco, ctc. lJetlvecn I 912anrl 1920 (when Chctros No. I was cornposccr), villl-l-obos rvroteorrly once fbr guitar, using it in Sexteto fuli.stic,, ( l9l7), i'c')lnpany with the clarinet, saxophone, t'lLrte, harp anrl celcstu.choros No. I is a dor-rble hornage,- to the popular nrLrsic ot'ljrazil( the piece is dedicated to Ernesto Nazaretli), and to tlie guitaritself. villa-Lobos woulcl not allow anyone clsc to slres.s thesignificance of this work -- he clid it liinrself, botlr by placing thecomposition as the first of an inrportant serics of'picccs, anrllater, in 1929, by including it in Introclttqdo aos crrroros (lntrocl-cution to the choros) for orchestra. Flere, the guitar, thoLrgh notin a solo role, is given a prornincnt part to play.

chorr-ts No. I corresponds perlectly to tlie trrrr-litio'alpopular form. It is divided into arn A-B-A C--A stnrctr.rrc,thus having a nostalgic tirird ser;tion, which conlorrrrs wrtlrtraditions, an effect which conrposcrs achievc by nrociulalion orchanges in rhythnr. ln Choros No. I tlie rrelt-rtly arcr lrarrrr.nyare interwoven, allowing at any tiure, an unexpccted witty pairse

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whilst the bass strings of the instrirment are alrvays rclrly tointerrupt with a chord

- as a c'ltctrao wor-rrtl say, a gootl 'buixuriu'

(a retum to the lower notes).Villa-Lobos' respect for popLrlar lbnrs goes back tct the

origins of the suite PtpLtlur ]Jrasileiru of' 190g. Villa-Lbosdisliked the title of that work, a titre intenclecl rnore for-erlitorirlpurposes rather than for any deliberatc fornr. ('ltorinlLo, f'orexarnple, which ends the sullc, was cornposeil nrr-rch Iatcr on,in Paris in 1923.

I{owever, this collec tion o t' co'-rposit iors e ertain lyrepresents a musical portrait ol- Ilio dc Janeiro at the bcginning o1'the century. lts titles are evocativ e rvluzrrrku, (.1toro, st,ltotti,yclt-Choro, Valsa-Choro, Gattotta-C.'hrtro, ancl (.'ltrtrittlrr.,l.hcstudies and Prelttdes are containecl withrn the sli /e in crnbryonieform, but it is interesting to observe that none ol tlre nrovenle'tsof the suire (with the exception of cltorinlto) exploits thc lowerregister of the instrument; that cleveloprncnt wor-rlcl bc le f't to thcTwelve Studies cornposed in 1929.

15

2THE MUSICIANS

Tonrds Terdn, Andr6s Segovia, [Ieitor Villa_L

to hear about the sarne event directly from villa-Lobos hirnself,it is interesting t6 observe that tire discrepancies between the twoaccounts are very srnall and only due to the fact that they recalla distant event.

For example, at the end of the story, Segovia was said tohave come to the home very early the next day. Although Villa-Lobos was pleased witli Segovia's visit, he had decided to keep acertain distance by pretending that he had to go out ancl so hekept Segovia waiting for a while. But from that day their strongpersonalities would compromise sufficiently to form a lastingirie nd sh ip .

An account of the sanre event written by Andrds Segoviawas ptrblished in the Guitar Review No. 22 in l95B:-

"Of all the guests ol that nigirt, Villa-Lobos was the onewho on arrival caused the greatest iurpression. In spite of his shortsize he was well built and had a manly gait. His strong head,crowned by a mass of unmanageable hair, was arrogant ancl hisforehead, endowed by Providence with a profusion of musicalseed destined to procluce an excellent harvest later, was broad andnoble. The expression in his eyes irad a tropical spark which laterbecame a flarne, when he joined in the conversation about him...

At that time I hardly knew any of his compositions althoughhis nune was familiar to me. Paris had welcomed him and hisf'ame was already spreacling to other colrntries.

When I finished my introductiorr, Villa-Lobos came towardsme and said in a confldent tone: "I also play the guitar" --"Marvellous, " I replied, "tlten you can contpose clirectly for theinstrument." Stretching out his hands he asked me for the guitar.He sat down, he laid it across his knees, holding it firmly againsthis chest, as if he were afraid it might escape. He looked veryseverely towards the lingers of the left hand, as if imposingobedience on children, then to the fingers of the right hand,as il threatening thern with punishrnent f or striking a stringwrongly. Tiren when Ieast expected, he struck a chord ,withsuch a force that I gave a scream, thinking that the guitar hadbroken..He laughed and with a childish pleasure he said: .,Wait,wait...." I waited, restraining with difficulty my initial impulse tosave my poor instrument frorn such an impetuous and threate.ning

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enthusiasm. After several atternpts to start playing, lie f inallygave up. Due to lack of claily practice, sornething tlrat tlre guitaris less willing to forgive than any other instn-rrnent, tlic nrovenrentsof his fingers had becorne clumsy. In spite ol' his inability tt_rcontinue, the few chords he played were suflicient to reveal lirst,that such a bad interpreter was a gleat nrusician, because thechords he managed to prorluce containecr fascinating clissona'ces,the melodious fragments possessecl originality, the rhythns werenew and sharp ancl also the fingering rvas ingenious; second, thathe was a true lover of the guitar. ln the warmth ot'that feeling,a solicl friendship was born between us. Today the worlcl of'nrLrsicrecognises that the contributions ol that genius to tlre rcpertoireof the guitar is a blessing botli lor the instrr,rnrent ancl I'or'rc.',I had the opportunity to hear Andr6s Scgovia speakingof the sanre event in 1965 in Santiago i1e Courpostela. ()n thatoccasion he stressed tire impetuosity wrtlr wlrich Villa-l.otrossn;rtched the guitar frorn hirn, but showecl also thc absolLrtcaffection that he had for the cotr.rposer.

The Spanish piarist, '['ouias '['erdr, brouglrt lrb.irt tlrrt i'ir.stmeeting. when Segovia arriveci in Paris, he requeslcd thc Countessof Boisrouvray to take the pianist uncler her wirrg ut lhe oLltsetof his Parisian career. with her help, elgn cle Morues sar'rcntoNobre organised a musical soir6e I'or the purpose of intr.oclucirgSegovia to contenrporary nr-rsicia's ard personalities. 'l'hcoutcome of the meeting between Segovia and Villa-Lobos wasalso inadvertently aidecl by Tornds Terdn, in r925, throLrgli thcguitar belonging to Maria 'I'eresa, his wife. while the two lricnclswere on holiday in Lussac-les-chdteaux, the conrposer diseovcrerlthe instrument anrong lris friencl's luggage antl spcnt nreny iror.rrscomposing the studies.

The set of rvvelve stttdies, cledicatecl to Segovia, rlute l'ro'r1929 tltey were publishecl in 1953 by Max Hsclrig. Scg'vi. ,"vrotcthe following preface to that eclition:,

llere are 7'welve stutlies written with al'r'ccti,r f'.r- thcguitar by the Brazilian composer of' genius Heitor villa-Lobos.They consist of fonnulas of surprising ef ficiency for the technicaldeveloprnent of each hand, ancl at thc salne tinrc, havc il'disinterested' musical bealrty, without ln eclucational airn, but

19

with a pentranent aesthetic value as concert pieces.l''ere, are f.ew Masters, l; "il. _

history of. instrumentalr'usic' wiro rrave succe.ssf'ny ";n-';;";r these two quarities in theirStudies' The nar'es.or s.uiiutti'onaiiopin immediatery spring tor,ind. Both achieveci ,reir ariiacti.'"r,r,, witho't a trace of aridnessor

'ronotony- rf t,e itilige't piurrrrt-ous.rves with gratitude theflexibility, strength ana naepelnJerrce which these compositionsunpart to the f)ngers, t,e artlst who-aeciptlers or listens to themadmires the nobility, the ingen"ii" ,fr.- charm and the poeticemotio. t'at e l'anates rrom irr.,,t.''vllr-Lobos has presented thefruits of rris abirirv ,to,guitar rriri".u, ., strong and derightfur asthose of Scarlatti rlrU Cfrtpin. ----'J r II did not wish

^to .l.ro,.rg. any o| the fingering which vilra-Lobos

'as indicarect for ir* ?""r,i 11,., of is pieces. He knowst'e guitar perfectly and if he has;;;r.n a particular string oltrngering to ernplrasise

.".ruin" pfl.u"r.r, we must obcy his;?::t:,i:;i"?li,i j'i,;,ive.' i,,ii ",in,' p,yi,, g ti, ",on.l #il, o, ",I do not wish to end this brief note witi_rout publiclythanking rhe itusrrious Maesrro i;; ;;; honour he has co'ferredon nre by dedicating these Studiui-t^o'rrri.

A nd rds f " i:o t, ia, Ne w. yrt r k,In addition to the preface to the |-welvei;::,'g: jl: :.l,::ii,';; ffi;J il#::,iKIJ f,'i#),y:"*"19y::

., "u:: l lg E J ill. ",

" ir, " ii*io" il',"i:il, ;,1 :J, rlli. :, t:""-l:.:^ : ialways took place:'Heitor, you cannot ilo this on the instrumentl,'Of coune you can, Andr6sl,f ::,:.1,,:11,:" I :::::'::l becarn e roo proro nged,u sed hrsrconclus.ive argument _ he pfoV"A.li : ;:? ;f ,l;::, :y :11".;,i i;i ",,r ship w o u rcr e n d with theff l'1 ;.1 "

''

", i J'j" : T ::* *,,, ;' ;".H i,t': r-,; : l.d: l.,:i:l :l:rmmortal. on the one hancl, rrrrr, l"rr*qrrD ur trrat rnendship arefor the instrunre.t hrr nro^+._^ opened up new horizonsfH. :n'::'#JlT t : :, - ::* :; i r; ",:H:L ;i ;"J l;ii?.ilcnterion, Segovia being the lr"r'"al3,t1.5 r',iJ, il;;;;;'3';:J"[1X:jl ]'::l'::y lf i!': en thet h e, B ra z l i'" ; ;

": J,' ; i T iiil lililX"i l J", ii, :: j: * :., l, qn,rn a k eworld.

20

known throughout ifiii ""rir.

(V illr

3TIIE TWELVE STUDIES

Altliough this groLrp ol picccs was collll)osctl llctwe e n l9l4and 1929 rnany of the conccpls ancl strutctrtrcs eottLainctl irt tlicrrlhad been latent for sot.ue tirne irl Villa-Lobos' ttlLtsical llrltclscalle'SOnre of the stntctttral otttlitles ate sirnilar to tltosc iilttntl irtpopular accontpanirnents (Str-rclies Nos 4 attcl 6), ot ltlrve rr tttttsicalstyie close to that ol Carcassi, Carulli or r\gltai-lo (Sltrdit-rs N's. ?,3 and 9), though always showing the irlf},rencc o1'the tltrtrfirt rnthe flavour of the accottipanitltent. llltt tltis irll'lLrerlce is t-trttlcrthe corlplete control ol tlre crcative rtlttsiciltrr scckirtg to l'illgaps in the instru tttent's re pcrtoire .

It is intercsting to look at sottte ol'tlrcr skctclrts lor.tlteSttttlies. We can see in sotle ol tlietl-t, t.t.tt-tsical itlcas wlliclr rvill beused very muclt later in tlie Preltttles ( 1940), lOr cxrttttplc.

Janttary 1953

selfsante argument

Villa-Lobos

jl zI [empo

J,._

j.f(c) Edrtrons Mdx

OoPY ol a Pencillctlitleas anticipatr: I'reludc No.

urlnuscript by Vill;r-Lobos,l.

Itr

itJii,l:;,:'.1, 3, illi'"' (Auegro non rroppo )An arpeggio stLrtly, ttutt troPPo)utc nglr lfand. we :3,t1:'t'lt":"^"tTl,'tll use .of the capabitities oftlte riglrt lfancl. w. -.-"" "':6 u uulrslillll use.of the capabilit.ies olrngerioLrs rniniarrrre #ili,'i;,T,,1..tT"' tI Bucltiantus" oilt,iJL'ir,

^ili;l:::::',li'i":;_,y'l:li;i:,::^:;il=':ixi:;,'^:#':;'::I^i,iItltrlttottics irt a sinr "rrr( !rru tr5s oI onen stri.lvnarrrie rr:r^:r,'ir,,,i]:,1,'t,ttltt allows the grrrii li;i::., i,, 1", i,, 1 : _,i,." ti),i _ i ",,,:;:::; ll,f ,,,'),

t,1,*^,,^ll

"

l' ii l liTIlecause it is a ;;" _ ., v.. t crnpereu L.lavier is always plesent.rracrised in differe.,r::.:1" lSessio pattern, srudy uJLl".i. u"practised in differen r *;;r,l#:i;,,r;iJi

i,il,{I", 2 u.t Anrajor (Alregro)A study in slurreciiaea iJm ;;;;''J;1';"'"$,,1:o,.gql:'

,rakrns a basic musicaridea from Dionisio .."."" .,,. arpeggros.

,l.ak.ing a basic musicalextenr "r ,n".n"*.f;*"Xi:",J,,j?-f"0",, acu.Loi,

j,;:; iiil ,u,,::_t.n, of the nne..u*ourJ. 'o;'1i,;".uos ucve.lops it over rtrs fulitaneous use of ha"rmonics anrt ^^,_,..r o[ t]re piece the simrrl_taneous use of naL -l^*' ^' rrr enc of the piece the simul-r..n nt.u-alrr;;r,, l' ;;1"'rllj",::t al no tes i,npi'"' r, -i"u r,,.technical clifficulry- ;:"-".

q,u rrorn)ill notes irnposes a particulirr;rudenr

";;;;-;;'i;,J"": 'i:"t;::t": ll"I arways obviouilno ,r,"student needs to hi ''r'wrrrrE, rs llot always obvious and the

su re. th a t n; " ;1 ;'i",';:'.'jjiti :1" l.'l'1, or "*p..i*1J.,1"..r,In the right hanl i; i;;;,,;;r:',;";'rJX':^:,s lluency and clarityepeated arpeggio pattern.

ma mi amimO Editions Msr Eschig. Usd by perrnission

22

il,l, ,h1, his righr hanJ ;;;;,,;;;,,ii.il, "t exPelisncs to makeIn tlte right hand it rs possible r..., rrc^ " -^1,: Jluency arrd clarity.

pp

original

Eschig

IV

-_

4-1

i api.'O Edrtrons schig. Used bv Pelmrssron

,/ can be

ly No. 3 in D tnajor (Allegro ntode rttto)arpeggio sturcly incorporating slttrrecl

.

trotes lntl burrc's t-ikc"

Nor. 2 ancl 9, this one is very inllLrettcecl by the ditlacttcof earlier coulposers. T'he slLrrs ol the scalc llussage irr strrcly

I reappear here. It rilay bo valtrable to vlrry tlte rhythrtr ilter to exercise the fingers.

l)uiln ts5lon

Study No. 4 in G major (Un per'r rnod6re)Here'the folk guitar has sotne inflLtencc 't'his is it cltortl stLttly,frt tf-r" aor1-rp*., cloes not develop here all tlte ltarttrotlic a'tlpolyphonic resources of the gr'titar' On the contrary, prescnt-daypoprfut musicians with tnte harntonic sct'tsitivity, suclt as tltc.niir. ,bossa-noyu, generation, are astonished at the rvay thispiece looks forwarcl to sr.rbsecluent developrtletrts itt popttlltr tllrtsie '

p ,-----rtt

origilal

Un peu tnoderti(Poco ttroderato)

Study No. 5 in C rnajor (Andantino)A study int'l' J.i,,lX :3il'}::::'.'f:':,ll:.g *here. the crassicar gular and the,T,'X" f : ';;i i"j I

"i:i::,..:i _ : : J". ; ^ ;; ; :;"." Ti,Tli';:,T#. ;l:

; ; ;ffi "'li il:' ; i;;1 !,1,,,',*.i: ::'Ll i." i, " ; " ; i; -

;;" i.. "

""iil. I(played on the treble strings) into shirp .or,rruri.,1',,:;1

:',,;iji :'1, j i: T ill;{ : r' ;;' ;; lil'lIfj.l

@ Editions Max Eschig. Used by permission

irif,y,l';..u il E minor (poco allegro)Ii'.Tt#,"i3'o,ii,9'X*;lli_,* lir. o r the accorn panis r has alentral .lart to play. rrr. ri,i""";;; "' rrrc accornpanist has aenlphatic accents ^nro.i,,...r 1,., +L^

-- , .

are remarkable and theenrphatic accents o..,a',""n *:;;'j"-l]:": . are remarkable and theo I E m i n o r, ev ok e 1,,:*:::

":I.ll," .."1,.,, tio n o i i r,.,

"0"",f*, in..oof E minor, evoke the "r"i"ro|,r." or'fil"lon

oI the opetrinlArgent.inian tango.

I)or.o Allegro

O Editions Max Eschig. Usod by perm,ssion.

dantino

24

Study No 7 in E tnajor ('l'res anirle)This is a study in virtuosit y par excellenc:e 'l lte opcnirlg scalcpassages, of great technical difficulty, creatc tcnsion whichcontinues into the ntiddle arpeggio section; here, brokerl cltords(including the use of open strings) strpportentirely on the first strirlg. lrt sharp cotrtrastlyrical section, Villa-Lobos thetl retltrns to scalcthe Study to a peak of greal rhythnric inte nsity

Near the encl ol the Stucly, tlte rvay tlte tttLtsic is rvrittettnray caLrse the player to triistttrtlcrstalrtl rvlrltt is itttcttdctl.According to the instrLrctions tltat we receivctl tlilcetly t'rortt tltecourposer himsell, his first interltions rvcre ttl Itave trills andrasgueados played sitnultaneotrsly. llirt lte rc:alisccl tltat tltis was arnistake in the writing and recourrnenclccl tlte teclrnical sttlr-r tiorrput forwarrl by Anclr6s Segovia, playing tlte scctiorr in rtrpeggi,'sand chords.

O Editrons Max Eschrg Used by t)c.rilrssLo.r

Study No. B in C sharp ttriuor (Modele)A study in arpeggios antl slttrs. Villa-l-obos is rttrectctl lle lc by Lltcspirit o1'the cello. In the introcluction tlte tttclotly is ort tlle brrssstrings of the guitar, before beittg playecl ort tltc trcblc strings.Using the arpeggio as the constattt unifying elcttte ttt, tlre lrrclotiypasses r-rnexpecteclly frorn treble to bass stlirtgs tt;ttl back trgairt.

lIo de (80 =

J)

=-I

a rnelody playeclto this extretttelypassages, [rringing

EdlIions Mar Eschrg Used by IrcrrrrLssror]

(tII

>o1-)

Study No. 9 in F Shaqr minor (Trds peu anime)a5peggios and siurs, developed from patterns oncea1j., C.1rulli, but

.now in Brazilian mood, evokingir,1 :t].,nostalgic.armosphere of rhe rirriliiri"As in Srur/y No. j there is considerabl";';;;;rft"_

A study into Carcassicountrysid clolk guitar.

1'rcs

i*};44.., > >> , ,_

O Edirions Max Eschig. Used by permission.

l,"r1,T.I?.19.Ur :,nrinor(Trds anirn6 _ un peu anim6 _ vif)As with sucties Nos 7,., and tz, Stui'i'i;;';;;r*oJr,"r*.,challenge to the plaver;s t.Jri"ui ntititi* u.,a offers a chance toseek new solutions to technicat probtems.. Jh. opening chords, interspersed with rapid ornamentedbass figures, move forward in bo;;;; 4lB, 3ld',^;nJ'i7s.rin'..In the un peu animb section, t'" uars-string, uiti"rioi. u il"roav,while in the trebre th.ere is u' ,"rri.uiligure derived fronr the basspattem of t'e opening secrion, ,ugg.iting rh. ;;i;;"oi'uirar.On the return to the music "Jf ti,. opening, Villa_Lobostransforms the material, in a great crescendo, into rhythmiccells originating from the sarnba"or rrom African music. In somepassages of this Study, the little finger of the right hand can beused.

@ Edirioos Max Eschig

26 2't

No. 11 in E nrinor (Lent' An1nr6,,Pl1l]l:'*,1'i):l?":'i:il"t

ilU [: .:* :;; :. " i' y,i1 y.' "3. ; .'.,: :'"ti :', ]'".i' J];, i:lthel

t:igr!i. +-

'"lu*",T3'i'"? : i',;." ;; il i' 1 "q, 1.' 1';: :\l'j' l:,i i:J' I ifi I*#',ft" ;lJ il.:"" il* t'' t'ut

"i " t I r';

:','].":,.''lo" lli't'tl] :[he brazulall rrrcrwuJ .rp. ln this, tl-re

"i,1.- "r-ru.llishmerr{s' irnitating t]]t. ni.,,

.,. ^r Irr.:^clr;':;iH ";i" :ii'l\l;" s * o'.'' ul : ::.':- :,, l':" :':i'lJ ",5i

":::.' yi ", ;," qi;o,' pi,, i i ; ";;; '"' 9 9l :' i.','i " I ;

"

1]l'1, I ii Jl i l],:ir:';,i',fl:";i:;; fi ;.' ;i *'"," n "ii:,.t');" T:

":1,1"j;T'l:

Max schig. Used bY Permlssron

frilj'""'J1# "-;H' .:i'?t;' 19 . ll:i:1,: *l' ^'i';,,: : : l,r

) u I t rr cglngs ur rrrv

"*'"-^''rotJ*ark in the history ol the gLlltar'fourthstring-atrue

-

O EdiUons Max Eschlg Used by perrnrssloo

SrudY No. 12 in A minor (Anime)--'A study in the t" oillu"" 'lu" W" rnay recall

Villa-Loiru: "owrl

thoughts on those """"r'i"ti"^t sountls produced wltcn rt lrnger

stides over th" 't"n$"5i"i#';YF;"iitir'ougrrt

that this sotrnd

could perhapt Ut U'8t'gf't into-the rllusic since it was indeed part

of the instrument' ri"itJ '[lf'tty'-ttte'effect coultl be rettt'arkable

in itself. He tried t;;ilo iO"" i" St' dv No I2' 'I'be resr'tlts were

both astonishingly -UofJ-

*O without^oreccdetrt' Glissandos areused even beyond i,iJ"r*iiirn'rr"i "rit. guitar. ln tlre

nriddle

section, a vivid itp""ion of drums i'- tugi"ttttf by the use ot

.i-itt t"Jnftn strings plaved togcther'

It is interestipg to note that each of the last three Studies has threesections, the third Ueine a r-el6,r,,lril" ",

,re first. In all threestudies,' '1e

nridcre se.ctions # "t.v .gifferent from ,re outersections. In rhe sketche, r;;'i,,;;; ru^,

.li iq..J..ur.,,ir..u,rvindications 'f sonre "f ,i; ;;;;;;""1 pre.turle No. r. So SturtiesNos. 10, I I and.12 loo.k fbrw.,t'i" ,frif,, etudes of 1940.

,n.r. l;l:l,Jr, ;:il. advice t" er.,it..liraenrs. you rnusr approachand most effecrive i9t:1'

care. Altho,gh they or" u.ry rriitloaiou,o r g.. u i a i id;; i ; ;' l" i" i'Ji ll; J r..J" ilX i.ffi ,, l.j:il: ;ilrJlgl:lf thev are not oialllsio:.;,r;;;i;;i,.r,ry, rhey rnay producern opposite elfecI fror' that i.rrr.ailnd progress in techniquewi.tl be rectuced to a series

"f;";;, ;;mlsicat sounds.

la )"9

1940 -

THE PITELUDES

When he completed the set c>f Sttrclies' Villa-Lobos did notwrite for the guitar lor a long titne ltl 1()31 lte conlposecib:iiin'",qai a;r f.iores for nuo,r'",.,', choir, flute a^d gr.ritar'Butdunngthatperbd,theinfltrenceoftlregr-ritarcor"rldalrvaysbe felt, either .r i;o"-ttif"ting he intendccl to write for' or clirectlyin thc trattscriptions :,.i . .., .\.,"^'^^- l; lne'guitar has always had srrclr a signilrcrnt paIt ttiBrazilian music] it woukl have been vcry sttrprising il Vil1a-L.oboshad neglected tile repertoire ftlr voice atttl gr-ritar' llLrt this'fortunately did not happett' , , ...- .

As well as Distiiittiqir} da.s l,',lctres, hc trunscritrctl lor grrltarthe Aria fron llac'tiio"o'i Brusileirtts /Vo' 5 (eornposcd in l!)38)at the request of Olga Pragr"ter Cloelho' Otlror-works witlt guitarassociations in.tr,o.i?-,ri{u au l,reta do sit:ttlo xv I l1 (f'or voie einJ pior]o, 1943: arrang"a fot voice arrtl o|clteslra irt 1958; tratr-cribed for guitar irr iti5j, cangiut do Amor (l'r>r voice and gr-ritar)and Veleiro (1'or voice tntl t*ogtritars' 1958) both wriltcrt l'or tltcfilm 'Greetr tutor",,io'-t'i

'ioiting Iiel Ferrer' Aceorciirlg to llerrrtirti''

Bello cle Carval'o, tlr.,rr,.rtirior the li'' was luter recordccl ritttletthe title Iilttrastu

"'l'-'')''o"""''' Villa-Lobos lrrrtrtgctl ('utttrtIntlfgcnuforvoiceantlgttitar'lrtrtl.l/t'ltrlrol'orvoieclttitltlvtl

;.*;;;."rr-ally, there ts'MOtlinlru, the lilrh ot' a sct ol t'oLtrtecrttSerestas (1925),transcribecl at tlre recluest ol'Olga l'ragrter Coelltcr

Surelytlreguitarwasprescnt.attltell)OI]lelltt}tcservtlrkswere begr,rn. n, viiro-r-obos was such a supcrb pluyrr, lrc wotrlti,.""tt"U-a"J t6e souncl of t5e irtstrutnent i' 5is i'taginati'ri f'ro,rthe very beginning' flow cor-rlc1 we otllerwise'exlllain the use o1'variouslberiantlternesinDest,tlbrillentotlolJrttsil(1937),aridirrpLrti"r,lu., the thertle of the Curtarirts (thc rlarlte ot'tlic tlance

4

I ;:I,-f; ':f""?J,u";, r" li:': I l?,. f':ll t he ca narv rsra ntjs, preserved:llf:yl,* mediu rri oi ro.rv,",i;#;";i:l: ? Ti : :: ::.T

-'t' I i ; ; ; ; i il ; i ff il:; ;T :;; fi ;.#l'ill ::#:::'::of the guitar in tlr,r^.orrrpor"r, s rmagination.t'

^,Y:j.: :_Yj.i' i.,,' u.k "J, -'vlii,li"

n ",

arso

;',T t l'i ::'j :'": :.'"''-'^1T F : ;' n.' * " .l i I :., ;i:: *task,f composi,,g .no.n,,r,..i"'":::,1t Lrnoertaklnl[he wnrrin. rA.+...{

"1,om19uslv cornplicated wo.ks.

gLritar's advantage.li i. X :l?;, ;: :,". J r, " "; ;; "i; 0.,,, il, ",il',l. -'i,lti;

]-:9I u, what was actually composed1339 - svmpho,n.v wo. s u"i'bi,r?rr,,o:Z:Z - i1,, ":i,fi|,' ;1 :";";*'J::";,ff , :1937

- Drescobrirnento do Brasi:l ir.,aTir,riOuiqdo dasFlores

1940 -

Mantlu_Qarara and Six prelude.sThis explains

continual referencePre htdes th oseinstrument.

iris constant affection for the guitar,to it throughout hipassionate "J."rr*ii"::':?"i:#, ff..

30

5aware of the influence

wrote lessthe massiveAnd whilebe to the

THE FIVE PITELUDES IVHICH WEITts SIX

Just as the'l'hree Musketeers wero really l'oLtr, s

Tlre nrelody of this prerttde is a contrasting portrait of Brazil a'dits music,. b,.ir.tg rnelancholy, poignant and rather sad, yetsomehow with a certain optimisnl a iteady crescertdo, and a senseof playful constant rnovement. 'fhe middle section has its roots inthe folkloric, re'rinding us of the Brazilian hinterlano, of ttreguitar's Iyricisrn.

Prelude No. I is perfectly written for the instrurnent. f.heguitar's resources a-re thoroughry exploiteil -

its poryfnoniccapabilities. its subtieties of timbre, iti expressiu. quutiti.i. tr,"bass string-s require a continual vibrato, birt .o noi p..*it anexaggerated rubato or any ridiculous or ostentatious_excess.

Prelude No. 2 in E rnajor (Meloclia capad6cia; Melodia capoeira;Honrrge to the Rascal of l{io, tn" Moloiaro Carioca).As in choros l/o. 1, the melody is integrated wiilr the harnrony,and rs punchrated by little ironic, irnpish interruptions. Theharnro'ic progressions, typical of the Cioro, u.. p.".*i f,"r.,whilst the humorous pauses and the atmosphere of the fiesta makeus awarc of the great musical ancl instrumental integrity character-istic of the Chorder even today.

In the middle section of the prelttcle, the change of ntoodis very apparent, representing the clramatic urpJ"t of the'malandro 1 The arpeggios which acco'pany the nreloiy playe

Villa-Lobos used to say that he composed away from thef,ii];.":::.,:lll,.f :.: rhis niarter ir tr," e,tiui;;;r;';;";;ffi;l* l" _.,.^':, i1l ll. - e r o av o i' p l, il' i," rt i.' i :""::';ff ti":.lfJ'{l :;.':t":, :l^i,. :ll l..se r se arch ine a.rp "r.i.i, ;;;;* ;J:Il*,'.ivr d uurrpussl searcnlng desperately across tlie strings.|^u:lt_,: ^Tli:i::l structure could J,lif

"'rr. acrrieved by someonecapable

*of tTgil"* the guirar a^ncl masteri"g il,"_if"i"f,The middle section of the prii"i, ";;';";rucrure

l:i'll':.i:: ."!,!::j.:u,: No 2 and Stud) i"-j t,';;"; ;',';;::i;;l'""'l :

"o *. :::':j'_ l,,. a_cc o,n p an ie a r' v .q, "eri"r'i"'

",r*";;iJbased on left hand patterns rnoved ,o

"rJ-i"i."'""in. n"*.ri.'J.J.

Poco arrirnato

^J O Editions Max schrg Uscd by pernrission'fhe Prelttde.r are lunda'rentally'usical portraits.'rhey

portray a people and a country;they do not illLrstrate one person,as villa-Lobos used to in his extraordinarily brilliani pianoimprovisations. An infinite variety of profounclly Brazilian f'eelingis displayed within these five pieces, yet withor.rt the use of super-hcial local colour or the inevitable folk clances. I'steacl there ispurely and simply, the essential atnrosphere, the tE,r.,p*ran.rent andspirit of Brazil.

Thus Villa-Lobos hactpossibilities and all that was nowand orchestra.

explored the gLritar's lnanyneeded was a C'r.,rir.,crl(/ lclr guitar

L crrt o

'O Editions Max Eschig. Used by permissron. W

Prelude No' 5 in r) major (Homage to Sociar Lif:; to the freshyoung boys and girls who go to concerts and the Theatre in nio)we should point out that villa-Lobos' use of the word .fresh,was not derogatory, but referred to the smart appearance of theyoung musiclovers of Rio de Janeiro.Prelude No' 5 cornes as something of a surprise. It compretes thecycle of gr,ritar cornpositiot* u'J returns to the suiti popularBrasileira with its well ordered, serene, urbane melody. lf-li *"r"not for the second section, where the melody is a pu.e .uocutionof the cello, this prerude would not have ueen out oipru.rrn,rr.suite Popular. However Villa-Lobos made it part of his Brazilianportrait and it courd not be omitted from the pretuaei.-ttp.ovioesan example of the extrao.rdinary capacity of the .o-f ooito t."pin mind a theme or an idea foi .ru".ui vears, ready to use it at anopportune monlent.

J' cantabr'le

3435

6In 1956, Andr6s Segovia, with the Syrnphony Orch.estra ofHouston conducted Uv " H.lio.'"'Viitr_LoUor, gave the fintperformance of the composer's conrrito for Gttitar and orchestra.But it nud lol, been a ,i,nfi. route to this premidre.Arminda Villa-Lobos, the comp*.ri'r""ond wife, was the god_mother for this concerto, a work which Andr6s Segovia had askedfor many rimes. But ilre "";;.;;;"traa been reluctant, eitherthrough lack of time-or perhaps due to lack of enthusiasm aboutcombining guitar and orthesil B;t at tast Segovia received thelonged for work, onty to.be-;i;;oo";;"d

_ it turned out to be aI.-antasia Concertant,e, without ^

;;;;;r..However, the championof the guitar wourd .not accept a.i"ui *rtr,out a struggre. He wason the ppint of taking a

.prane t; fr;'across the United States toattend a rehearsal of the Corrrlrio" for Harp-rri"iuirrrro,dedicated to Nicanor ZrUuf.tu.'lrrlfr, if the harp deserved acadenza, so did the guitarr ilr;r"3;;ovia argued his case withYri9].ln-", ,who prealea on llr'u"n"ir with v'la-LoLros- After::I:::,.::f,::-*T (with nowers ancr

"hun,pog,," at the hoter), the

A CONCERTO WAS NEEDED

:,^ln:,.:jiT::,-i: was Arminda herserf wno increased theill3 n: :: f : : ?

"r:* :' :,::. :i:,:; *31't' J il" 1"ffi '", ;';ll ::'J; J-li : o, ::' :, : !: -; l* i,; il", " ;'il:i jlLi:'-; nT:H jjust for guitar solo!il,f #i::*:: ":*, *c,ik *as ..u,;' r; *,i,"1"1ii T'ail:_i:Jr;;It is interesting to obserye here what v'ra-Lobos thought ofthe use of amplificatio,l.in ;;.k;';;; *rt,". and orchestra. H'e hadno objections to anrplification ut-ur,-lna in fact preferred thatthe guitar *ur u.piifi"a in 'oij"i"io''gru" the orchesira more

3637

freedom. Villa-Lobos has written the loliowing cornrrients aboutthe Concerto:-

'The work was written in 195 l, for gLritar aurl orchestra;it was intended to give a balance of sonorities so that the soloist'splaying would be audible. The Concerlo has three nrovenientsAllegro preciso, Andantino e Antlante, and Allegro non troppo.

The first movement, Allegro prec'i,so, begins witlr anenergetic theme introduced by the orchestra, a therle statedseveral times by both guitar and orchestra. lrr the second part,Poco meno. a new episode appears with an entir"ely originaltheme evoking the melodic qr,ralities of varioLrs popr-rlar songs lrornthe north-east region of Brazil. Later, the rhytlintic phrases of theopening are recapitulated a rninor third higher, bringing gLritarand orchestra together in an exciting coda.

In the Andantino e Anclante there is a slrort orchestrulintroduction (featuring scale passages in conlrlry urotion),followed by the rnovetnent's rrrain tliente, whiqlr lcads on to thcAndante section. In the Antlunte, a new episocle is broLrglrt in:an introdr,rction in 6/8 tinre is followetl by' an exprcssive rrreloclyon the guitar. The subsequent Andattlino is a recapitr-rlutionof tlre original exposition, a fifttr higher. A piLt nto.\so, with yctanother melody, brings the rnoverlent to a close.

The Allegro non troppo has a short orchestral introductionof a rnelody with syncopated rliythms

-

a thenre later given to theguitar with orchestral accornpaniment. Various episocles occuruntil the final sectiott h 6f 4 time, with dillicult virtuoso passagesfor the guitar.' (These notes were written belore the catlertzu wasadded).

The Concerto /br Guitur und Ort:heslrn ltrcsentcrl thc playe rwith rnany new technical problenrs. Villa,Lobos explorerl tlielimits in this connection and thus many new technical aspectsemerged.

The caclenza wt.,ich Segovia yearned forexamples of these technical ir_ouution..'

O Edjtions Max Eschig. Usd by permissinn

@ Edirions Max Eschig. Usod by permission

@ Editions Max Eschig. Usod by permission

38

CI

I

QuHsl ttll(.lfr.l)

so much, is full of

.?o

Sorne of the Concerlo's lornt is an obvi

proclucecl by the strings as the fiugers tnove altlrlg tltertt.'l'ltcitronge and disagreeable sour.rds that occLlr on tlte bass slringscluring any glissarulo effects, represetlt a vely tlelicatc llredica-ment for any player. Sonte guitarists soive the problenl bycleliberately ornitting glissantlos anrJ Ttttrtantettt()s. IlLrt this slloilsboth the music and the aesthetic intentions ot the colllposer.other players, somehow totally indiflerent to tltesc ttgly souncls,make the string noises lortder tlian the actual ttlt-tsic.

Perhaps the best solution is sonlewherc betweert tlte twoextrenres. The pOrtamento eflects t[at tlte cortlposer tltclcledshould be includecl and the accidental squeaks alot'rg the string,minimised by technical nteans. 'fhe tecltrtiell clevices ttreliminate extraneous string noises are partly t9 clo rvitlt tlrtr r-rse of'tlre fingers; wiren the porturnettto is being played, tlie lingers|ould be lightly lifted frorn tIe stripg dLrripg tlte rtroverttertlitself, ancl brought down harder on llte string just betbrc arrivirtgat the end of the slide. lt is also possible to ttse cither silver strirrgsor olcl strings that have been gently snrootlted rvitlr sanclllaper.

'fhe subject ol string whistle is an everyduy problerlt witlttlre gr-ritar. The bass strings, E,, A, and D, are norrnally crlnstrrtctedfrom very fine nylon encased in a metallic or-rtet'wra1'pittg. Tltemetallic layer, like the nylon filarlent itself, is also circrriar, antl iswrapped rouncl the nylon along the length ol'tlrc strirtg. For tlrisreason the surface of the string is very rouglt atlcl lvlten tfie t'ingeris in contact with the string, quite a lor,td exl.raneolts sorttrd isproducecl, causing a gretrt disturbance to one's peace ol Iriincl inrecording studios atrcl concerts when it is neccssary to Llse ncwstrings.

Villa-Lobos, with his inllnite brilliance, was not pLrt oi't' bysuch a small detail. His irnagination lent a new dirrensioti to tlteinstrument and this was not inhibited by tlunclane practicalitiessuch as string whistle.

Another problent a recitalist has to 1'ace tnany titttes iswl.rere to place Villa-Lobos' t.ttusic in tlte c

The guitar has a long history. Tlre first sources clate fromthe pre-christi4n era' Egyptia' 'bas-reriefs showed musiciansplaying an iistrumelt. in iir. ,nop. o1 a figure of eight, a shapevery similar to that of the guitar.The presence ol. the guttar in European music was verysignificant' we were surprisecl on a visit to the palace ofVersailles by the number or uur-."ti.f images .r t[. inri*ment,which dernonstrat.., ,i:. popularity oi .ourt. This was only to br:expected: Robert de Visee was the court guita;;; i;iout XfV,(after Francisco Corbetta) ,1d . ;;;t6g6 of Lully.In l55l Adrien_ Le Roy's primier Livre de Tabrature deGuiterne appeared ancl Gaspar' s";;-i1640*c l7 r 0) folrowed hisexample, publishin-g- an edition for didactic purposes of both hisown music and ari'angernents of Spanish and-other Europ.u,popular songs ancl dances. There *ur'utro an enorrnous collectionof music for vihu,ela. oy-.:uJ

.o,]rplr.r, as Luys de Narvdez,A_lonso Muclarra, Lus Mild,, nr.,riiu., de Valclerriibano andothers, as well as the lute works -Ji "on.,porers such as JohnDowland and Silvius Leopold Weiss. if," guiiu. ,".rfO ,f,irnatelybenefit greatly frorn all tiris.

In the eighteen,r and nineteenth centuries the instrumentbecame fashionable,in Europe ih;;; is an extensive literaturefrom that period. -though ,n".rr-oi'Lis is inferi".--rri". s*,Agu ad o, carcassi, Caru lri, G iu ria ni u"a'borr. *.r.'

"r in., i.irr"r,r,,or fa'ous teachers, and their *oit

"onrtitutes the beginning ofthe modern guitar repertoire.Paganini was also fascinated by the instrument andproduced a number of compositions, as diil his contemporary,lJerlioz' Then t'ere is a fa'ow p".i"J'i" which trre great virtuososof other instruments performed * ;; large concert halls wherethe small sound of the guitar,s six ,;;;, was not heard.This time it was the guitar mur,.ir who led trr" *rv forward.The structure of t'e guitai *ot oLi"..o and the sound improvedso that it court be Jreard in the ;;;k;"*r of the concert ha,.The appearance of Francisco id-.;;;'Miguer Lrobet ana Andr6sSegovia was a progression

'rat cunliirur"a in the fantastic careerof the latter' Quite apart from s"goulu', i,r"."aiuir-ir-ritiun".,he too profitecl frorn ihe l,"p.ou"',i*ts in guitar clesign which

+z4.1

'r.t

facilitated more efficient technical projection ot' tltc rnrtsic.In Brazil itself, the Jesuits played an inrportar,t part. 'l'he

arrival of the vihuela heralded the birth ol thc f'olk gLritar artil tlreclassical guitar, both beloved by the Portuguesc and llius brorrglrtinto tlre rnainstreanr ol'our rttusical lif'c.

'Ihanks to sailors and colonists, the nerv traditions tlrlor.rgh-out Soutli America are also very important, AgLrstin l]arrios rvasthe great representative of tirese. lJut tr nf'oltunatcly his sonrewiratbohemian way of life and his casy-going natr-rre prcvented thrsgreat musician and astounding virtuoso frorrr achieving all thatdestiny rnight have had in store for hiur. Nowaclays it is clilf icLrttto come to terns with the lact that he perl'ornrcd the C'hucottttefor the first time on the guitar in tlie'l'oatro MLrnicipal in l{iode Janeiro ( a concert revieweci at tlte tirne by C'oclho Ncto),and also r-uade several recital tours of Flurolrc, well clocurne ntcdby The Times and Le Figoro.

Although he was Paraguayan by nationality, AgLrstinBarrios spent rnany years in lJraz-il; his inllLrencc on the guitar'scultural traditions continr-tes tltrouglt his stLtclcrtts artt[ fl'icnils.

Around the time of the birth of Villa-Lobos, tlie classie alguitar as we know it today becarne establisherl with its dellniteshape and history. The guitar is both an aneicrrt instrrrrncnt and,paradoxically, one of the most moclern, becarrse ol thu clLrirks anclwhims of its evolution.

Villa-Lobos intuitively understoocl his own ltistoricalsignificance in relation to the instrunrent, and his corripositionsconfirm the valiclity of his own assessrnent. T'he guitar is indeeclboth modern and ancient. It is rnodern becatrse it is irnitecl topopular influences, to new experirnents and lo new faslrions.Yet the guitar is ancient as is proveci by the urass of'litcrattrrc thatexists for it, and this past history offers a sense ol'continuity intlte twentieth century to an evolutionary proccss that hus gonc olllbr several centuries.

The player, conlionted by this corrrplcx panorallla,containing fine bLrt nrinirrturc works, ustrally arraltges his recitalprograrnmes in a chronological order. (We rlust nol l'orget that tlrcguitar's range is small, and that its rnelodic and polylrlroniccapabilities are less advanced than those o1'the harltsicltord or

pianoforte, and its themes cannot be developed with the sarnefacility ).

Vi-lla-Lobos disturbs this excelient practice in many ways,rnaking it difficult to plan a progranlnre. His music is not onlyrichly sonorous with his characteristic use of hannony, but isalso organised into selt'-contained suites, such as the Five prelur\es,the Twelve Studies, and the Suite Popular Brasileira.

Another inrportant problern for both players and teachersis how to approach his work. Unwary and misguided studentsrnake a start on the Twelve stttdies before being in possession ofbasic technical proficiency. Tlie mistake is understandable. As theguitar is an instrument with only a srnall repertoire of real qualityat the beginner's level, the student tends to hurry towards bettermusic and the Twelve Studies otTer a great temptation.

The problern is best resolved by allowing some students totackle easier pieces by Villa-Lobos, such as the Suite popularIJrasileira. Altematively, certain difticLrlt passages can be extractedand practised as essential studies before approaching the piece inits en tirety.

44 45

8

.I'IIE PEITSONALITY OTI VILLA LOI]OS

T'liere is i'sulficient space here f',r u corrrprelrc'sivcbiographical acco.rnt ol the life ol' lleitor Villa-Lobos. lJut l'or-tirose who wish to stucly irrs conrpositions lor gtritar, it is olsonreconsiderable value to be aware of his tenrperanrcnt, his charactcr,ancl his activities.

I shall make ref-erence here to various tl,cunrc'rs writterrby somc of his ckrse liiencls anti to cournrents writter.r by Villa-Lobos himself. But flrsl I woulcl tike to oll'er son.rc personulimpressi

were invitecl to sii at the sanre table inscores. It was all ratlier awe-iffiirihgthirteen years old! .

It was stra;rge to discover that Heitorlook like a ius. I{is bright eyes, andcolour ot'iris [air, and his eloquent gestures,with the imag\a child has of a composer,

order to be able to see the-

after all, we were only

Villa-Lobos really didlofty expression, thecorresponded exactlyhaving seen busts of

I

Beetiroven or llac}lThe Preludes and ,Sruffiiliusrrated with recordings by

MOIrE ABOUT THE PERSONALITY ANt) llEt'thFS OFVILLA-LOI]OS

The following accortnt by Donga was teken dorvlt at ltisiV-U"""inio Bello de Carvaiho in 1961' when I rvas also

' I first met Villa-l-obos at the tirlle when the late Catr'rloCearense had a school in llotafogcl Street' in lrncantadu ( t :t:"::;il:;r',-'"o;'i,", . ,iiri.*ni nn,'.'.i lr was a lrign.,sclo:,1 ,\l_' f;:lj:,1..,willull tluw rror I .r _ .fi;'."h, in,'g,roe., there' one of his.pupils wi:.Cllllli,1.'-,:::'lfT,l,::il.iil#r,:;;l;"'ii"",1 i*Gon.,., Seria Strect, wlterc tseir latSer

. r,,, -., ,,

-.1 i 'r;;r':-;i;;iir,,'ii* best musioia's used to r'eet thcre ard irr^ .. t-lother places as well, iinctuaing 'y house), rvhcre peoplc woLtlcl

Andres Segovia and Jurian Bream. As these pieces were played,the Maestro made cornments about theni. (Some of th.r.comments appear elsewhere in the book and others are as follows)

villa-Lobos clid not claim to be a guitarist. The guitar wasused by hirn as the means to an end. He used to praclise on anordinary instrurne.t, usually from midnight to dawn, somewhereaway from the family. Though he considered the instrument to bevery Brazilian and always hacr a great affection for it, he was notsure whether he would ever write anything else for the six stringsof the guitar.

homethere.

on that occasion he offered a remarkable definiticn of give parties and PlaY t:ltoros'

On the cornet of Golles Serpa Street tltere rr'as amusl lieved ntusic could be defined as follows:- owned by someone callecl Cintrlo' T'he shop closecl at'Melody is the head of music, harmony is the body, and the

shopabort t

Al[ thcythrn is represented by the y'rns ancl legs. Music can stanO up .igiii-., nine, ancl

people usecl to meet there al-ter teu. All thc^ rr.,.-.: i'.,'lrrr1 irrrr Anrtt:lttt

classical pieces that" needed a good technique, which he alwayshad and tried constantly to i-p.:ou.lri, playing.I do not know whether^yo, f,r"; n"a.jpeople say that theeducation system i,l.,.r: old d;;; ,ur' u.., different from n'w.There was u ,o-r1..10,t. ,o.irt'o.gu'nirotiun then, but withoutlll thc ba

-That Brazil needs the fonnation of a new artistic musical curttrre,based on thg authe'tic elements of our Brazilian fir.. so trrat ou,art can elolve i' step with the moral, intellectual and artisticintegration of national unity; even if in aong so, it mates use ofthe original foreign techniques which could help u, to ir'o n.*ollectlons.We ask the following questions:-l. If foreign nrusic, based on tlteir popular culture isappreciated and celebrated and much enjoy.d br.urre of itsbasic characteristics, how is it that our peopre cannot discoverthe characteristic aspects of ourmusic?2. Will Brazilian music never be elevated to the category ofan authentic national treasure?3.- Does Brazil, with its original and excellent stock of folkculture, really need the present influence of foreign poprfu.

music?

fluous to the intellectual life of'the country'lii. -"i;;td^';;-;;sider the creations or genuine'r., o':r']],1']Catuloof the

national

I-leitor Villa-Lobos

u.tltr,-r.r"it as Padre Jos6 Mauricio' Ernesto Nazaretli'Ca"a""t" ancl others, whose works offer true irlragesBrazilian soul, as *oitt-,*t,it. examples and a source ofinspiration?

4. If each one of the characteristic foreign compositionsl:l::'lllf', :]",ullr the feature, or tn. .rri.".r"i;:ffi;il,:l^d_",?.orl y:.d by our composers and admired by a section ofthe public, is it necessary for us to give ;;;;;;;lil; ion?5

Il^ ,l^..,l..rent situation, *h.n Brazil is developing all its

technicalopinionsand civic

to these questionscommitment to the

resourc-es both spiritual and material, in order to achieve lts ownway of life, shourd everything that works against nutionui rnitvbe repudiated?6. Just as Brazil is attempting to resolve variousproblems, with the help of speiiahzeO professionals, canon vital musical questions relating to artistic, folkioricelements be left to the layman?7 ' Should we consider the original uncurtivated popular formsof art as the legitimate representutiu", of our present civilisation?B Has patriotic music for civic occasions been more effectivethan any other in the development of a sense of national or localunity in our youth?9. Should the lJrazilian who cannot replybe considered as a person who has no sense ofnational movement'l10. Should the foreigner living in Brazil, who is not interestedin the points outlined in these questions, be consider.,r ;, ,;;;;

50 5l

I11

THE SONG OF VILLA-LOBOS(Frorn an interyiew in Diario cle Noticias, 23and pLrblished in an article Musit,al LtlrtcatiorrAmerican fulusical Bulletin in 1946)

February, 1932in the Latin-

rej oicing and en thusiasrn'l... The average tnusic lover often dividcs tttrtsic into sLrcll

categodes as 'classiial, ronrautic, populiir and lolk" but if' yotr.rq,iita about the precise nreatring of these tcnlls' tlte answcr islnuariotrly confirsed. So the lirst step is to cxplairl wlrat the usr-talexpressions about ntr,rsic really Ixean, so tltal wltltt sttclt tertrtssignily is free frorlr the present conft-tsion"'

Thus we aun,,',uk" it absOlr-rtcly cleal' tltltt llollttlllr Illtlsieis that kind of music whichthe pr-rblic appreciates so rtruclt,iirespective of its artistic wortli, its origin or its type' Iiolk rlLrsic'on tire otlier ha.cl, is sometlirtg entirely tl ilferenl . polk rr.tttsieis the unfolcling ancl cleveloptnent of the pcople expressed irtits own appropriate luanner. Folk rnr'rsic is, as it rvere' part olf"opt"', Uiotogl.at development. That kind ol'tt.tttsicr wlic6 is botltiolkloric ancl popLrlar, altd is neither one nor tlte.tltcr' rcpreserltsthe highest cieative expressiott of the peclpler' (lreat mr'rsic' atits rnoit elevatecl level, coutes origi'ally 1-rottt otle o1't6ese lhrcesources of inspiration, ancl tltt"ts becortles llart of a ttniverslilhumalr utterance...

...Thestttdcntslroultlt-irstbecolt.rel.arltiliarrvitlrsoLtlltlsbefore becotning confusecl by n:les' Lle rtrtrst be taLrgltt to beawareofsoltncls,tolistentosclttnds,toappreciatethectllcltlrsand indivicluality of souncls.'lhe stttclcnt tttr-lst bc taLrght to lteritrthe modr-tlations lroru one key to anollter, to anticillatu tlilrtcertain sOunds fOllow other SoutrdS, arlcl to contbine solttldstogether. The student n]ust stucly the art ol'rrreltlcly ancl lccl tlreuriclerlying harlrony, not by just learning tlre blsic rtr lcs clf'cornpositi on, but by eager awarencss clf ltorv tttings sotttltl insitlco,-r"'i u*n heact. Scl'tctirne latcr, w5e' it is

'cccssar.y, tlrcrr tlrc

rules can be tar:ght......The thircl elentent in our trlusicltl lif'e is tlte pcrl'ot rlttr,

who may still hold the traditional attitLrtle ol'consitlertng tlre lrrtof playing ancl the role o1'thc artist as bt:itrg otttsicle lltt rrtlitt-streani of hurnan existence.'I'hat is a t'alsu eonecPt crrtircly At'texists to express ancl please hutnanity.'l'ltc trLrc idcals of'artartist should be to serve tlte bllk of the popLrlatiott, lo give thertrsor-nething that, through the excrcise cll' rtatrt ral abilitie s, onlythat artist can of'l'er tltcnr...

'The Brazilian people nrust sing.'Brazil is one of the worlcl,s rnost privileged countries. Itspeople possess a profound nrusical intultion. H;r;,

"u".vtr,i'gsings as if by instinct, whether it is the sea, the river, the wind orhunranity irsetfJHere singing is a natirial way "l;";;;r;;r* or",,feelings. Thus/through the oriurr"g iriiensity of their rnusic, youngpeople of Brazil celebrate what it means to be yo,ng. what I havejust said is obvious and commonptac.

- everybody knows aboutit, iust iike rhe ord storv about ctlumbtrs'

.gg... viti *iiir"p"u,what I have just said, and I wilr keep on saying it: the Braz'ianpeople must sing. That statement is tire uurrs oi.ue.vihngl rruu.ever done. With this phrase as a starting point, I have beei tuckyenough to see many of my wilclest dreanlrs come true.Now, fbllowing a proposal by Dr. Anfsio Teixeira, theau_thorities have given me a frie hancl to teach singing in schools.I have a definite overall plan for the scheme, and within this Ihave shaped rny sc'edure of events. Nottring can divert me fromthis. In order to raise the level of p.,Uti. ""orrr.iourn".r,"iu" u."going to attempt to create an educatlonar system *rri.n *iti rr"tppeople's appreciation and u-nderstanding of both art and artists.In about five months

.Ie..s.hall traue u puUlic performance givenby five thousand schoolchildren from ttre city,s schools.Perhaps that ohrase, ,Every Brazilian "ruri

-rirrg, appearsridiculous' Nevertheress, the wnote of grazrt ,i"gr--fri,ig ,r"carnival, that fiesta rich in rhythm uni

'r" harucinatory, thatmad fiesta which is surely only a p*i""t for revealing our ownsubconscior-rs collectivc madness. To--*r,y not sing at othermoments of national life, during demonstrations, or at times of

52 53

with the.airn of offering better information and in order!1 advance .our nationar ecrucition -as

far as fork music isconcerned, vi'e carried out research ancl gathered a quantity ofmaterial toge,rer. This incrudeo serections of .rrri-rr.ioai",collected and written down r.oni iir. whore of the Braz'ianinterior, such as the melopoeiac music of the arr"ri"or,"r.,diurrr,the songs of the *.qi:...un9 Mesfizo, ancl children,s songs. Withsome cons.iderable difficulty, we .u"n managed in l94O toreconstruct the complete form of the corddi ,ornoritrrro, ukind of association lor poputar u;; ;;;..utional pastimes whichflourished right up to the .na or tt. nin.t.."th century.our intention in fulfi,ing this -iask *rr i;--;;ng to lifeagain the finest, rnost characteriltic .tro.rog.uphic aspects of theearliest known inhabitants, *ltH

-tfr"i."chanting .'J'a"^.ilr, their pict,..;a#"i:t:l;:n,':::iff,r;riand their drarnatic native pr.ro.,run.eJ witn no tr-ace whatsoeverof foreign influence.

* ,i:'.* jr.:,_1b,T:.:? lud to.nrake contact with people;^1,: :,

j.,1" :l:.:ll y,Jl o,* y I r." _ *,i" ""t;.," ;;'ff.' : I ffi

-:ij:i#"ll",:":f ,l'^1,^ yl," rrao teen- w;n;;";;,,"" ii,'r,?,#".T ,i;,.;:i',Xi' ;.ir"* :" :'1 :':rl;,

-y,',';;. # :j ;' ilH'ff ';- I"il;i,.:f i "

t"Ti:,f"::.,. f , i,I I i f'. -".

- *. i

-

i "

" {n' J " }' J' )i ti" i i ;i :wlrich we called SodacJe act.Corttii;To complete the portrait offollowing interview between irl"-l "rain August 1957.

..

' I began my musical lile at a verrny fhther's iriir""' r nre'o.r o ii-.. -..-,,^y.tutll age, when, undert;i'" ::; l' ""1;,,1, :l" r^ :1 " j' ir :.,

" i M; ?1,*,lifli ; i ll,',il,#l,l

":f,,::"ir_,.,]T:" und .*."pti;;;i ;;i.il;iltJii,lJ,llilf'r,,?ol,l: j ",

:X l*l : l" " :,. i"". i"'".i ;;' ;;'ff#.", # i.l,il?,,iwith all kinds of instnrmenfrr ll".,i-l^"vr ru rrrdn. IIle rall-llllarrehe:rrcqlo ^^h^^-+^ ^rstrumental

playing, he used to tutaira torehearsals, concerts and operas.1j,,:"^';:::^"_1-t:-lql,]l'" c^larinet and r had to identify thelJi,i;# ";

"*T,:::' i l d

" lie:' 9 r' " - n *"i ; ;. T ;; T""d','ilJo'i;:T ;::',..^ :l jl l* lt :lp ossi b re t h e n ames

"

i ";i.;,';;;' il" ;;; ::

:f"' :i;: : I o:, ( r' ?-q :i;'^:' .: I o l" ?-; ;; j ;;;' "'

l' ;ill i ff ':ilH:lln",i,nf,tlu': | _u _?T9, :. lh. r, r r ;i,'.l""' ;: ;"il:':'oi'Jjl"iltididn't get it right, there was trouble!

54

I recall that I was always sincere, a belicver in trrrtlr, lnd tothis clay I have the same attitude.

I never quarrelled with anyone in rage or rancollr I believein making neither accidental enemies nor fortttitotts tots. ll thatkincl of thing happeneci, I wortlcl consider it a great rtrisf'ortunc,rather like a sudden illness which I did not know how to avoi.land indeed, could not avoid. But at least, ll I ltave etlerlricsthere is one aclvantage

-

tiiey prevent nle frortt bcconting carelessabout the creation of mY musicl

My friends and admirers, being kind ancl devoid oi all ill-feeling, generally forgive lny errors and itnperfections'/ \y rnusicll creativity is due to preciestination' lf it is

/prohfic, it may be seen as tire ln-rits of a lrtrgc coLtntry, itself't-raqrygd generous.

-Those born in llrazil, wlose conscic,-tsttcss was sltapetl i.the heart of this country, are not capable (everr il thcy wished todo so) of irnitating the nature and destiny of'citltcr countriesin spite of the fact that much basic foreign cr.tltrtre has beenimported.

I love liberty in all senses, I love studying and resealchirlg,I love working and cor.nposing systelnatically. I like tcl Lre of valite

Villa-Lobos, I include theMagdala da Gama Oliveira,

to humanity, but not in order to please anyone 1ilI dislike egocentricity, exclusiveness, self-irtlportanccmodesty.

I try to see other people's finer qualities anclfaults.

am Catholic on PrinciPle.believe art is a second religion.have a great affection for

for the civilised and culturedyolrng and tr lrrolotrnd

respect

piirticular., attd false

never thcir

12

THE INFLUENCE OF HIS WORK

)1,",,:2:L,:t,Jlrlr-tobos,_ -rogether witrt rromenaje, LeT : : : ::"

"u: ^ ?': :!: D e b u s s v, o v t'r o ni' "i ; . F:;;i ;,' #i'l i''i^" ;niti-,;:T i: i I'i:l'"^"-"^T' ::': i,

"l :i I " * o i'i"' ;'";; ;"5 : t,il ff:;y.?,T: ":: ::::,"^1.^' !l al rhose ''t.,",tJ'l;;;;;;"ff;.il;::jrj"i::^also encouraged others ,o oo ,"r.u# l,,il i5 #:.lt:new concepts.

At the time when Heitor Villa_Lobos was composing hisworks, the guitar, thanks to the ,neteJc career of Andr6s iegovia,was securing its place in the musical worlcl. The Spa'ish virtuosowas presenting the instrument in concert rrals ilrlougrr*t ilr,world and before long the effect "f tir"i triumph was felt.Many young people we." ;rrteiert.O in the guitar and soonsome of them would become recitalisls or devote themserves toteaching' In both instances th. ;;;;' of villa-iot'"r'p.""io"auseful material' other composers wrote for Segovia,s marvellousguitar, inclLrding Mario Curt"tnuo,,oi.desco, Federico MorenoTon'oba, Alexandre Tansman, M";;"i pon"", Joaquin Turina.But even so the offering of Villa-LoU., t. ii," ;Jt;, *",exceptio'al' As a guitarist. hirnself, his awareness of the guitar,sidioms gave him the ab'ity to arr"oue. new horizons for theinstrument. While rnost of the other

.

repertoire, though veryworthwh'e, followed traditional ttr"s or clevelopment in terms oftechnique, the prerucles and stiaiut aring in many technicarinnovations anci help young guitarists to develop to the full theirtechnical abilities.

At the mornent, the guitar,s repertoire is enriched by themusic of Benjamin -Britten, Hans w"'-., Henze, Frank Martin.coffredo perrassi, Carlos Ci,";;;, Hr".r' rf"rr, L"";;;.;".t.t.y,Leo Brouwer (himserf a guitarrsti aii.e.lori"et, Henry Sauguet,to name but a few from an alrnost lndless tist.

5651

Among the Brazilian composers, Cldudio Santoro, LorenzoFernandez, Camargo Guamieri, Francisco Mignone (rviro hasrecently made a valuable contribution to the instrument), GuerraPeixe, Radam6s Gnattali, Edino Krieger, Marlos Nobre anciAlmeida Prado, together with many others, l-rave followecl theexample of their illustrious compatriot.

Llnprecedented.The book can have no conclusion except to point towardsthe rnusic of Villa-Lobos _ Usten io iirat music, play it, cle,roteyounerf to it. If we have succeecled in creatinj ,u.rr-'rJ"rng,among amateur musicians, or if we can enable students ancrprofessional guitarists to become betier acquainted with hismusic, our purpose in writing ttre uool will have been fulfilled.

13

CONCLUSION

to whicirwhich he

ln:":l*l:::^:f l,i:u and tlre gui,o,li,.u are perhaps the:::::::,,.:"::l-claries of the life of ri"iro, niil iJ;;.'i;,"il;:t:^.":,:^l : _:lln' u p n e w te rri to ry, in a ",;;;; ;;"il;#i"""";;

The wort of'an artist is perpetuateci by the extenthe inspires other artists to create,'";,J'i; the manner inhelps them or leads them in on" arr"ltion or another.

APPENDIX I

LIST OF COMPOSITIONS FOR CIJI'|AIT IJYIIEITOR VIL,LA-LOBOS

Cornpiled by I'lerrn f nio llello clc (llrrvallrtr

Mazurka in D rnajor ( 1899)T'here are solne differenccs ol opiniort ls to wlticlt e oll)pos-ition is actually Villa-l-obos' {lrst work. Like some ot}tcrdistinguished cotnposers, ltc hirlrsell hrts not hclped claril'ythis contilsion. Villa-l-ottos has saicl that ltis very flrstcornposition (whetirer fttr gttitar or anything clse ) wasPunqueca. Later on hc correctecl this irttbnrtation. IIorvevcr,neither of the two scorcs ltas bccrt clisctlvcretl, [houglr trotllVilla-Lobos artd Minclinhtr searcltetl lb r t ll e trtttltttsct'i1l ts.

Panqueca (1900)

Valsa Concerto No. 2 (1904)This llultz, also known as Vulstt BrillLttnle, rvas playctl lryMiguel Llobet, the Spanish recitalist rtnd pttpil ol'1'drrega,whose reputation ancl renowll wero cstablishecl wllcltSegovia was a young ntan.Manuel de lralla dedicated to Llobet the only corrrposiltotrhe wrote lor the guitar, llomenaie, ['c ']'orrtbeutt tle ClurdeDebussy written in 1920.

Suite Popular Brasileira ( I 908/ 19l2)Mazurka-ClioroSchottish-ChoroValsa-CltoroGavota-ChoroChorinhoVilla-Lobos tolcl ttte tltat lltose {'ive picccs were clc:sigrtatctlas a Suite against his will and that he was vcry tltttcltagainst it.'lt is trot a Strile at all,'lte saitl. Yct ll'otr rtcl oLttfrorn Mindinha that it was Maestro Villa-Lotros llintsclfwho gave thern that nAlrle.'l'ltese are the kind ol contra-

59

2.

3.

58

dictions whichenough tq bringenmeshbd in thelives of colnposers.

Fantasia ( I 909)

tultimately rnake history, and whichgrey hairs to nrusic scholars as theycomplex goings-on,characteristic of

5.

6.

't.

8.

9.

t0.

Oito Dobrados (written between 1909 ancl 1912)ParaguaioB rasi IChorarSaudadeParanagudCabequdoRio de JaneiroPadre PedroAll these scores are lost. The first two were probably ashort version of those written for a band in r94b. rne tittewould have been paraguay ancl trot puraguaio.

Cangio Brasileira ( l9 l0)Dobrado Pitoresco ( l9 l0)Quadrilha(l9t0)Tarantela ( I 910)Sirnples (Mazurka) ( l9l l)Thc rnanuscript of this work was fbund recently. It isdedicated to one of Villa_Lobos, guitar students. It waswritten on l2th August, l9l l, ancl tlic rnanuscript coutairrru rrrdtlLrsulllJL colltalnsll:,fo!l^*]tig worcls in Villa-Lobos, own handwriting:'This piece is ro be treated as a srudy .^l';;'r.r'?nirt

"r

I l.

rt as serious rnusic at all.'The student was Ilduardo Luiz Gornes, wltose daughterdonated this nranuscript to the Villa_Lobos Museu,n.(This" work appears as Mazurka_Cltoro in the Sttite popularBrasileira. )

606l

aregetthe

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

Sexteto Mistico (1917)This work was written fclr guitar, f1ute, clarinet, saxophone,harp and celesta.

Clroros No. I (1920)Modinha-lhe Modirtlra (Popular Song) is the l'il'th o1' tlte for-rrteettSerestas (Serenades) writtcn in 1925. Later it was arrangetlfor voice and guitar froru the original setting t'or voice anclpiano, at the request of Olga Praguer (loelho. Villa-Lobosprepared several accompaniments for Olga, wliich, althougltnot written down, wele put f orward by tlre Maestro hlnself.and are irr the singer's repertoire, sliglitly Ittoclifiecl fronttlie original. These includc Urn canto tltte suitt tlct.s senzulas,Xango (liom Cangbes Tipicas llrusileirtu) attl Cartqdo tktCarreiro (tlte eighth ol the Serestas). 'l'lte worcis ol theMorJinha (also used in another versiott Ior voico ancl piano)were written by Mantlirca Pia, tlre psettiionyrtr of' ManuelBandeira.

Twelve Stuclies (1929)Introdugd'o aos Ctroros (1929)ln the last tnoveuent, a passagc rrsing tlre oboe, isrontinisccttt of'Clrtlros No. I.

Distribuiqio de Flores ( 1937)'Ihis work, for wotttcn's ctroir, fltrtc rrncl gLiitar', ltatl itsfirst perlormance in l)ccenrber 1937. [-ar-trintlo r\lrttcicl rrhas rocoriletl this piece ott tlte fiapitol lrrbel.

Aria cle Bacltianas Brasileiras No. 5 ( l!)-38)The Ariu of the Buchiunus llrasileiru,s 1Vr.,. .i was arrangcd lor'guitar ancl voice and also at the reclLrest of'Olga PraguerCoelho. In the original version for cellos, the re is rrrore tharra hint ol the guitar. 'lhe original setting shows tlie inf'ltronccof the guitar in the shaping of the cornposition.

17.

18.

19. Six preludes ( 1940)J!..,. .are, actually, five prelucles, not six, as the sixth waslobt. A short time ago, I was utterly astonished whenVieira lJranddo told me that he thought fr. t,uJ-u

"opy ofit' Maestro villa-Lobos descriJed the sixth prert.tde as thefinest ol'thern all.20. Cangio do poeta do S6culo XVIII (1953)The origi'al version was writlen -for voice and piano in1943, and adapted in l95B for voice and orchestra. It wasdedicated to Christina Maristany.21. Concerto (I951)

Previously called liantasia concerta.ntrz. (If space pernitted,I woulcr relate how envious- s"gouiu was of the cadenza inlhe Concerto,for Harp an' Orciestra, rledicated to NicanorZabaleta.) Th_e Guitar Conrlirltu was first performed bySegovia in Flo.uston, f.*ur, - on 6th Febmary, 1956,conducted by Villa_Lobos.22. In 195g, MG:M. commissionerl Villa_Lobos to write ,refilrn score for Greert uo"tiirrt'.' iguitar part was incruded.23' f'he music for the film was later recoraed under the titleFloresta do

_Amazonas. At ;l; sarne time Villa-Lobosconrposed Cangdo clo Amor for voice and guitar, anclVeleiro for vojce ancl two guitu.r.Just for interest, and to show how popular Villa_Lobos,work fbr guitar had become, we offer here a passage from thenovel ze Jugernent tru Feu by Robert Roleine, publislied in parisby Tallandier in I 971."'Anyway, villa-Lobos is ramous. He was a great adrnirer clfBach' I appreciate liis music

""w .".n. He is onc of the greatcontemporary composers' who knows how to giue al.r"uoriginal c'lassicai music. His work rrot uti'.pi" quality, with a touchof the supernatural and a tina oimogi..;,she had never heard anvthirig quite so beautiful for

'reguitar.

6l63

"FIow did you find out about all tlrat'J" she askecl. "JLtstlistening to records?"

"No, my dear. I found or"rt by stLrclying the rrnrsic ancl tlrescores published throughout E,urope. Ancl ls yor_r know, he is verywell known, nrLrch appreciatcd and 1te rlorrncrl lre rc. 'l'lrc Mlicstr.rrlived in Paris lbr nrany ycars. Ilc dcliglrted cvcryorre r.villr lrishandsome appeararlce and his large hat. My parents first lreardhis music and were introdr"rced to hirn here in F-rance nrore thanforty years ago".

She listened in f'ascination, withotrt rnctving, thctrickling down her face, their liearts beating ls one.'(The composition nrentioncd in the novel was PrelLrile No,guitar).

tears

I l-or

rI

li

ll

SCFIAItrFEI., Jolin W..: .-he idte Jixe irt the solo guitur music of.

s c u n p r E ri, r o r,,, ri!,' " T "i !i:; J:o!: ;

t :"i: : :r?^r: \i,;,l,ie B 0

un(t_erstanding oJ'seler: t pussages in Vitta-Iagbu' prelucles lbr Gt)irur, " SounOUou.,tKELLy, Chrisrine *,*\r,ir,"233r, ,,,,ir,;r pl,ryer No. r5, teB l.LoRIMER, Michaer; virta-Lr,tbos, -i,''Jiua" uo. r, un anarysis,B o N E L L, c a r r o s : ;i" i;i:;^'"f l"i ;,t,t i,),? f ),, u

",,,, ", *.*

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l475 O ru,,,u,,, Max tsclrrtl uscd uv

A- Entrance of the

AI'PENI)IX V

Coucerto Mtrsic [:xunrllles['-irst Movernen t

gtr ita r

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(O Editions Max Esclrrg Usud t)y l)errn ssrorr

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2nd Movement

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Therne (E,ntrar-rce of tlie CiLritar)

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