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Chôros No. 5

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Chôros No. 5
Alma Brasileira
Chôros by Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos
EnglishBrazilian Soul (subtitle)
CatalogueW207
Composed1925 (1925): Rio de Janeiro
DedicationArnaldo Guinle
Published1925 (1925): Rio de Janeiro
PublisherCasa Arthur Napoleão
Recorded1939 (1939) Maria Antonia de Castro, piano (1 disc, 78 rpm 12 in., monaural, Columbia P-69601-D (matrix CPTX 359, CPTX 360), New York: Columbia Records)
Duration4.5 mins.
Scoringpiano

Chôros No. 5 ("Alma Brasileira", Brazilian Soul) is a solo piano composition written in 1925 by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. It forms a part of a series of fourteen numbered compositions collectively titled Chôros, ranging from solos for guitar and for piano up to works scored for soloist or chorus with orchestra or multiple orchestras, and in duration up to over an hour. Chôros No. 5 is one of the shorter members of the series, with a performance lasting about four-and-a-half minutes.

History

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Chôros No. 5 was composed in Rio de Janeiro in 1925 (the same year as Chôros No. 3, but a year before No. 4 was written), and the score is dedicated to Villa-Lobos's patron Arnaldo Guinle [pt], the brother of the dedicatee of Chôros No. 4. The date, place, and performer of the premiere are not recorded. The score was first published ca. 1925 by Casa Arthur Napoleão in Rio de Janeiro, subsequently in 1948 by the Villa-Lobos Music Corporation, Consolidated Music Publishers, and Edward B. Marks Music Corporation in New York, and by Casa Vieira Machado in Rio de Janeiro. A corrected edition was published in 1955 by Max Eschig in Paris.[1]

Analysis

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The form of Chôros No. 5 may be regarded as a simple ternary (ABA) form, or as a variation on it, in which the central, B section becomes two distinct sections (ABCA). In the latter case, the C section may be seen an expansion and development of section B,[2] or as an entirely separate section.[3]

The outer, A section features a device called jeitinho brasileiro (Brazilian knack, or aptitude), involving a sensuous rhythmic delay. It is produced here by overlaying two different rhythmic patterns: a quadruple-meter accompaniment of syncopated chords, and a melody that enters in the third bar in triplets with syncopation independent of the accompaniment.[4] The opening section is repeated with an added third voice in yet another syncopated pattern.[5] The accompanimental rhythm in the pianist's left hand is taken from the popular Brazilian dance type called maxixe,[6] while the sentimental melody is reminiscent of the modinha.[7]

References

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  • Béhague, Gerard. 1994. Villa-Lobos: The Search for Brazil's Musical Soul. Austin: Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Texas at Austin. ISBN 0-292-70823-8.
  • Moreira, Gabriel Ferrão. 2014. "A construção da sonoridade modernista de Heitor Villa-Lobos por meio de processos harmônicos: um estudo sobre os Choros". PhD diss. São Paulo: Universidade do Estado de São Paulo.
  • Negwer, Manuel. 2008. Villa-Lobos: Der Aufbruch der brasilianischen Musik. Mainz: Schott Music. ISBN 3-7957-0168-6. Portuguese version as Villa Lobos e o florescimento da música brasileira. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 2009. ISBN 978-85-61635-40-4.
  • Neves, José Maria. 1977. Villa-Lobos, o choro e os choros. São Paulo: Musicália S.A.
  • Nóbrega, Adhemar Alves da. 1975. Os chôros de Villa-Lobos. Rio de Janeiro: Museu Villa-Lobos.
  • Peppercorn, Lisa M. 1991. Villa-Lobos: The Music: An Analysis of His Style, translated by Stefan de Haan. London: Kahn & Averill; White Plains, NY: Pro/Am Music Resources Inc. ISBN 1-871082-15-3 (Kahn & Averill); ISBN 0-912483-36-9.
  • Villa-Lobos, Heitor. 1972. "Choros: Estudo técnico, estético e psicológico", edited in 1950 by Adhemar Nóbrega. In Villa-Lobos, sua obra, second edition, 198–210. Rio de Janeiro: MEC/DAC/Museu Villa-Lobos.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Villa-Lobos, sua obra. 2009. Version 1.0. MinC / IBRAM, and the Museu Villa-Lobos. Based on the third edition, 1989. p. 22.
  2. ^ Assis, Carlos Alberto. 2009. "Fatores de coerência nos Choros nº 5 ('Alma brasileira'), de H. Villa-Lobos". Per Musi, n. 20:64–73. p. 66.
  3. ^ Moreira 2014, pp. 133–4.
  4. ^ Appleby, David. 2002. Heitor Villa-Lobos: A Life (1887–1959). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-4149-9. p. 83.
  5. ^ Brioli, Camila Cursio. 2014. "Villa-Lobos' Choros No. 5 – Alma Brasileira (Brazilian Soul)". M.M. thesis, Georgia State University. p. 40.
  6. ^ Miller, Richard. 2011. "African Rhythms in Brazilian Popular Music". Luso-Brasilian Review 48, n. 1:6–35. pp. 26–8.
  7. ^ Moreira 2014, p. 146.

Further reading

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  • Galama, Paula Maria Lima. 2013. "Reconsidering Brazilian Representations in Choros No. 5 and Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 For Piano by Heitor Villa-Lobos". DMA diss. Lexington: University of Kentucky.
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