Avante-garde orchestral sounds in the Nonetto

Enlever le bec et souffler dans la clarinette comme dans un cor.
Sinon chanter les notes, tres justes, dans le bec seul comme dans un mirliton.

In this section of the Nonetto (#33) Villa-Lobos instructs the clarinettist to remove the mouthpiece and blow the instrument like a horn, singing the notes "comme dans un mirliton." The Mirliton is also known as a Eunuch flute or onion flute (flûte eunuque, flûte à l'oignon), or in Germany, Zwiebelflöte. It's basically a wooden flute with a thin membrane fixed at one end, through which one blows and vocalizes at the same time. A kazoo is a kind of mirliton, though I believe Villa-Lobos was imitating an instrument used by Brazilian Indian musicians.

You can hear the effect after 9:30 in this classic performance of the Nonetto by The Roger Wagner Chorale and The Concert Arts Ensemble.



The Nonetto was begun in Rio in 1923, and completed and premiered in Paris the following year. This is the high-water mark of Villa's modernism; it's leading-edge avante-garde composition.

Obscure Villa on Antena 2

I've posted before on the great Villa-Lobos radio series by Gilda Oswaldo Cruz on Portugal's Antena 2 radio. There's more information here, on the Villa-Lobos Website. There are now 10 one-hour programs in wma format that you can listen to using your handy Windows Music Player. They're great to listen to, even if you have no Portuguese.

There are some extremely rare works included in these programs. A couple of the highlights:

• Mandu-Çarará, a cantata from 1940. This is close to the top of my list of works I'd like to see on CD.
• Nonetto. This is from the Gil Jardem CD/DVD I've posted about already.

I also read recently (in a blog posting I've misplaced) that the series will be re-broadcast on Radio MEC in Brazil. When I track this information down I'll post it here.

Nonetto CD released

I've been complaining for a long time about the lack of an easy-to-buy CD of the great chamber work from 1924, the Nonetto, subtitled "Impressao rapida de todo o Brasil". There's a interesting recent Brazilian CD "Villa-Lobos em Paris", conducted by Gil Jardem, but I haven't been able to get a copy here in the Red Deer bat-cave.

So I was excited to see that the famous Roger Wagner Chorale disc from the 1950s has finally been re-released on CD:



Villa-Lobos: Nonetto, for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Saxophone, Bassoon, Harp, Celesta, Battery, and Mixed Chorus; Quatuor, for Flute, Harp, Celesta, Alto Saxophone, and Women's Voices by The Roger Wagner Chorale and the Concert Arts Players, Roger Wagner, Villa-Lobos

Here's the blurb from the Amazon site:

"Precocious and full of wonderment, the Nonetto and Quatuor, written by Villa-Lobos in 1924 and 1921 respectively, are surely two of the unsung minor masterpieces of the early 20th Century. In its fusion of pagan rhythms and chanting with the brittle harmonies of the avant garde, Nonetto brings to mind Stravinsky's Les Noces and Prokofiev's Scythian Suite. Yet the piece is also characterised by a freewheeling playfulness more suggestive of jazz and folk music than the concert hall.This edition restores to print two historic performances of the Nonetto and Quatuor from 1941 and 1957 combining them with a set of exquisite Villa-Lobos guitar works performed by the great masters Andrés Segovia, Julian Bream and Laurindo Almeida."

This is great, but it under-states the importance of the Nonetto. I'd characterize the Nonetto as an unsung major masterpiece of the early 20th Century. The jury is still out on the Quatuor, but this disc will provide some welcome exposure.

So pre-order this disc - I highly recommend it.

I'll give the last word to Villa-Lobos, who gave was a big fan:

"Roger Wagner deserves all my admiration for his dedicated work...a notable achievement in technique and sound as well as perfect interpretation."

Villa-Lobos on Cultura FM: June 2008

Here are Villa-Lobos performances upcoming on Cultura FM from Sao Paulo. Listen here on the Internet. Times are local Sao Paulo times, one hour ahead of EST.

The highlight of the month is on June 28 (my birthday), when the featured work on the excellent Ciranda programme is Gil Jardim's new recording of the Nonetto.

June 10, 2008:
06:00 A ESCRITA DE CÂMARA - Solistas e pequenas formações:
Luigi NONO - Fragmentos. Silencio. A Diotima para quarteto de cordas. Quarteto La Salle. Walter Levin (violino). Henry Meyer (violino). Peter Kamnitzer(viola). Lee Fiser(viloncelo). / Heitor VILLA-LOBOS. Choros N°10. Orquestra Sinfonia da Venezuela. Dir. Simon Bolívar.

June 16, 2008:
13:00 DELICATESSEN com Kika Leoi:
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART - "Allegro" do Concerto para violino n° 3 em sol maior, K 216. Frank Peter Zimmermann (violino). Orquestra Filarmônica de Berlim. Reg.: Wolfgang Sawallisch. / Heitor VILLA-LOBOS - "Tímido - poco andante" da Suíte para cordas. I Musici. Reg.: Yuli Turovsky. / Frédéric CHOPIN - Noturno em si bemol menor Op. 9 n° 1. Yundi Li (piano). / Edvard GRIEG - Abertura No Outono Op. 11. Orquestra Sinfônica Iceland. Reg.: Petri Sakari.


20:00 AS MIL e UMA INTERPRETAÇÕES com Turíbio Santos:
Edvard GRIEG. Suite Holberg. Heitor VILLA-LOBOS. Bachianas número 3. Orquestra de Câmara Banespa. Claudio Cruz (Spala)

June 21, 2008:
10:00 CIRANDA - Academia Brasileira de Música:
CARLOS GOMES - Condor. Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira. Dir.: Yeruham Scharovsky. Francisco BRAGA - Trio. Trio Brasileiro./ VILLA-LOBOS - Bachianas Brasileiras no. 4. Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo.OSESP. Dir.: John Neschling.


June 28, 2008:
10:00 CIRANDA - Academia Brasileira de Música:
Camargo GUARNIERI - Suite Vila Rica. Orquestra Sinfónica do Estado de São Paulo. OSESP. Dir.: John Neschling. / VILLA-LOBOS - Noneto. Toninho Carrasqueira (flauta). Luís CArlos Justi (oboé). Sérgio Burgani (clarinete). Aloysio Fagerlande (fagote). Dílson Florêncio (saxofone). Maria Elisa Risardo (celesta). Paulo Braga (piano). Elizabeth Del Grande (tímpanos). Ricardo Bologna e Eduardo Gianesella (percussão). Coro Misto. Dir.: Gil Jardim. André / MEHMARI - Sete Miniaturas. Quinteto de Sopros Villa-Lobos.

Another Nonetto post

It's amazing what comes up on the web when you keep digging. I had seen a reference to the CD "Villa-Lobos em Paris", conducted by Gil Jardim, but the track list missed out the most important piece, the Nonetto. Here's the disc on the Brazilian music retailer Causa Sonora.

Jardim, it turns out, wrote the book O Estilo Antropofágico de Heitor Villa-Lobos, which I talked about in the previous post. He conducts an impressive group of musicians:

Quatuor
Toninho Carrasqueira, flauta - Dilson Florêncio, sax - Luba Klevsotova, harpa - Maria Elisa Risarto, celesta - Mara Campos, Reg. Preparadora do Coro Feminino - Gil Jardim, Regente.

A Prole do Bebê nº1
Nahim Marum, piano

Epigramas Irônicos e Sentimentais
Claudia Ricchitelli, soprano - Nahim Marum, piano

Pensées D'Enfant
Claudia Ricchitelli, soprano - Toninho Carrasqueira, flauta - Sérgui Burgani, clarinete - Watson Clis, violoncelo

Nonetto
Toninho Carrasqueira, flauta - Luis Carlos Justi, oboé - Sérgio Burgani, clarinete - Aloysio Fagerlande, fagote - Dilson Florêncio, sax - Silas Lima, harpa - Maria Elisa Risarto, celesta - Paulo Braga, piano - Elizabeth Del Grande, Ricardo Bologna e Eduardo Gianesella, percussão - Mara Campos, Regente Preparadora do Coro Misto - Gil Jardim, Regente.

The group of musicians includes the members of the Quinteto Villa-Lobos.

So, another disc with the Nonetto shows up, just when I'm complaining the loudest about not having one at hand.

Nonetto (Impressao rapida de todo o Brasil)

The Nonetto is currently without a modern recording easily available in North America and Europe. I hope this will change shortly. Earlier this year, Conductor Adrian Leaper performed the Nonetto in Madrid with the RTVE Symphony & Chorus. Here is a reference to the concert, which was recently played on Spanish radio:

SÁBADO 17 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2007

06:00 ORQUESTA SINFÓNICA Y CORO DE RTVE
CICLO COMPOSITORES IBEROAMERICANOS (XI)
DIRECCIÓN: ADRIÁN LEAPER
ORQUESTA: ORQUESTA SINFÓNICA DE RTVE
Desde el Teatro Monumental de Madrid, actuación de la Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE que, bajo la dirección de Adrián Leaper, interpreta "Sesemaya" de Silvestre Revueltas, "Nonetto, para coro y orquesta" de Heitor Villa-Lobos y "Serenata concertante Op. 40" de Juan Orrego Salas.

There is a new Brazilian version of the Nonetto, from the Sociedade Musicale Bachiana Brasileira, available on CD and DVD. You can hear the Nonetto online on the excellent Bachiana Brasileira website (it's on the CD Obras Raras na Música Brasileira de Concerto - choose the final track in the Flash player.) The DVD is called Quadros de Uma Alma Brasileira, and you can preview four of the tracks online in low or high resolution. Unfortunately, the Nonetto video isn't online, but you can see and hear portions of the work on the Documentario (special features) portion of the site.

The works on the DVD were recorded almost exactly a year ago, December 15, 2005, at the Sala Cecília Meireles.

This is a very, very exciting project. I can't find a place on the website where you can order the CDs or DVDs directly, but read this recent post in Tumbling Villa-Lobos to find out about a Brazilian onine retailer who sells the DVD.

The CDs and DVDs on the Bachiana Brasileira website include many other rare Brazilian works; I'll be featuring it in a future post on the Magazine.

Nostalgia Alert!

There are two famous recordings of the work from the 40s and 50s; it would be great if both were re-issued.

On a Capitol LP (CTL 7037), the Roger Wagner Chorale and the Concert Arts Ensemble performed two chamber works with chorus: the Quatour and the Nonetto. The sound on the disc was demonstration quality; the final movement of the Nonetto was included on Capitol SAL-9020 "Full Dimensional Sound: A Study in High Fidelity."

Here is a citation to a contemporary review:

Review: [Untitled]
Reviewed Work(s):

• Villa-Lobos: Nonetto, for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Saxophone, Bassoon, Harp, Celesta, Battery, and Mixed Chorus; Quatuor, for Flute, Harp, Celesta, Alto Saxophone, and Women's Voices by The Roger Wagner Chorale and the Concert Arts Players, Roger Wagner, Villa-Lobos

Author(s) of Review: Richard F. Goldman
The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Jan., 1954), pp. 157-158

Villa-Lobos thought very highly of Roger Wagner and his singers. Here's a quote from the official RWC website:

"Roger Wagner deserves all my admiration for his dedicated work...a notable achievement in technique and sound as well as perfect interpretation."

The second disc, "Festival of Brazilian Music," was released as a 78 rpm album by RCA Victor: disc #LCT 1143. In the Nonetto, Hugh Ross conducts the Brazilian Festival Orchestra and the Schola Cantorum. The album also includes Bachianas Brasileiras #1 (with Walter Burle Marx conducting the Brazilian Festival Orchestra); the Quatour (with the great Brazilian soprano Elsie Houston, soprano and Ross/Brazilian Festival Quartet/Schola Cantorum); and Cancao do Careiro (sung by Elsie Houston, accompanied by Miguel, piano). This album was recorded in collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art and the Commissioner General from Brazil. Another record number for this set is Victor DM-773(5).

Here's a short review from the May 19, 1941 issue of Time Magazine:

A Festival of Brazilian Music (Victor; 10 sides; $5.50). First big phonographic collection of works by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazil's No. i composer and one of the lustiest living. Beautifully recorded by Soprano Elsie Houston, the Schola Cantorum, conducted by Hugh Ross, a scratch orchestra under Burle Marx. Villa-Lobosities: a Bachiana Brasileira for eight cellos attempting to fuse the spirits of Bach and Brazil; a Nonetto for chorus and small orchestra, purporting to describe Brazil's geography.

So, besides the advantage of having the Nonetto on CD, a reissue of this set would provide us with another rarely heard work (the Quatuor), plus a chance to hear the legendary Elsie Houston.

Let's get to work on these re-issues, record companies!

**********

Check out this page on the Nonetto at the Heitor Villa-Lobos Website. It uses a new template for Villa-Lobos's works; some day in the future there will be a page on the site for each of the major works.

Experiencing Villa-Lobos Schedule

The schedule for the international Experiencing Villa-Lobos Conference in Richmond VA has been published on the conference website. Besides the paper presentations, which I'm sure will be fascinating, here are some highlights:

• March 27, 2008, 8:00pm – Opening Concert featuring VCU faculty, alumni, and guest artists in Concert Hall (pianist Sonia Rubinsky will perform on this concert).
• March 28, 2008, 9:30-11:00am – Sonia Rubinsky piano master class in Concert Hall.
• March 28, 2008, 8:00pm – VCU Symphony Concert in Concert Hall featuring saxophonist Albert Regni.
• March 29, 2008, 1:30pm – 3:00pm – String Master Class featuring members of Cuarteto Latinoamericano in Concert Hall.
• March 29, 2008, 3:30pm – 5:00pm The Brazilian Guitar – from Villa-Lobos to the Present, featuring VCU faculty/alumni/students/guest artists in Concert Hall.
• March 29, 2008, 8:00pm - Closing concert by Cuarteto Latinoamericano in Concert Hall.
  

The Villa-Lobos credentials of Sonia Rubinsky and the Cuarteto Latinoamericano are really solid - I've posted many times about both over the years. I wasn't familiar with the work of saxophonist Albert Regni, but learned lots more from this excellent Sons of Sound website. Nice to put a face to one of the people involved in the Twin Peaks music I love. Regni is Principal Saxophonist with the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, and New York City Ballet Orchestras, and also Professor of Saxophone at The College of New Jersey.

Villa-Lobos wrote beautiful things for saxophone, and not just his 1948 Fantasia for soprano or tenor saxophone and chamber orchestra (which I assume Regni will perform with the VCU Orchestra in Richmond). There are also these important chamber works featuring the saxophone:

• the Sextuor Mystique, for flute, oboe, saxophone, harp, celesta and guitar (1917/1955)
• Choros #7 for flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, violin, and cello, with tam-tam ad lib. (1924)
• Choros #3 for clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, 3 horns, trombone, or for male chorus, or for both together (1925)
• the Nonetto, scored for flute/piccolo, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, celesta, harp, piano, percussion, and a mixed chorus (1923)

And you can find many, many amazing bits for saxophone in the orchestral works. One of my favourites is in the first suite from the Descobrimento do Brasil (1938).

Villa-Lobos Concerts & CDs Analyzed

I've been tracking performances of Villa-Lobos works at concerts and recitals from around the world since January 1997, in the Upcoming Villa-Lobos Concerts page of the Villa-Lobos Website. I've recently put together a list of the works played at those concerts. As well, I've looked at the 445 CDs containing works by Villa-Lobos that are currently available at Amazon.com. I'll be posting a spreadsheet with this information on the Website - it's here - and I'll keep it updated as I receive new information.

In the meantime, here are some interesting results. The most commonly performed works:

Bachianas Brasileiras #5 (48)
Harmonica Concerto (20)
Unspecified Pieces for Guitar (20)
Assobio a Jato (19)
Bachianas Brasileiras #2 (17)
Bachianas Brasileiras #1 (12)
Guitar Etudes (12)
Bachianas Brasileiras #6 (8)
Bachianas Brasileiras #9 (8)
Bachianas Brasileiras #4 (7)
Guitar Preludes (7)
Saxophone Fantasia (7)

No real surprises here. The Bachianas Brasileiras series looms large in terms of the popular view of Villa-Lobos. BB#5 is one of the standards of the orchestral repertoire, and in its version for soprano and guitar for that of chamber music. Robert Bonfiglio has nearly single-handedly brought a high level of popularity to the Harmonica Concerto. The works for guitar are probably under-reported by a factor of at least three, since many concert notices do not refer to particular works.

Many of these pieces show up at the top of the CD list as well:

Bachianas Brasileiras #5 (98)
Guitar Preludes (70)
Guitar Etudes (57)
Choros 1 (33)
Suite Popular Bresilienne (32)
Bachianas Brasileiras #2 (22)
Guitar Concerto (22)
Bachianas Brasileiras #4 (20)
Choros #5 (16)
Bachianas Brasileiras #1 (14)
Song Recitals (14)
Ciclo Brasiliera (13)
Prole de Bebe #1 (13)

The guitar music is well represented on CD, with every one of the works Villa-Lobos wrote for the instrument (with the exception of the Introduction to Choros, which has unaccountably received only a single recording) in the top ten most popular works. The best works for piano are well represented as well. It's nice to see a work from the Choros series - Choros #5, subtitled Alma Brasileira - getting as many recordings as some of the Bachianas Brasileiras series.

At the other end, there are a few great works that received no performances (as reported on my page - my collection of this information is very hit and miss). These include most of the Symphonies; four of the Piano Concertos; Choros 8, 9 and 12; and the String Trio. Luckily, the list of works with no recordings in the Amazon.com list (nearly all of which are available throughout the world) is really quite short:

Cello Sonata 1
Choros 4
Choros 6
Daughter of the Clouds
Duas Lendas Amerindias
Fantasia de Movementos Mixtos
Nonetto
Sinfonietta #1
Symphony 2
Symphony 3
Symphony 7
Symphony 9
Vidapura
Yerma

From this short list, we'll soon be able to remove the 3rd and 9th Symphonies, coming soon from cpo. Symphonies 2 and 7 will presumably follow, from the same source, within a year. After that, we badly need recordings of the 6th Choros, the Fantasia de Movementos Mixtos and the Nonetto. As for the other hole in the Choros series, number 4, that's available in the indispensable CD Os Choros de Câmara from the Brazilian company Kuarup. I ordered this CD, and others, from Kuarup's website. Kuarup's CDs are very inexpensive, and the discs arrived amazingly quickly.

I think that, overall, the works of Villa-Lobos are fairly well represented both discographically, and on the concert stages of the world. The complete cycles of string quartets recently performed at the Kuhno Festival in Finland and by the Cuartetto Latinoamericano brought many hidden gems to the surface. Naxos is especially to be commended for their well-played, well-recorded budget CDs. I'm sure, though, that there are many works that I've left out in my list that need performances and recordings. Why not tell me what you think?