From 1963, Latin American Fiesta, with Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic.
The headline work here is Bachianas Brasileiras #5, which back in the day wasn't quite the warhorse it's become in the past sixty years. I'm sure the early 60s serious lover of Latin American music was at least as interested in the rest of the repertoire on this album; I know I am today. Lenny includes the Danzón Cubano of his mentor Aaron Copland, but there are also other more authentic pieces here, from Brazilian and Mexican composers.
The most substantial work is Carlos Châvez's Sinfonia India; this is a fine version indeed. His fellow Mexican composer, Silvestre Revueltas, is well represented by the ballet Sensemayá. Two slight Brazilian dances complete the program: the Batuque of Villa's close friend, Oscar Lorenzo Fernândez; and the Brazilian Dance of one of the leading composers of the generation after Villa-Lobos, Mozart Camargo Guàrnieri. What a wonderful mix of music.
Early in 1963, Leonard Bernstein began planning his Young People's Concert: The Latin American Spirit, which was televised on March 8th of that year. As you can see, he wasn't quite sure which works might be on the actual program.
There's BB#5, still the headline piece, with the Revueltas ballet, the Fernândez Batuque and Copland's Danzòn Cubano. The WSS at the end? That would be the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, (which would have fit beautifully on this album if there had been more room). Lenny crosses out the Guarnieri, and considers, but also crosses out, music by Gottschalk and Morton Gould.
Luckily we can watch this wonderful lecture/concert on YouTube; it's a landmark in "music appreciation" - in many ways it transcends that genre. Woke Lenny shows up right away: I love him!
Here's Bernstein's actual script, with his final annotations; like the previous notes, this is from the Library of Congress website.
Bernstein notes that Villa-Lobos had only been dead for three years at the time; this is contemporary music! He then gives an admirably concise and accurate explanation of the title.
As Norman Lebrecht notes in The Life and Death of Classical Music, Leonard Bernstein had a great deal of power at Columbia Records. "I want to be free to record whatever I wish," he said to Masterworks boss Schuyler Chapin. "I don't want anyone to tell me such-and-such cannot be done." Lebrecht notes that Bernstein's records didn't sell well, with a few exceptions, but what we get from Bernstein and Columbia is what Lenny wanted. And with his Latin American Young People's Concert he had the core of his next album all set, and his New York players prepared.
What about this version of the Bachianas Brasileiras #5? The soprano Netania Davrath is, I'm afraid, outclassed by the competition on records, and not just on more recent recordings. Two great singers recorded the work with the composer at the podium: the great Brazilian soprano Bidu Sayão in 1938, and in 1958, Victoria de los Angeles, who gives my favourite performance on records. And the same year that Latin Fiesta was released, 1963, Villa's close friend Leopold Stokowski recorded a memorable performance of BB#5 for RCA Victor with the superb Anna Moffo. But it's not only the soprano that comes up short on the Columbia disc. The cellos sound marvellous, but there's no spark from Bernstein here. It's not a matter just of speed; Stokowski takes an even slower tempo in the Aria, but that lets Moffo's wondrous voice take over. A rare misfire in this repertoire for Lenny, then, which is too bad. But he makes up for it in the other works here, especially the two Mexican pieces. I really enjoyed this album!
You can listen to the 1st of three Proms concerts featuring Villa-Lobos at the BBC's Proms website, for a limited time only. It's the 2nd Chamber Music Prom, and it features soprano Golda Schultz and cellist Guy Johnston, with lots of cello friends.
Still to come at the Proms:
The first movement of the orchestral version of number 4 is part of the August 24 Prom 51 concert by the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop. This Prelude movement is often programmed separately in Brazil. It's great to see that Marlos Nobre's Kabbalah is also included on the program.
Bachianas Brasileiras number 2, played by the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel, is part of Prom 67 on September 4. I'm also looking forward to hearing the Venezuelan composer Paul Desenne's Hipnosis mariposa.
This is really quite outstanding: from the Closing Ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, the hand-off to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Games, which begin August 5. Marisa Monte is ravishing in an under-stated gown, singing the Aria from Villa's Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5 and Gilberto Gil's Aquele Abraço. Hard to believe it's been 4 years!
From GSOLive, Barbara Hannigan sings the Aria from Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5, with the cellists of the Göteborgs Symfoniker. This video will be available until September 4, 2016.
This is really quite outstanding: from the Closing Ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, the hand-off to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Games, which begin August 5. Marisa Monte is ravishing in an under-stated gown, singing the Aria from Villa's Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5 and Gilberto Gil's Aquele Abraço. Hard to believe it's been almost 4 years!
Villa-Lobos - Um Clássico Popular is a 2009 CD by the Quinteto Villa-Lobos. These are clever arrangements of Villa's greatest hits. The Quinteto Villa-Lobos are: Rubem Schuenck (flute), Luis Carlos Justi (oboe), Paulo Sergio Santos (clarinet), Philip Doyle (horn) and Aloysio Fagerlande (bassoon).
Radio France Musique has a very cool program called La Tribute des Critiques des Disques, presented by Jérémie Rousseau, in which six different recordings of classical works are presented "blind", and critics discuss positives and negatives, voting for their favourites. In a recent episode, Jérémie Bigorie, Chantal Cazaux and Jean-Charles Hoffelé talked about Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5. I wish my French were better; I'm only following about 1/3 of what's happening.
SPOILER - here are the six sopranos:
A = Natania Davrath
B = Victoria de los Angeles
C = Anna Moffo
D = Sandrine Piau
E = Anna Maria Martinez
F = Renee Fleming
I opted for version "B", which isn't a surprise; I've
always loved the version Villa-Lobos conducted in Paris in the 1950s,
with the great Victoria de los Angeles.
I've embedded the France Musique player with this program loaded, but you can also listen at this website. It also has a link to the podcast, which you can download on iTunes.
So sad to hear of the death of the marvellous singer Brian Asawa. The Aria from BB#5 and two Villa-Lobos songs were highlights of his 1999 album Vocalise, with ASMF and Sir Neville Marriner.
I recently blogged the news about the last two volumes of Sonia Rubinsky's 8-CD set of VL piano music. Here is another version finished: Anna Stella Schic's 7-CD set on Solstice Records.
Thanks to Borris Mayer for this. He also mentions that EMI is re-releasing the Batiz set of the Bachianas Brasileiras, complete. Here's the link at the UK Amazon site. While we wait for it in North America, why not download Barbara Hendricks' excellent BB#5 from Amazon MP3.
The quick history includes a picture (above) of Villa-Lobos being interviewed in 1949 by William Tate.
Elsewhere on the BBC website, I came across an excellent feature called "Brazil Inside Out", in which journalist Alex Bellos reports on his visit to five Brazilian regions. I really enjoyed the Brazilian-themed computer wallpapers and the page of Brazilian links (including one to the Heitor Villa-Lobos Website, though it has the older, more awkward URL of http://www.rdpl.red-deer.ab.ca/villa, rather than the newer, streamlined http://www.rdpl.org/villa).
While in Manaus, in the Amazonian rain-forest, Bellos attends a classical music concert in the great Teatro Amazonas, and interviews soprano Tais Bandeira, who has this to say about Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5:
"The music of this aria is typically Brazilian. But, at the same time, it manages to get to the heart of every person. This song seems to come from the earth, a song of nostalgia."
Try to catch The Late Show with David Letterman on Tuesday night, October 7th. Dave's guest is the great soprano Renee Fleming. Word is that we'll hear her sing Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5. This from industry insider Lee Boyd, who emails me this additional information, which she heard on WQXR:
"Renee Fleming will be doing probably just the Aria, with the cellists organized by Edward Aron, who is an award-winning cellist from our very own town of New Castle, only he is from the Chappaqua side of the tracks. Aron also does some programming with the station, so he told them about his performance, which incidentally includes VL and Renee."
So make sure you catch tonight's program (and you'll also get to see Uma Thurman doing her Kill Bill promotion).
