Bonell, Carlos - The Music of Heitor Villa-lobos (Guitar Apr 83)

MASTERWOKS· CRLOS BONELL The Musc of Helr Va- b b

Ahoug Va-Lobs was an extaodnay pro composer  so muc so that he msef CQuid CQuid no emembe ow many pees he had composed  e dd not reay wrte ta many woks or e uar He s remembeed remembeed o hs  studes,  pedes (ornay  bu one s 10sl). the sute popua Brasea and hs one uar conceto He dd we oer peces or the gua wh have ehe been ost o eman unpubsed and some hamber musc whch s ess weknown Maybe e movements hat make up the Suite 8rieira arc a te 0 dervave o he Euopean pootypes and do nOt possess the ndvdua haace o the ve peudes and eany some o he studes are beer han 0hes 0hes bu  a o hs ua wos ae o a ver h quaty Fsy I woud e o consder te man musa nuences upon s stye These ar: the nave ok musc o hs counry Braz he mus o Ba he Romant mpessonsm o hopn and Debussy and hs own amay wth and een o he uta n some o s woks, se emens ae synessed so hat e nuees aenspaabe rom eah oer

mp 2

V·.ORU: V ·.ORU:

 

-Ls nd  usc

Vas-obos as been drawn 0 o-mus sne he was a chd He even aveed tou he countysde n Bra peneran e maonan oress o mee dstan Indan rbe and woe down her musc He aso caned and deveoped he h6rs w was onay an nstumena serenade payed by sree musans The movemens o he sue popuar reect s deveopmen Markhr, Shtishh. Va/schr, Govlahr He ave o ea o hese assca and Roant dane-movemens a dncty popua Braan chaac chaacer er

Gnou8-h. h. 3  osGnou8-

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The nuencefBh

Va-obos oved he mus o  Bach so muh ha he devsed a sees o ambe peces caed Bochianas Baieias whch eeced e chaacte o Bah's musc n a Baa Baan n mae ne o ese pees e achanas no5 was composed or soprano and 8 eos aer Va-obos e·aranged te wo o sopano and guta Bahs nuence s et no so mu n any compex counepon bu n te lexre o Va-Lobos' musc Te Bahianas Brasi/eras nO5 s a mos evocatve eampe so oo s he sudy no 1 n a ess drec wa Te epeated arpeo paens o ts sudy are n eacty the same spt as Ba's  in C·mn

The oros no  s an even more vvd exampe wth s doted hythms and 7th hods e an embryon samba!

Fmp

AS

 

e prede in D-in

 PUJE QK

Rmnk Impessism

'p BA,

C 'EDEIN

C;NOR

\·LS: Siudy 

nohe aspec o Ba's nuence s reveaed n he as pa o hs Prede n 3 whh onsss o seuenta paens very muh n the Baouesye

he Romant nuence s e stony nO ony n he see onep o he  sudes wh s remnsen o hopns on n wo n s ene bu aso n he meodc rae and udt o such peces as he MazuraCh:

8

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wh w h

We he man pa o s arua s opnesue te endn owes moe o ebussy ebussy

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£"pl VILLA·LO

M>

Fo he man pa the peudes are not folklorc n spt, bu ahe mposatory and yca. Ths s not surprsing for VllaLobos was hmsef a guitaplaye good enough to pay some of hs own guia peces convincingy The peldes sound as if they were composed with a gutar on hs ap a penci behnd hs ea and manuscipt paper on he abe n fon of hm! Ths expoaoy mpovsed chaace is pariclay obvious in the begnnng of prelude no3

7

E"pI8 vLAO

lude

maked  and he peude no2 s maked  whle he middle apeggiosecion s ony marked   What dos al ths add up to?  means Iha f yo econser sch a fundamental aspec as tempo by going back o te musc and theomposersown ndcaions you may begint understand he msc fo yosef  paticular exampes above as they a ofen played at vi speeds fte de consideraon to empo, oo again hrough he musc for ndcatons abou exprsion Ae o really paying a riadando in ba  of prelde no. I as Vila·obs indcated pe

 V·:de

3 and as e himelf dd n hs own ecoding of his pece  you ealy paying an accent on the frst beat of bar 2 of  pelude O4? Enmp

aso n pede no. and peude nO Eah of these peldes s strcred vey smpy wih js wo or the conasted deas makng up the pies The engh of the muic deves fom Ihe shee simpiciy of means and diomac wriing fo Ihgua fo in tems Ofh guta he contrast of muscal deas stems fom sweeping tnes on the owe srings (as in peudes nos I and 4) and cascading apggios across the stings (peudes nos I, and). heShs n some of Vilaobos' piees thee s a synthss of alhe vaious asps discussed above The middle secon of sdy nO is guitasically a briian notion with is nisons acoss thee ings and ye he whole pece has ualies

6

U.mpl LA.OR td,11

which are at the same time haning, romantc (he intoducton epecay) and impessonisc o toO, the sudy nO7 where the intensely yca melody in he midde secton s accompanied by sangey shifting hamonies bU VL: udy

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A Pyrs' gu to trr

When msc bcomes as famliar to o ears as he Via· Lobos guiar woks t is very diffict o magine he peces in he raw sate n ohe wods as they wee conceived n Vllaobos own maginaon, and before hey wee "flteed houg famila intepretations. Bt try you mus if you ae o endow this wonderfl musc wih he feshness and spontaneity t conains, aher han ge appd ino miatng famous ecods and peformances whch can ony ma you playng sound stae and derivatve onsider irs the vaios indcaed by Villa·obos The sdy no  s maked    he fi pat of prelude nO s   and the $ond pa s

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 VLAWH Prl no4

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And wha abou dynamcs? Takeeamp  again: are yor /eally fo\e and you ealypanssimo?  s ony by qUC5onng every aspct of y interpeaons that you wi gve yo own peson charat to his music - nded it s ony by qC5oning every aspect of msc and especaly r«eved noions h you wll develop your own muscal pesonaty s fa a received nOions abo Va·obos arc concened; he is ofen described as being "exotic and origina bt w does that mean? rey eXOticsm has more atern assocaons han anyhng Vilaobos composedand  fa as originaiy s concerned surely all  composes are orginal n one way o anohe  the res ar forgon Vlaobos distincon does not lie in his   when compared o oher we1l·known composes beause thy shae chaacer o hs musc. These ar the aspecs which  hav discussed above in the hope of avoidng lichs whch hel neihe understanding no inepreaion NUEATON GTAR SDOS

W  "    _ ECI01.   _• "r$tw , . ) BRISTOL SPANSH GUAR CENR (iCpal: Mh Watson) NW IN CK . T   fic Workso gitar in 3ana a •

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