The music of Heitor Villa-Lobos almost always reflected his two loves: Brazilian culture and the music of J. S. Bach.
Born in Rio de Janiero, he was fascinated by his country’s history and culture. And, ever since receiving the gift of some preludes and fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier from his aunt as a child, Villa-Lobos had been captivated by Bach’s style and technique. His best-known compositions, a set of nine suites for various combinations of instruments and voices called Bachianas Brasileiras reflect both of these influences.
The fifth suite, for solo soprano and an ensemble of eight cellos, is, by far, the most performed of the set. It was written in two movements: The “Cantilena,” as Villa-Lobos called it, begins with a vocalise for the soprano, accompanied by the cello ensemble.
After presenting the wordless melody, the soprano then sings a brief, declamatory setting of a poem by Ruth Corrêa that describes the moon rising in the sky. A reprise of the vocalise, now with the vocalist instructed to sing the melody “with mouth closed” brings the movement to a haunting, memorable close.
Here is Soprano Kathleen Battle with a wonderful rendition of the Bachianas Brazilieras #5:
