March 27, 2013

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    Villa-Lobos: Symphony Nos. 3 (War); and 4 (Victory)
    Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra/Isaac Karabtchevsky
    Naxos 8.573151
    Total Time:  63:09
    Recording:   (*)***/****
    Performance: ****/****

     

    Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887 - 1959) is perhaps to Brazilian music what Aaron Copland is to 20th Century American music; namely, a composer who helped established a distinctly nation-specific sound.  Of course, neither of their music is anywhere near the same due in part to the 20-year separation of birth.  Villa-Lobos essentially entered composition late, in his 20s, but would soon after begin establishing himself as an important musical voice in Brazilian art circles.   Though his music tends to appear less frequently on American concert programs, and the symphonies even less so, Naxos is in the midst of recording a survey of all the symphonies and this is the latest release in that cycle.  Carl St. Clair and the Stuttgart Symphony provided the last overview of these works in highly-lauded performances though this reviewer has not heard those for comparison.  The present release is only the second available version on CD so far.  Recordings of the fourth symphony are also less frequent with 4 others currently available.  There is an amazing one on Dorian featuring a Venezuelan orchestra though the clarity and tempi of this performance may edge it out a bit.

    Both of the symphonies were composed in 1919 as WWI concluded to commemorate the armistice.  Brazil’s entry into the war was relatively late, brought on by the sinking of one of their ships by a German submarine in 1917.  They form part of an incomplete tryptich of symphonies from war to peace all taken inspiration from texts by historian Luiz d’Escragnolle Doria whose banality was more likely a departure point for the composer.  Each of the symphonies is cast in four movements playing out to about a half-hour each.  The fifth symphony was lost if indeed Villa-Lobos actually completed it.

    The sound of the third symphony will strike listeners with a sound that presents crystal clear textures and harmonies that perhaps lie closer to Paul Dukas with moments of romanticism.  Villa-Lobos also quotes material from La Marseillaise and perhaps a bit of Rigoletto can be said to be a pattern for the opening of the third movement, subtitled “Suffering.”  The first movement is certainly impressive with its engaging orchestral writing and use of a 6-tone thematic thread for the basis of the material set across 6 sections in a semi-rondo form.  The second movement (“Intrigues and Rumours”) is the scherzo of the piece structurally featuring a sort of ongoing perpetual motion that plays with both diatonic, chromatic, and modal scales to represent the growing conflict.  It really is a surprising movement as well.  The third movement hints at what will become Villa-Lobos’ more recognized lyricism in a fairly impassioned work that is at the heart of the symphony and plays out to half the length of the entire work.  But this is a movement of deep emotional eloquence that certainly captures the depth of sadness here with some quite impassioned music often in rather lush harmony (recalling Scriabin).  The final movement, “The Battle”, returns to more activity and quotes of the Brazilian national anthem and La Marseillaise.  At times it feels as if Wagner and Sibelius (especially in the fanfares and angular string ideas) are at play in the chromatic running strings and harmonic structures playing out here.  The percussion gets to come to the forefront with plenty of shooting in a descriptive finale.  The work sort of ends abruptly with an ending similar to something Honegger might have penned.  The symphony features a great deal of interesting music and many will find it a rather engaging orchestral work worthy of their attention. 

    The end of the third symphony is really the beginning of what is picked up in the opening of the fourth and it is important to note that both works were premiered together.  You can certainly hear how the two pieces are part of one longer continuous musical thought cyclically speaking.  The opening movement bears the same tempo marking as the final movement of the third symphony as well.  In the fourth symphony, Villa-Lobos employs a leitmotiv concept to connect a recurring thematic element throughout the work.  The shifts here are from moments of rhapsodic beauty and orchestral brilliance alternating with some martial ideas.  This is also some rich writing that again is beautifully shaped here.  The second-movement scherzo is set in 7/4 which is rather unique and again the blend of sound will recall French Impressionists with brass writing more akin to Russian music, but most fascinating is the exploration of dissonance here that makes the richer lines stand out and Debussy’s orchestral style certainly serves as model for some of the writing here.  Lest we think that Villa-Lobos was simply being derivative, which is certainly not the case at all here, there is the amazing orchestral combinations the composer uses in the third movement.  The dark colors of bass clarinet, contrabassoon, and bass saxophone are striking and the shift to English horn and violas even more so in what serves as a sort of funeral march honoring the dead.  The final movement sits as a third of the work bringing these two pieces perhaps to a more conclusive moment with evocative music brilliantly orchestrated. 

    The Sao Paulo Symphony certainly performs these works with a deep sense of appreciation for their historical significance in Brazilian musical history.  Under Karabtchevsky’s direction, the music’s emotional core is certainly handled with great skill.  “Suffering” from the third symphony is certainly a highlight.  The strings sometimes do feel just a bit thin at times, but that often has to do with the writing itself and not the playing.  Clarity of rhythm and interpretive shaping for the music helps also to allow the musical style to shift appropriately through the recording which certainly helps.  Fans of Villa-Lobos’ music will certainly need no convincing to pick up this new disc along with an earlier release of the 6th and 7th symphonies.  The style of the music tends to have moments that fans of Hollywood film music will appreciate as well as this is the sound that would be common to films in the 1930s and 1940s.  These are certainly well-performed and committed recordings.  The sound is fine as well though it seems a bit low on the spectrum which will require turning up your volume a bit, but the end result is still excellent.  Highly recommended and a symphony cycle worth watching!  Marin Alsop recently became the orchestra’s post as principal conductor so this will certainly result in finer recordings of other music and perhaps she will program some of these works here in the states as well.