The Villa Lobos quartets

[Sean]

In the past I've explored four of the 17 Villa-Lobos quartets and thought I'd cross the rest of them off over the next few weeks with this recording by the Latin American Quartet- any thoughts on this repertory let me know. It's occasionally exotic and I think always interesting music- so far I see it as much more significant than either the Milhaud and its blandness or the sometimes overrated Holmboe cycle that finds an unusual aristocratic idiom but again without real musical insight to match. The Shostakovich and Bartok achievements despite quibbles are secure in their position in the longer 20th century cycles...

[7/4]

I have that box...still checking it out.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

The Hollywood String Quartet playing the quartet No. 6 is epic.

[Sean]

Thanks.

[Brahmsian]

I also really enjoy that set of quartets, Sean.  Marvelous works, certainly worth mentioning as some of the best 20th Century string quartets, along with Shostakovich and Bartok.

[Sean]

I'm sure you're right.

I guess V-L's output has suffered because of his most famous work...

[Dirge]

After a cursory survey of the 17 string quartets of Villa-Lobos some years ago, I found the 9th (1945) to be my favorite of the bunch. Quartets 1–6 are relatively folky and nationalistic in character, Quartets 10–17 speak neoclassicism with a Brazilian accent, while Quartets 7, 8 & 9 are atypically ambitious anomalies that defy pigeonholing. Villa-Lobos seems to make a conscious effort in these three quartets to overcome his 99% inspiration/1% perspiration nature—Villa-Lobos complained that ideas often came faster than he could write them down, let alone fully work them out—and confound his critics by writing thoroughly wrought, "challenging" works with a bit of expressionist angst. He succeeds most admirably, I think, in #9, which is also the least melodic (though still lyrical), least tonal (it's chromatic and atonal in a tonal way), least consonant, and most concentrated of all the quartets. Fans of the composer's more tuneful and easygoing usual style may find it short on charm and color, but to me, it's the best Villa-Lobos work in any genre that I've come across ... Villa-Lobos for those of us who don't generally care for Villa-Lobos.

The Cuarteto Latinoamericano performance is thoughtfully conceived, vigorously played, fairly bold and dynamic, and technically very proficient. On the whole, I tend to favor the group over the more plainspoken and dynamically understated Danubius Quartet [Marco Polo], though the Danubius is often better balanced and I prefer its faster and more flowing approach to the Andantino. Quarteto Amazônia [Kuarup] phrases colorfully but its ensemble timing and coordination is so-so. I don't know of any other recordings of the 9th.

[Sean]

Many thanks Dirge, that's an outstanding overview and exactly the sort of listener's experience I was hoping for here.

In the past I've borrowed library CDs for Nos.6, 11, 16 and 17 so look forward to those three middle period works. The Latin American set places the Ninth as the last but one quartet and I'll give it special attention; I've no literature to go with the CDs, at least not on the present Naxos website.

There's some tremendous Villa-Lobos of course even though some of his output is plain; Uirapuru and some of the early Choros and BBs are among the most evocative 20th century music.

Great to read your notes and I'll report back in a few weeks. You're clearly into the music seriously and it's those kind of contributions I most value.

[Sean]

I'm finally getting into this compete set, my fourth listening coming up. This music is distinctly superior to the sometimes overrated Holmboe and it's air of profundity, full of more direct and more varied invention to really get your brain going. Just one or two of the quartets have rather formulaic invention but overall this is a rich corner of the repertory and thoroughly worthwhile; Dirge pointed to the Ninth and indeed it's one of the most sophisticated and intriguing, with some of VL's most complex yet clear thought.