Villa-Lobos Anyone?

[snyprrr]

Glad you enjoyed this disc, snyprrr. It is indeed excellent. It's one of my desert island discs no doubt about it. Robert Duarte and this Slovak forces should be commended for recording.

Really? You've got to stop this lurking around the HVL Thread!!

[Mirror Image]

Really? You've got to stop this lurking around the HVL Thread!!

Okay, now what did I do? I'm not lurking around anymore than you're lurking around here. All I said was I'm glad you enjoyed this recording. I thought this was a good thing?

[The new erato]

You didn't get the joke? You're not lurking; you ARE the VL thread!

[snyprrr]

Okay, now what did I do? I'm not lurking around anymore than you're lurking around here. All I said was I'm glad you enjoyed this recording. I thought this was a good thing?

there there, I was jus' ribbin' ya

You didn't get the joke? You're not lurking; you ARE the VL thread!

exactly!

[Mirror Image]

You didn't get the joke? You're not lurking; you ARE the VL thread!

Sorry but humor doesn't translate too well over the Internet.

[Mirror Image]

there there, I was jus' ribbin' ya

No hard feelings. I didn't know you were joking around with me.

[snyprrr]

Finally listening to to Keith S, conducting the Choros 8 & 9 (actually first time hearing the music). Actually just the tiniest sliver tamer than I would have been able to handle, but the winning atmosphere definitely makes it 'Morning Music' for me! I'm sure the recording could be improved on, but it served its purpose. Just another great introduction to HVL: lush, kitchen-sink jungle music without vocals, very evocative.

[Mirror Image]

Finally listening to to Keith S, conducting the Choros 8 & 9 (actually first time hearing the music). Actually just the tiniest sliver tamer than I would have been able to handle, but the winning atmosphere definitely makes it 'Morning Music' for me! I'm sure the recording could be improved on, but it served its purpose. Just another great introduction to HVL: lush, kitchen-sink jungle music without vocals, very evocative.

Yeah, Kenneth Schermerhorn's performance is good, but Neschling's is so much better plus he has the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra at his disposal which are just an amazing group of musicians. It also helps to have BIS record the performance. Glad you enjoyed these two works as much as I have.

[snyprrr]

Yeah, Kenneth Schermerhorn's performance is good, but Neschling's is so much better plus he has the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra at his disposal which are just an amazing group of musicians. It also helps to have BIS record the performance. Glad you enjoyed these two works as much as I have.

I was listening again the other day (3 cds). It was a bit to much 'monumental' music for one sitting, perhaps, haha? Frankly, Schermerhorn may actually be all right, perhaps... No, it needs The Treatment,... I can imagine that huge BIS sound absorbing this score. You really need total detail exposed here.

It's getting winter here,... hard for me to listen to HVL right now,... am pulling out Frank Martin, and paler and more limpid music out,... I've been considering studying the Koecklin(?; sorry!) Thread for some really foggy day Impressionism.

[Mirror Image]

I was listening again the other day (3 cds). It was a bit to much 'monumental' music for one sitting, perhaps, haha? Frankly, Schermerhorn may actually be all right, perhaps... No, it needs The Treatment,... I can imagine that huge BIS sound absorbing this score. You really need total detail exposed here.

It's getting winter here,... hard for me to listen to HVL right now,... am pulling out Frank Martin, and paler and more limpid music out,... I've been considering studying the Koecklin(?; sorry!) Thread for some really foggy day Impressionism.

It may be approaching winter, but it's still a hot, summer day with VL's music and one I prefer to bask in at the moment. Anyway, I'm not too fond of Frank Martin. As for Koechlin, Le buisson ardent will do nicely.

[Mirror Image]

Happy Birthday, Villa-Lobos!

[snyprrr]

Happy Birthday, Villa-Lobos!

Amazing! That explains my HVL binge yesterday!! Simply amazing. (shaking head)

[Mirror Image]

Amazing! That explains my HVL binge yesterday!! Simply amazing. (shaking head)

Well there you go!

[cilgwyn]

Sorry but humor doesn't translate too well over the Internet.

You're telling me!

[Dundonnell]

"Humour"

What's Humour

[snyprrr]

"Humour"

What's Humour

I thought it was that stuff that oozed out of a sore?

[cilgwyn]

"Humour"

What's Humour

I'll look it up in the dictionary,now!
Is it funny?

[snyprrr]

Choros 11

I listened to 2/3 of this piece on YT, thinking it had been hyped as HVL's greatest work, but I went back to 8-9 (Marco Polo) and found them quite more perfect.

I'm quite satisfied with the two Marco Polo discs (the other with Genesis, et al), and the Dorian recording of Uripuru, but a little voice says I'm lacking in HVL. I checked out the Late Symphonies on YT, but no, that's not it. What could it be, Emperor Jones? Choros 10?

[kentel]

I put this answer here, in the the right context, (previously in the Vine thread, it was my fault : I asked Mirror Image about his favorite Latin-American composers...)

Villa-Lobos is my absolute favorite Latin American composer, but he's also in my top 5. Other Latin Americans I enjoy: Ginastera, Revueltas, Chavez, Piazzolla, Moncayo, Ponce, Marquez, Castellanos, Castillo, among others.

I like V-L very much too.

I'm more sceptical as far as the others (at least the others who I know) are concerned :

Ginastera, Revueltas, Chavez (and I would add Guarnieri, Mignone and Santoro) are poor orchestrators; the worse being Chavez. In some way, their music, cold, intellectual, rigid, almost atonal or melodically quite weak,  is the opposite of the warm harmonies, the sensual melodies and the colourful instrumentation of the traditional latino-american music . Even when they claim to pick up popular  tunes, like Revueltas f.ex, their works sound dry and cold to me. In this respect, the composer who, IMO, had the best understanding of the original features of traditional Latino-American music, who caught the most perfectly its spirit , is probably... Copland. 


Piazolla is, with Brouwer, the only one (I know) who sounds both unique and south-American. And I love their music for these very reasons.

As Brouwer, Ponce is a guitarist, hence he couldn't be as dry and distanciated as is coleagues, but, even if I agree to say that he wrote some lovely pieces (his guitar & harpsichord sonatas f.ex), I find his style rather influenced by the classical Spanish guitar composers (Sor, Tarrega, etc...) - but I may be wrong.

And V-L, who I think is a great composer, a frenetic contrapuntist, often approximative in his writing because he wrote too much (his pieces were often corrected after him) but full of enthusiasm, colors and lively rythms. I find his work in general rather close to Milhaud's, although it's said that the two never were in contact, and although I find his music much more interesting than Milhaud's.

If I was to make a list of the 10 best pieces (I'm not but I'll do it anyway), it would be :

- Harmonica Concerto
- Chôros nr.7 "Settiminio" for strings
- Uirapuru
- Amazonas
- 1st String Quartet
- Symphony nr.3 "A Guerra"
- 13 String Quartet
- Guitar Concerto
- Dancas Caracteristicas Africanas
- Piano Trio nr.2

[Mirror Image]

I put this answer here, in the the right context, (previously in the Vine thread, it was my fault : I asked Mirror Image about his favorite Latin-American composers...)

I like V-L very much too.

I'm more sceptical as far as the others (at least the others who I know) are concerned :

Ginastera, Revueltas, Chavez (and I would add Guarnieri, Mignone and Santoro) are poor orchestrators; the worse being Chavez. In some way, their music, cold, intellectual, rigid, almost atonal or melodically quite weak,  is the opposite of the warm harmonies, the sensual melodies and the colourful instrumentation of the traditional latino-american music . Even when they claim to pick up popular  tunes, like Revueltas f.ex, their works sound dry and cold to me. In this respect, the composer who, IMO, had the best understanding of the original features of traditional Latino-American music, who caught the most perfectly its spirit , is probably... Copland. 


Piazolla is, with Brouwer, the only one (I know) who sounds both unique and south-American. And I love their music for these very reasons.

As Brouwer, Ponce is a guitarist, hence he couldn't be as dry and distanciated as is coleagues, but, even if I agree to say that he wrote some lovely pieces (his guitar & harpsichord sonatas f.ex), I find his style rather influenced by the classical Spanish guitar composers (Sor, Tarrega, etc...) - but I may be wrong.

And V-L, who I think is a great composer, a frenetic contrapuntist, often approximative in his writing because he wrote too much (his pieces were often corrected after him) but full of enthusiasm, colors and lively rythms. I find his work in general rather close to Milhaud's, although it's said that the two never were in contact, and although I find his music much more interesting than Milhaud's.

If I was to make a list of the 10 best pieces (I'm not but I'll do it anyway), it would be :

- Harmonica Concerto
- Chôros nr.7 "Settiminio" for strings
- Uirapuru
- Amazonas
- 1st String Quartet
- Symphony nr.3 "A Guerra"
- 13 String Quartet
- Guitar Concerto
- Dancas Caracteristicas Africanas
- Piano Trio nr.2

You think Ginastera, Revueltas, and Chavez are poor orchestrators? Interesting, I find their orchestration colorful, well thought out, and incredibly lean in texture, which gives their music a certain rawness, which I happen to like. Villa-Lobos was arguably the finest orchestrator in Latin American music, but I don't think it's fair to discredit these other three composers. They may have not had the European connections VL had but their music is no less appealing and has appealed to a wide audience. Copland emulated Latin American music. That's all he did. He's nowhere near authentic as VL, Chavez, Revueltas or Ginastera IMHO.