On the birthday of Brazil’s most celebrated composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos, here’s an interesting curio: his most famous music, the “Aria” from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, sung by none other than Joan Baez.
It was the composer’s aim in his nine suites for various instrumental combinations (and this one with voice) to fuse the folk spirit of his native land with the forms of Johann Sebastian Bach.
No. 5 consists of two movements. The “Aria (Cantilena)” is one of the most famous pieces of classical music to come out of the 20th century. Here’s an English translation of the text, a poem by Ruth Corrêa, which is sung in Portuguese:
“In the evening, a dreamy, pretty cloud, slow and transparent, covers outer space with pink. In the infinite the moon rises sweetly, beautifying the evening, like a friendly girl who prepares herself and dreamily makes the evening beautiful. A soul anxious to be pretty shouts to the sky, the land, all of Nature. The birds silence themselves to her complaints, and the sea reflects all of Her [the moon’s] wealth. The gentle light of the moon now awakens the cruel saudade [nostalgic or melancholic longing] that laughs and cries. In the evening, a dreamy, pretty cloud, slow and transparent, covers outer space with pink.”
For some reason, the “Aria” is mostly performed separately from the brief, contrasting “Dança (Martelo)” that follows (on a nostalgic poem by Manuel Bandeira about the birds of the Cariri Mountains).
In this performance, among the eight cellists that accompany the singer is David Soyer, he of Guarneri String Quartet fame. Soyer would have been 100 on February 24. The conductor is Maurice Abravanel, longtime music director of the Utah Symphony Orchestra.
Baez’s “Bachianas” appeared on her fifth album, “Joan Baez/5,” released in 1964 (the year the Guarneri Quartet was founded). The content was divided between contemporary and folk material. Interestingly, the liner notes were by Langston Hughes.
When released as a 45, the notes (which can be magnified at the link) were by musicologist and Beethoven and Mozart biographer Maynard Solomon.
https://www.45cat.com/record/tfe18014
The material on the B-side consists of the Neapolitan song “‘Nu Bello Cardillo” and the Mexican song, “El Preso Numero Nueve.”
Thanks, Joan, and happy birthday, Heitor Villa-Lobos!
The classic recording of Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, both the “Aria” and “Dansa,” with Victoria de los Angeles and the composer conducting:
Villa-Lobos conducts the complete set of Bachianas Brasileiras… and more! Consult the index under the video for direct links.
