We’re having a heat waaaave… a tropical heat wave…
What better conditions than these in which to enjoy some of the rainforest inspirations of Heitor Villa-Lobos?
Happily, there will be no vaccinations or machetes required for this particular expedition, when you join me for “The Lost Chord” on KWAX.
Heitor Villa-Lobos held a unique position in Brazilian music, blazing many trails, both figuratively and literally, to create a distinctive national sound, materials for which he found in the streets and jungles of his native land.
He turned his back on European models, learning much of his craft through osmosis. Through experiment and exploration, he arrived at his own unique harmonic language.
Around 1905, he began physically to explore the Brazilian rainforest, where he came into contact with and absorbed the traditions of its indigenous cultures. The expeditions continued for the better part of a decade. He was fond of relating a story about how he once escaped from a pack of hungry cannibals.
He used this field work to form the basis of two works he wrote in 1916, which draw from Brazilian legends and so-called primitive folk material. Both have been variously described as ballets and symphonic poems: “Amazonas,” about an Indian maiden’s encounter with a metaphorical monster, and its companion piece of sorts, “Uirapuru,” about a legendary bird that sings its song in an enchanted forest. We’ll have a chance to hear both.
In between, we’ll also listen to the “Danses Africaines” (or “Characteristic African Dances,” so-called), based on tribal music of the Caripunas Indians, in its original version for piano, from 1914-16, AND in its later orchestration, from 1953. The piano set was condemned by uptight critics as “degenerate” at its first performance in 1922.
These formative “jungle pieces” all date from the same era of the composer’s development. Though their first performances took place over many years, collectively their exotic allure brought Villa-Lobos to international celebrity.
Villas-Lobos once commented, “I don’t use folklore, I am folklore.” He remains Brazil’s most famous composer. For that matter, all of Latin America’s.
It’s not much of a stretch to imagine ourselves in the forests of the Amazon this week, as we travel off the beaten path with Heitor Villa-Lobos. Join me for “A Night in the Tropics” on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!
Keep in mind, KWAX is on the West Coast, so there’s a three-hour difference for the Trenton-Princeton area. Here are the respective air-times of my recorded shows (with East Coast conversions in parentheses):
PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday on KWAX at 5:00 PACIFIC TIME (8:00 PM EDT)
THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday on KWAX at 4:00 PACIFIC TIME (7:00 PM EDT)
Stream them here!
https://kwax.uoregon.edu/
