Chôros No. 6

Chôros No. 6
by Heitor Villa-Lobos

Heitor Villa-Lobos
Catalogue W219
Genre Chôros
Form Chôros
Melody Lundu característico (Joaquim Antônio da Silva Calado)
Composed 1925 (1925)–1942 (1942): Rio de Janeiro
Dedication Arminda Neves d'Almeida
Published 1987 (1987): Paris
Publisher Max Eschig
Recorded January 1954 (1954-01) RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester, Berlin; Heitor Villa-Lobos, cond. (LP, 1 disc, 33⅓ rpm 12 in., monaural, Remington R-199-207 (New York: Remington, issued 1956)
Duration 25 mins.
Movements 1
Scoring Orchestra
Premiere
Date 18 July 1942 (1942-07-18):
Location Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro
Conductor Heitor Villa-Lobos
Performers Orquestra Sinfônica do Theatro Municipal

Chôros No. 6 is an orchestral work written between 1925 and 1942 by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. It is part of a series of fourteen numbered compositions collectively titled Chôros, ranging from solos for guitar and for piano up to works scored for soloist or chorus with orchestra or multiple orchestras, and in duration up to over an hour. Chôros No. 6 is one of the longer compositions in the series, lasting about 25 minutes in performance.

History

According to the score and the official catalog of the Museu Villa-Lobos, Chôros No. 6 was composed in Rio de Janeiro in 1926, and the score was dedicated to Arminda Neves d'Almeida, in 1936. It was premiered in Rio de Janeiro on 18 July 1942 by the Orquestra Sinfônica do Theatro Municipal, conducted by the composer (Villa-Lobos, sua obra 2009, 22–23). However, Lisa Peppercorn casts doubt on the date of composition, based on the fact that it was Villa-Lobos's habit to secure premieres of his works as soon as they were completed. In her opinion, the delay between the nominal date of composition and that of the world premiere suggests that, although the score may have been begun or at least conceived in 1926, it was probably not completed until shortly before the premiere in 1942 (Peppercorn 1991, preface, unpaginated). Based on his detailed analysis of the score, Guilherme Seixas concludes that stylistic considerations do not support a date of completion as early as the mid-1920s, and agrees with Peppercorn's hypothesis (Seixas 2007, 63–64).

Analysis

The Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro, where Chôros No. 6 was premiered

The composer describes the general harmonic atmosphere of the work as having

a kind of romance of the backcountry atmosphere of northeastern Brazil. The climate, color, temperature, light, chirping of birds, the scent of honeyed grass between the hen-houses, and all elements of nature of a hinterland served as inspiration for motives in this work; however, it does not represent any objective aspect nor a descriptive flavor. (Villa-Lobos 1972, 200)
Joaquim Antônio da Silva Calado, whose melody opens Chôros No. 6

The opening melody, played by a flute (one of the most typical instruments of the improvising choro ensembles) is a seresteiro theme, sharply contrasting with the polytonal harmonic environment, which "leads us to hazy stopping points of simultaneous sounds among the forests of the Amazon valley" (Villa-Lobos 1972, 200). This melody, which enters over the soft sounds of Brazilian percussion instruments and strings, is a slightly altered quotation of Lundu característico by the flautist and band-leader Joaquim Antônio da Silva Calado, who was one of the founders of the popular choro genre in the late nineteenth century (Appleby 2002, 84). The alterations, however, make it also similar to a popular melody called O Nó (The Knot), by the trombonist Cândido Pereira da Silva, nicknamed "Candinho Trombone" (Negwer 2008, 151). The flute is shortly joined by a saxophone, and the conclusion of their duet marks the end of the first section (Appleby 2002, 84).

The form of Chôros No. 6 unfolds as a series of episodic sections, which are "clear and contrasting in tempo" (Appleby 2002, 84). However, there is some disagreement about their number and interrelationship. Adhemar Nóbrega describes six sections (Nóbrega 1975, 53–60), while Eero Tarasti finds there are no fewer than sixteen sections (Tarasti 1995, 108–16, 150). More recently, Guilherme Seixas proposes nine sections, some of which are subdivided (Seixas 2007, 116).

Discography

References

Further reading

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