The ''Bachianas Brasileiras'' () (an approximate English translation might be ''Bach-inspired Brazilian pieces'') are a series of nine suites by the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian composer

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

, written for various combinations of instruments and voices between 1930 and 1945. They represent a fusion of Brazilian folk and popular music on the one hand and the style of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

on the other, as an attempt to freely adapt a number of

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

harmonic A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...

and

contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

procedures to

Brazilian music The music of Brazil encompasses various regional musical styles influenced by European, American, African and Amerindian forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as forró, repente, coco de roda, axé, sertanejo, ...

. Most of the

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

in each suite have two titles: one "Bachian" (Preludio, Fuga, etc.), the other Brazilian (Embolada, O canto da nossa terra, etc.). In the Bachianas, Villa-Lobos employs the counterpoint and harmonic complexity typical of Bach's music and combines it with the lyrical quality of operatic singing and Brazilian song. The listener experiences the charm of the Brazilian landscape; the energy of Brazilian dance; the color, dissonance and expression of early 20th-century Brazilian modernism; and the refreshing originality of Villa-Lobos' compositional style.

''Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1''

Scored for orchestra of cellos (1930). Dedicated to

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

. * Introdução () * Prelúdio (

Modinha Modinha is the affectionate (grammatically called 'diminutive') form of the Portuguese noun "moda", meaning "fashion". The word "moda" is also used in Portugal, today, generally referring to traditional regional songs. In Portugal, "modinha" was, fr ...

) * Fuga (Conversa) (Conversation)

''Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2''

Scored for orchestra (1930). There are four movements. According to one opinion, the third movement was later transcribed for piano, and the others for cello and piano. According to another, it was the other way around: three pieces for cello and piano and a solo piano piece, none of them connected with each other and none of them originally with any Bach associations, were brought together and scored for chamber orchestra. * Preludio (O canto do capadocio) [Despite the five translations—French, English, Italian, Spanish, and German—printed in the score, the composer's own notes on this movement make it clear that the meaning of ''capadocio'' is not "campagnard", "countryman", "campagnolo", etc., but rather "Teddy boy" or "layabout". * Aria (O canto da nossa terra) * Dansa (Lembrança do Sertão) (Memento of the Sertão) * Toccata (O trenzinho [misspelled in the score: "tremzinho"] do caipira): The Little Train of the Caipira; "

caipira A Caipira () is an ethnic group native to Paulistânia, cultural area in Brazil, the term "''caipira''", of origin in the Paulista General language, probably influenced by the terms "''kai'pira''", "''ka'apir''", "''ka'a pora''" or "''kopira'' ...

" meaning a person from the country, or small town, a "hick" but without the negative connotation. This work is scored for flute, oboe, clarinet, tenor and baritone saxophones, bassoon, contrabassoon, 2 horns, trombone, timpani, ganzá, chocalho, pandeira, reco, matraca, caixa, triangle, cymbals, tam-tam, bass drum, celesta, piano, and strings.

''Bachianas Brasileiras No. 3''

Scored for piano and orchestra (1938). * Prelúdio (Ponteio) * Fantasia (Devaneio) (Digression) * Ária (Modinha) * Toccata (Picapau) (Woodpecker) The orchestral forces for this work, in addition to the solo piano, are: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, tam-tam, xylophone, and strings. CBS radio premiered Bachianas Brasileras No.3 on February 19, 1947, New York José Vieira Brandão (piano), CBS Orchestra, Villa-Lobos (conductor)

''Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4''

Scored for piano (1930–41); orchestrated in 1942 (Preludio dedicated to Tomas Terán; Coral dedicated to José Vieira Brandão; Ária dedicated to Sylvio Salema; Dança dedicated to Antonieta Rudge Müller). * Prelúdio (Introdução) * Coral (Canto do Sertão) * Ária (Cantiga) * Danza (Miudinho) (a type of dance, the word itself meaning "tiny", "playful") as spelled on p. 45 of the orchestra score, and, twice in the piano version and once for the orchestral version,. The Bachiana Brasileira No. 4 begins with the beautiful Prelúdio (Introdução) (lit: introduction) and features broad lyrical melodies in lush imitative passages. The title of the second movement, Coral (''Canto do Sertão'') (song of the hinterlands), refers to a song from the arid backlands of the Brazilian northeast. The movement features a clear lyrical melody in a polyphonic setting that ends with a powerful homophonic texture typical of Bach's Lutheran chorales. In Ária (Cantiga), Villa-Lobos borrows a beautiful and nostalgic northeastern Brazilian melody about the ''sertão ''and uses it as a ''cantus firmus'' for the composition. The final movement, Danza (miudinho), is a bright and energetic dance-like piece subtitled ''Miudinho'', which is a reference to the small playful-like steps typical of a number of Brazilian dance forms such as

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

forró The term forró (*) refers to a musical genre, a rhythm, a dance and the event itself where forró music is played and danced. Forró is an important part of the culture of the Northeastern Region of Brazil. It encompasses various dance type ...

, and

capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th century ...

(an African-influenced Brazilian martial art form). The orchestral version is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, tam-tam, xylophone, celesta, and strings. The first movement (Prelúdio) is scored for strings alone.

''Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5''

Scored for soprano and orchestra of cellos (1938/45). * Ária (Cantilena) (lyrics by Ruth V. Corrêa) (Later arranged for solo soprano with guitar accompaniment by Villa-Lobos). This Aria is Villa-Lobos's best-known work. English translation: * Dança (Martelo) (lyrics by

Manuel Bandeira Manuel Carneiro de Sousa Bandeira Filho (April 19, 1886 – October 13, 1968) was a Brazilian poet, literary critic, and translator, who wrote over 20 books of poetry and prose. Life and career Bandeira was born in Recife, Pernambuco. In 190 ...

). The musical form is ''embolada'', a rapid poem/song of the

Brazilian Northeast The Northeast Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Nordeste do Brasil; ) is one of the five official and political regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six states, it comprises n ...

. It is a poem of nostalgia (

saudade ''Saudade'' (, , , ; plural ''saudades'') is an emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for something that one loves despite it not necessarily being real. It often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of long ...

) for the birds of the

Cariri Kiriri people are indigenous people of Eastern Brazil. Their name is also spelled Cariri or Kariri and is a Tupi word meaning "silent" or "tactiturn." History The French Capuchin missionary Martin of Nantes (1638–1714) was the apostle of the ...

Mountains, in the state of

Ceará Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...

. The lyrics contain a list of species of birds: ben-te-vi (''Pitangus sulphuratus''), sabiá (''Turdus fumigatus''), juriti (''Leptotila rufaxilla''), irerê (''Dendrocygna viduata''), patativa (''Sporophila leucoptera''), cambaxirra (''Odontorchilus cinereus''). The music imitates bird song: "La! liá! liá! liá! liá! liá!" "Sing more", the words say, "to remember Cariri" ("Canta mais! canta mais! prá alembrá o Cariri!").

''Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6''

Scored for flute and bassoon (1938). * Ária (Chôro) * Fantasia

''Bachianas Brasileiras No. 7''

Scored for symphony orchestra (1942); dedicated to . * Prelúdio (Ponteio) * Giga (Quadrilha caipira) * Tocata () (Dare) * Fuga (Conversa) This work is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, timpani, tam-tam, xylophone, coconut shell, bass drum, celesta, harp and strings.

''Bachianas Brasileiras No. 8''

Scored for symphony orchestra (1944); dedicated to Mindinha. * Prelúdio * Ária (Modinha) * Tocata (Catira batida) * Fuga (Also arranged for four-part a cappella choir.) This work is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, timpani, tam-tam, xylophone, 3 wood blocks (high, medium and low), tarol, bass drum, celesta, and strings.

''Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9''

Scored for chorus or string orchestra (1945). * Prélude * Fugue

Ambiguities in the scores

Because Villa-Lobos dashed off compositions in feverish haste and preferred writing new pieces to revising and correcting already completed ones, numerous slips of the pen, miscalculations, impracticalities or even impossibilities, imprecise notations, uncertainty in specification of instruments, and other problems inescapably remain in the printed scores of the ''Bachianas'', and require performers to take unusual care to decipher what the composer actually intended. In the frequent cases where both the score and the parts are wrong, the recordings made by the composer are the only means of determining what he actually intended.

Recordings

Villa-Lobos made a number of recordings of the ''Bachianas Brasileiras'', including a complete recording of all nine compositions made in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

in the 1950s, with the

French National Orchestra The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, ''National Orchestra of France'') is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since ...

and

Victoria de los Ángeles Victoria de los Ángeles López García (1 November 192315 January 2005) was a Catalan Spanish operatic lyric soprano and recitalist whose career began after the Second World War and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid- ...

as the soprano soloist in No. 5. These landmark recordings were issued in several configurations on LP and were later reissued on CD. Other musicians, including

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

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