Nonet, subtitled "Impressão rápida de todo o Brasil" (A rapid impression of the whole of Brazil) is a chamber-music work (with mixed choir) by the Brazilian 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 in 1923. It is number W191 in the catalogue of works compiled by David Appleby.

History

Villa-Lobos began work on the Nonet in Rio de Janeiro in 1923, shortly before his first visit to Europe, and completed the score in Paris in September of the same year. It was premiered on 30 May 1924 at the Salle des Agriculteurs in Paris by an ensemble conducted by the composer. The score is dedicated to

Olívia Guedes Penteado Olívia Guedes Penteado (12 March 1872 – 9 June 1934) was a Brazilian art patron and philanthropist who established the Salón de Arte Moderna in São Paulo. She was a motivating force for the country's modernism movement. Penteado was a fri ...

. The work marks a fundamental turning point in Villa-Lobos's style to the strongly Brazilian-nationalistic character that dominated his compositions throughout the rest of the 1920s, and in particular those to which he gave the title ''

Chôros ''Chôros'' is the title of a series of compositions by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, composed between 1920 and 1929. Origin and conception The word ''chôro'' (; nowadays spelled simply ''choro'') is Portuguese for "weeping", "cry", ...

''.

Instrumentation

The nonet is scored for flute (doubling piccolo), oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone (doubling baritone saxophone), bassoon, harp, celesta, piano, and a large percussion battery (requiring at least two players): timpani, tam-tam, bass drum, large bass drum, field drum, side drum, cymbal, bronze and crockery plates,

chocalho ''Chocalho'' is the generic name for "shaker" in Portuguese. There are various types of idiophones using this name in Portuguese, not always being the same instrument: *a shaker; *a kind of jingle stick used to play samba music; *a cowbell; Ch ...

s (wood and metal), triangle,

reco-reco The reco-reco (also called the raspador, caracaxá or querequexé) is a scraper of African origin used as a percussion instrument in Brazilian music,ROCCA, Edgar Nunes "Bituca", ''Escola Brasileira de Música: Uma visão Brasileira no ensino da m� ...

(small and large), puíta, tambourines (small and large),

caxambu Caxambu is a Brazilian municipality in Minas Gerais. Its population in 2021 was estimated at 21,566. Caxambu is renowned for its spa which has twelve sources of mineral sparkling water flowing 24 hours a day and a cold-water geyser Cold-water g ...

, and xylophone. In addition to this instrumental nonet, the score calls for a SAATBarB mixed choir, sometimes divided further into as many a twelve separate parts.

Analysis

The Nonet is in a single movement and relies for its effect on colouristic and rhythmic devices more than on structural or harmonic elements. The score is multi-sectional and constructed like a

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

, presenting short melodic and rhythmic fragments superimposed and in rapid succession. There are eight large sections encompassing approximately twenty-five short episodes, though because of the lack of traditional harmony and thematic structure such numbers are rather arbitrary. The result is a rhapsodic, improvisational atmosphere, which is also reflected in the treatment of the voices. Despite its intense nationalism, the harmonic language of the Nonet takes full advantage of the "advanced" chromatic and quartal dissonant formations of the 1920s, while at the same time showing the strong influence of Debussy. Despite the composer's vehement denial of influences from other composers, the impact of the ''

Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring''. Full name: ''The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts'' (french: Le Sacre du printemps: tableaux de la Russie païenne en deux parties) (french: Le Sacre du printemps, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral ...

'' is also evident from the opening bars of the Nonet, which suggests that a substantial amount of work on the piece was completed after Villa-Lobos first heard Stravinsky's work in Paris.

References

Cited sources

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External links

* {{Heitor Villa-Lobos Compositions by Heitor Villa-Lobos 1923 compositions