Waterfall of Santo Antonio, Jari river (1972) by Claudia Andujar Instituto Moreira Salles
"Yes, I'm Brazilian and very Brazilian"
In 1949, Villa-Lobos stated: "In my music I let the rivers and seas of this great Brazil sing. I don't put a muzzle on the tropical exuberance of our forests and our skies, which I instinctively transport to everything I write".
The journey begins...
Heitor was 25 years old when he visited the states of Pará and Amazonas for the first time. Brazil's natural world is a theme present throughout his entire career. Here, we explore the composer's symphonic works dedicated to the Amazon. We'll start with Amazonas.
Amazonas (1917 / 1929) was based on an earlier work by Villa-Lobos, Myremis (1916), set in ancient Greece. In subsequent years, the composer renamed the piece and changed the setting of the story to the Amazon River. Villa-Lobos also wrote the program for the music under a pseudonym. The story follows a young indigenous woman who, while bathing in the river, attracts the attention of mysterious monsters that lurk in the depths.
Erosão (1950) by Heitor Villa-LobosMuseum Villa-Lobos
From source to mouth
On the last decade of his life, Villa-Lobos revisited the subject matter of Amazonas in another symphonic poem called Erosion: Origin of the Amazon River (1950).
The piece is based on a amerindian legend collected by the botanist Barbosa Rodrigues (1842-1909). According to the myth, the Sun and the Moon were madly in love, but destined to be kept apart, since "the burning love of the Sun could extinguish the world, and the Moon, with its tears, flood the Earth". However, the Moon's tears would give rise to the Amazon River.
Uirapuru (1917/1935) by Heitor Villa-LobosMuseum Villa-Lobos
Under enchanted wings
Villa-Lobos's most known symphonic poem is Uirapuru (1917 / 1935), which is a common name given to several bird species native to the Amazon rainforest. The uirapuru is the subject of various myths in Brazil's indigenous and popular cultures, which commonly attribute magical powers to the bird and its song.
The program of the piece, also written by the composer, tells the story of a young indigenous woman who, seduced by the song of the uirapuru, is taken to shoot an arrow into the bird's heart, transforming it into a beautiful indigenous man.
However, a jealous and malevolent indian fatally wounds him with an arrow. Taken to an enchanted well, the wounded indian is transformed into an invisible bird, whose song echoes throughout the forest during the night.
Alvorada na Floresta Tropical (1954) by Heitor Villa-LobosMuseum Villa-Lobos
Sentimenal melodies
Similarly to the way in which he revisited the subject matter of Amazonas in Erosion, in Dawn in the Tropical Forest (1954), Villa-Lobos revisits the influences of Tédio na Alvorada, an earlier composition on which Uirapuru was based.
In the program's notes, Villa-Lobos states that the work is inspired by the "magical singing and chirping of tropical birds, as well as howls, screeches and evocations, and the exotic and barbaric dances of native Indians".
Lastly, the awe-inspiring orchestral suite Forest of the Amazon (1958) emerged as a commission from MGM, which hired Villa-Lobos to compose the soundtrack to the film Green Mansions (1959), set in the venezuelan region of the Amazon forest. Due to disagreements, however, Villa-Lobos's score ended up rejected by the studio, which, in return, agreed to fund the composer's recording of the piece with the Symphony of the Air orchestra in New York.
Adapted and renamed by the composer as Floresta do Amazonas, the suite also features four songs with lyrics by poet and diplomat Dora Vasconcelos (1910-1973). One of them is Melodia Sentimental (Sentimental Melody), one of Villa-Lobos's most famous compositions.
To record the songs, Villa-Lobos invited brazilian opera singer Bidu Sayão (1902-1999), who accepted the invitation in spite of being retired at the time. In an interview with Veja magazine in 1973, she recounts: "I had been away for a year. I only accepted to do it because I had a feeling that it would be Villa's last recording. And it was."
President of Brazil: Luiz Ignácio Lula da Silva
Minister of Culture: Margareth Menezes
President of the Brazilian Institute of Museums (Ibram): Fernanda Castro
Villa-Lobos Museum director: Luiz Octávio Mendes de Oliveira Castro
Head of Technical and Administrative Service: Juliana Amado
Villa-Lobos Musem team: Bianca Freitas, Danielle Lima, José Ricardo Alberto, Lucas Santos, Pedro Belchior, Thaísa Leite, Vanea Rabelo
Trainee: Eduardo Seabra
Support: Alex dos Santos, Aline da Silva, André Ferreira dos Santos, Cláudio Rogaciano, Pamella Pereira, Ronaldo Querino, William da Silva
Exhibition:
Text: Eduardo Seabra
Selection of images and media: Pedro Belchior
