The present collection of piano pieces includes several typical works, some based on the simple statement of a folk song with subsequent decoration and others consisting of original material imbued with the national element long ago absorbed by Villa-Lobos. "A lenda do Caboclo" is clearl based on authentic Brazilian material, and so is "Vamos atraz da serra calunga" ("Let's go back to the mountain"). This slow dance with a more rhythmic central episode contrasts greatly with the wild and exciting "N'esta rua, n'esta rua" (Wrong Street). The first side ends with the brilliant "O Polichinelo" ("Punch") which is far more appropriate to its title than the better known "Polichinelle" by Rachmaninov. Side two contains three pieces from the "Ciclo Brasileiro" written, so far as one can tell, in 1936. The "Dansa do indio branco" ("Dance of the White Indian") is just what its title suggests, while the "Plantio do Caboclo" ("Native Planting Song") is a slow dance with a persistent ostinato figure in the right hand. The last piece, "Festa no sertao" ("Jungle Festival") shows, in the left hand theme, something of Villa-Lobos's melodic powers. A study of these pieces will prove an excellent introduction to the works of an unusual and brilliant composer. Villa-Lobos, despite the eccentricities which may at first deter the sensitive listener, is a most sincere musician who has tapped one of the few unexplored sources of primitive music, and brought to bear upon it a powerful intellect and a deep artistic nature.
John Culshaw (from the original Liner Notes)
Ellen Ballon
Plays
Heitor Villa-Lobos
(1887-1959)
Tracks
1 A Lenda do Caboclo, W166 3:49
2 Vamos atrás da serra, Calunga (from Cirandas, W220, n° 8) 3:46
3 N'esta rua, n'esta rua (from Cirandas, W220, n° 11) 2:18
4 O polichinelo (from Prole do bebê, n° 1, W140, n° 7) 1:18
5 Dança do índio branco (from Ciclo Brasileiro, W374, n° 4) 3:40
6 Plantio do Caboclo (from Ciclo Brasileiro, W374, n° 1) 3:18
7 Festa no sertão (from Ciclo brasileiro, W374, n° 3) 4:20
*
Ellen Ballon - p
Recorded ca 1953