String Quartet No. 3 (Villa-Lobos)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

String Quartet No. 3 ("Quarteto de pipocas"—"Popcorn" Quartet) is the third of seventeen works in the medium 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 globally bec ...
, and was written in 1916. A performance lasts approximately twenty-three minutes.


History

Villa-Lobos composed his Third Quartet in Rio de Janeiro in March 1916. It was first performed on 2 November 1919 at the Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro, by a quartet consisting of Pery Machado and Mario Ronchini, violins, Orlando Frederico, viola, and Newton Pádua, cello. The first North American performance took place on 16 January 1933 in Hollywood, performed by Samuel Albert and Doris Cheney, violins, Raymond Menhennick, viola, and Lysbeth LeFevre, cello. The UK premiere was given by the Stratton String Quartet (George Stratton and Carl Taylor, violins; Watson Forbes, viola; John Moore, cello) on 9 January 1934, at the
Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...
, London. Because of the persistent percussive pizzicato patter in the second, scherzo movement, Villa-Lobos gave it the
onomatopoeic Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as ''oink'', '' ...
, alliterative nickname "pipocas e potócas" (popcorn and tall tales), and this nickname is also applied to the entire quartet.


Analysis

The quartet, like all but the first of Villa-Lobos's works in the medium, consists of four movements: # Allegro non troppo # Molto Vivo # Molto Adagio # Allegro con fuoco The opening of the first movement establishes a motive that recurs throughout the quartet in various transformations. At first, it recalls
Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...
or
Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded ...
, but later is given a context more suggestive of
Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
. The generally
pentatonic A pentatonic scale is a Scale (music), musical scale with five Musical note, notes per octave, in contrast to heptatonic scales, which have seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale). Pentatonic scales were developed inde ...
melodic contours and long
ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...
s initially tend toward monotony and inexpressiveness, but the ostinatos give way to a more plastic and lively treatment later in the movement. The second movement, Molto vivo, was listed in the programme for the premiere performance as "Scherzo satirico". Like the first movement, it is largely dependent on ostinatos, but in place of pentatonic melodies its thematic material utilizes the
whole-tone scale In music, a whole-tone scale is a scale in which each note is separated from its neighbors by the interval of a whole tone. In twelve-tone equal temperament, there are only two complementary whole-tone scales, both six-note or '' hexatonic'' ...
. The third, slow movement, transforms the
leitmotif A leitmotif or () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is a partial angliciz ...
into something resembling the theme of the piano piece ''Lenda do caboclo''. The finale restates motives from all of the preceding parts, especially the main subject of the first movement, to produce a
cyclic Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in s ...
formal closure. However, despite this motivic cross-referencing, Villa-Lobos does not take advantage of the possibilities this offers for the kind of rich thematic development found in the Viennese classical masters. Lisa Peppercorn agrees with Tarasti's assessment, stating that Villa-Lobos rarely develops his musical ideas, but instead merely uses them as stereotyped, repeated formulas, in contrast to composers who relate their different themes, or have evolved them all from a common germ cell. With specific reference to the Third Quartet, she finds the thematic material is "clearly stated and is obviously suitable for development", but that Villa-Lobos fails to provide this development, which is essential to
sonata form The sonata form (also sonata-allegro form or first movement form) is a musical form, musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of t ...
, instead letting the themes "take their course through the instruments exactly as they were originally conceived". Paulo Salles, however, contests this view. According to his analysis, both of the main themes of the first movement are taken from the same germ motive, which permeates not only the exposition but the entire first movement of the quartet, "in a process of continuous variation", and compares this high thematic density to the music of
Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
. Villa-Lobos emphasizes the beginning of the recapitulation in the first movement with a sudden change of register of the accompanying triplets. At bar 153 (rehearsal-number 12), over an augmentation of the first cyclic theme, he introduces for the first time a figuration evoking the call of a Brazilian bird called ''sabiá da mata'' (English name: cocoa thrush). This call occurs in several of Villa-Lobos's later works, including the Fourth and Eighth String Quartets, but most notably in the second movement (Dança: Martelo) of the '' Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5'', where text 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 1904 ...
names the bird. This is the only moment in this quartet where there is any hint of nationalism.


Discography

Chronological, by date of recording. * Villa-Lobos: Quatuors a Cordes Nos. 1–2–3. Quatuor Bessler-Reis (
Bernardo Bessler Bernardo Bessler (born 24 May 1954) is a Brazilian violinist, conductor, teacher, and producer. Bessler was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is among the leading musicians of his country. His recordings have won for five consecutive years the Sh ...
, Michel Bessler, violins; Marie-Christine Springuel, viola; Alceu Reis, cello). Recorded at Studios Master in Rio de Janeiro, July 1988 and September –December 1989. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, 12 cm, stereo. Le Chant du Monde LDC 278 1052. .l. .n. 1991. ** Also issued as part of ''Villa-Lobos: Os 17 quartetos de cordas / The 17 String Quartets''. Quarteto Bessler-Reis and Quarteto Amazônia. CD recording, 6 sound discs: digital, 12 cm, stereo. Kuarup Discos KCX-1001 (KCD 045, M-KCD-034, KCD 080/1, KCD-051, KCD 042). Rio de Janeiro: Kuarup Discos, 1996. * Heitor Villa-Lobos: String Quartets Nos. 3, 10 and 15.
Danubius Quartet The Danubius Quartet was formed in Hungary in 1983. Its personnel comprise the violinists Judit Tóth (formerly Mária Szabó) and Adél Miklós, violist Cecilia Bodolai (formerly Agnes Apró) and cellist Ilona Ribli, under the artistic direction ...
(Gyöngyvér Oláh uartets 3 and 10 Judit Tóth uartet 15and Adél Miklós, violins; Cecilia Bodolai, viola; Ilona Ribli, cello). Recorded at the Rottenbiller Street Studio in Budapest, 15–19 June and 1–2 July 1992. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, 12 cm, stereo. Marco Polo 8.223393. A co-production with Records International. Germany: HH International, Ltd., 1993. * Villa-Lobos: String Quartets, Volume 2. Quartets Nos. 3, 8, 14.
Cuarteto Latinoamericano Cuarteto Latinoamericano is a string quartet from Mexico. Since its founding in 1981, the quartet has toured in Europe, The Americas, Israel, China, Japan, and New Zealand. They have premiered over 100 works written for them. The members of Cuart ...
(Saúl Bitrán, Arón Bitrán, violins; Javier Montiel, viola; Alvaro Bitrán, cello). Recorded at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, NY, March 1995. Music of Latin American Masters. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, 12 cm, stereo. Dorian DOR-90220. Troy, NY: Dorian Recordings, 1996. ** Reissued as part of ''Heitor Villa-Lobos: The Complete String Quartets''. 6 CDs + 1 DVD with a performance of Quartet No. 1 and interview with the Cuarteto Latinoamericano. Dorian Sono Luminus. DSL-90904. Winchester, VA: Sono Luminus, 2009. ** Also reissued (without the DVD) on Brilliant Classics 6634.


Filmography

* ''Villa-Lobos: A integral dos quartetos de cordas''. Quarteto Radamés Gnattali (Carla Rincón, Francisco Roa, violins; Fernando Thebaldi, viola; Hugo Pilger, cello); presented by
Turibio Santos Turibio Soares Santos (born March 7, 1943) is a Brazilian classical guitarist, musicologist, and composer, who established himself as a performer with a wide repertoire of pieces by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Ernesto Nazareth, Francisco Mignone, and b ...
. Recorded from June 2010 to September 2011 at the Palácio do Catete,
Palácio das Laranjeiras The Laranjeiras Palace (; literally "Palace of the Orange Trees") is the official residence of the Governor of the State of the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The palace is located within Eduardo Guinle Park, a park in the Laranjeiras neighborhood of t ...
, and the Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro. DVD and Blu-ray (VIBD11111), 3 discs. Rio de Janeiro: Visom Digital, 2012.


References


Cited sources

* * * * *


Further reading

* Aoki, Denise Hiromi. 2013. "O primeiro movimento do quarteto de cordas no. 3 de Heitor Villa-Lobos: aproximações estilísticas com o período clássico". ''Atas do Congresso Internacional "A música no espaço luso-brasileiro: um panorama histórico"'', edited by Alberto José Vieira Pacheco, 225–60. Lisbon: Linha de investigação "Estudos Luso- Brasileiras" & Caravelas—Núcleo de Estudos da História da Música Luso-Brasileira, CESEM, FCSH-UNL; CESEM, Grupo de Pesquisa "Estudos Interdisciplinares em Ciências Musicais" (EICM). {{ISBN, 978-989-97732-4-0. * Béhague, Gerard. 1979. ''Music in Latin America: An Introduction''. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. * Béhaque, Gerard. 1994. ''Heitor Villa-Lobos: The Search for Brazil's Musical Soul''. Austin: Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Texas at Austin. * Béhague, Gerard. 2003. Villa-Lobos, Heitor: String Quartets, Cuarteto Latinoamericano. eview''Latin American Music Review'' / ''Revista de Música Latinoamericana'' 24, no. 2 (Autumn–Winter): 293–94. * Demarquez, Suzanne. 1929. "Villa-Lobos". ''Revue Musicale'' 10, no. 10 (November): 1–22. * Estrella, Arnaldo. 1978. ''Os quartetos de cordas de Villa-Lobos'', second edition. Rio de Janeiro: Museu Villa-Lobos, Ministério da Educação e Cultura. * Farmer, Virginia. 1973. "An Analytical Study of the Seventeen String Quartets of Heitor Villa-Lobos". DMA diss. Urbana: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. * Gilman, Bruce. 1999. "Enigma de vanguardia", translated by Juan Arturo Brennan. ''Pauta: Cuadernos de teoría y crítica musical'' 17, no. 69 (January–March): 29–34. * Kraehenbuehl, David. 1957. "George Rochberg: String Quartet, 1952. (Society for the Publication of American Music, 37th Season, 1956.) New York: Society for the Publication of American Music; distr.: Carl Fischer, 1957; Toch, Ernst. Dedication. For string quartet or string orchestra, with optional bass part. New York: Mills, 1957. Heitor Villa-Lobos: String Quartets, Nos. 4, 7, and 12. New York: Associated Music Publishers, 1956; Ernest Gold: String Quartet No. 1. (Society for the Publication of American Music, 37th Season, 1956.) New York: Society for the Publication of American Music; distr.: Carl Fischer, 1957". ''Notes'' 15, no. 1 (December): 147. * Macedo Ribeiro, Roberto. 2000. "A escrita contrapontística nos quartetos de cordas de Heitor Villa-Lobos". In ''Anais do I Colóquio de Pesquisa de Pós-Graduação'', edited by Marisa Rezende and Mário Nogueira, 71–76. Rio de Janeiro: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) (Escola de Música). * ''Villa-Lobos, sua obra: Programa de Ação Cultural''. 1972. Second edition. Rio de Janeiro: MEC, DAC, Museu Villa-Lobos. *
Villa-Lobos, sua obra
'. 2009. Version 1.0. MinC / IBRAM, and the Museu Villa-Lobos. Based on the third edition, 1989. * ''Villa-Lobos, sua obra''. 1989. Third edition. Rio de Janeiro: MinC-SPHAN/Pró-Memória, Museu Villa-Lobos String quartets by Heitor Villa-Lobos 1916 compositions