The Best of Duarte's Villa-Lobos

 

Taken from a documentary, Villa-Lobos fashioned his music into four concert suites.

And here they all are!

The Discovery of Brazil Suites represent the journey from Portugal to Brazil, and the goings-ons of settling into a new land with native peoples.

As with the other symphonic poems Duarte has covered from Villa-Lobos, these are colorful and atmospheric orchestral works, minus, perhaps, the modernism.

Dividing the score into smaller movements provides the listener some variety, instead of a large, slow-moving musical mass, which one can often find from the composer. The best of the lot is the conclusion, where religion, both Western and tribal, co-mingles with the Discovery of Brazil, and chorus and voices are added to the instrumental textures.

Really, this has been a nice series overall, but this particular recording contains mostly populous pleasers, even if the music goes on for nearly 80 minutes. The Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra plays well and the Marco Polo sound is good. Why does no one perform any of these suites? They would be a great addition to any program, even as individual suites.

Villa-Lobos conducted this very same music on a Villa-Lobos conducts Villa-Lobos set, but the aged sound there makes these Marco Polo recordings easier on the ears, even if Roberto Duarte is a taddy-bit pokier than the composer in his own music.

This is probably the last I will cover of Duarte with the Slovaks in Villa-Lobos on Marco Polo. They did do another recording of the composer's Symphony no. 6, but I have no current interest in hearing it. I would suspect, however, that they do very fine, if not the very best, for there is more competition on record.

Listen on YouTube

Works
Discovery of Brazil: Suite 1 (18.07)
Discovery of Brazil: Suite 2 (12.24)
Discovery of Brazil: Suite 3 (17.26)
Discovery of Brazil: Suite 4 (30.24)

Performers
Slovak Philharmonic Choir
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Roberto Duarte, conductor

Label: Marco Polo
Year: 1994
Total Timing: 79.03

Some film music from Villa-Lobos is just what the doctor ordered.

Add to it very fine performances in good sound, and what more could one want?

Find more Villa-Lobos recordings HERE!