Seventeen String Quartets from Villa-Lobos

 

This set of string quartets from Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos are performed by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano... and remains one of very few complete sets on record.


Seventeen is a lot of string quartets, especially for the 20th Century, but Villa-Lobos was a voracious composer. Supposedly, there are some 2000 works from the man.

This is an astounding achievement, yet it can also be a problem for this listener. A lot of his music can start to sound the same within similar genres. And this is how I felt when I pored over his last three or four quartets. They were masterfully conceived, abound in appeal, but rarely do they stand out amongst his large oeuvre for me.

Of course, I listened to these quartets chronologically; I like to hear a progression from a composer. In this set of 6 CDs, quartets are arranged across different periods from the composer on each disc, so that could be more stimulating listen for sheer variety.

Being a lover of the Romantic Era and Nationalistic properties in music, I most like his first seven string quartets. They might be a little sentimental, plenty melodic, with a whole bunch of Brazilian rhythmic qualities, but I enjoy them greatly. String Quartet no. 3 & no. 7 were some of my favorites in this regard.

The middle quartets, let's say Nos. 8-10, were my least favorite. Harshly modernistic, densely textured, and somewhat joyless, these were tough nuts for me, particularly String Quartet no. 9.

I liked the trend of Neo-Classicism teased in no. 10, but it was its successor, String Quartet no. 11 which turned around Villa-Lobos' later quartets for me. The composer cleared his textures, focused on his unique ability with rhythm and melody, added some lightness and humor back into the music, and sailed to his final words in this genre. Suffice to say, I find his Scherzo treatments particularly characterful, and the slow movement from String Quartet no. 15 was a standout.

That said, Nos. 12-17 were enjoyable, if not the ultimate word in emotional stakes, motivic development, structural supports, and endearing musical moments. This was my problem with the symphonies and piano concertos; not a problem of quality, but his music never reached me as something to love. Luckily these are all fairly short works, around 20 minutes each, so nothing ever overstays its welcome.

Let me turn to the Latin-American Quartet. They are committed to this music, and approach much of the music head on, with an extrovert view of these works. They have a wiry sound, which certainly lends an edge to Villa-Lobos' modernism, and they have enough vibrato to eke out sentimentality when the composer chooses that route. Certainly their rhythms are taut and accents strong.

Yet, I get the feeling when I listen to them that somebody could do better. The lead violin is sweet sounding, while the second violin is edgier and steely. So too, the viola has yet another timbre, all of which doesn't give the Cuarteto Latinamericano the most generous ensemble tone. The tuning amongst each the members of the ensemble, while generally good, can be tetchy here and there.

As a complete set, you could hardly ask for more though, especially to hear them all. But, some of the individual quartets have better performances elsewhere, where tempos can be more judicious, ensemble tone somewhat kinder, where the overall results of a different approach are appreciated.

As to the physical product, the Dorian/Sono Luminus set is a fatboy jewel case holding 6CDs; it makes for a rather complicated disc system as opposed to cardboard sliders or paper envelopes. The booklet has some wonderful pictures of the composer, as well as some highlighted quotes. The liner notes, taken from the original releases, are OK; when describing individual quartets, Juan Arturo Brennan tends to comment on tempo changes with little else. Moreso, I tend to just disagree with some of his harmonic analyses, but this could be a result of poor translation rather than content.

There will be many who enjoy this music much more than I. My tolerance for modernism is less than some I know, yet Villa-Lobos rarely stays in one compositional mode for long, so there is still much to enjoy when he wends his way into differing styles. This set was an enjoyable listen, and while not every quartet was a favorite and where I could imagine finer performances in comparison to what is here, this complete set should provide many joys.

 

 

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Works
String Quartet 1 (17.24)
String Quartet 2 (21.25)
String Quartet 3 (22.14)
String Quartet 4 (23.22)
String Quartet 5 (16.06)
String Quartet 6 (24.37)
String Quartet 7 (34.34)
String Quartet 8 (24.16)
String Quartet 9 (28.14)
String Quartet 10 (24.55)
String Quartet 11 (27.52)
String Quartet 12 (22.26)
String Quartet 13 (21.09)
String Quartet 14 (18.01)
String Quartet 15 (18.26)
String Quartet 16 (20.18)
String Quartet 17 (20.30)

Performers
Cuarteto Latinoamericano
    Saúl Bitrán, violin
    Arón Bitrán, violin
    Javier Montiel, viola
    Alvaro Bitrán, cello

Label: Dorian
Year: 1995-2000; 2009

 

 

 

 

An excellent set of Villa-Lobos string quartets, even if every aspect was not for me.

I certainly rate it above the Danubius set on Marco Polo, for the Cuarteto Latinamericano play with more commitment and ability.

I will definitely come back to these from a different direction for a different appraisal, especially with the later quartets.

 

 

 

 

 

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