Bachianas brasileiras No. 5 has long been Villa- Lobos’s best-known work. Its two movements, written in 1938 and 1945, are scored for soprano and an eightpart cello ensemble.
The Aria (Cantilena) opens with guitarlike pizzicati, the soprano intoning an insinuating melody which cellos accompany in unison, before taking up the melody in their own right. A more dramatic central section features soprano in lines from a poem by Ruth Valadares Corréa, before the vocalise continues in much the same vein.
Dança (Martelo), setting lines by the composer’s contemporary Manoel Bandeira, is designed to evoke the improvised poetry contests once common in North-Eastern Brazil, and features the soprano in an imitation of various species of birds. The voice’s combination with cellos creates a sparkling atmosphere as well as formally articulating the rondo-type movement, which closes with a brief vocal flourish.
Here is Kathleen Battle to show you what I mean:
