Sao Paulo Symphony Choir, Valentina Peleggi – Villa-Lobos – Choral Transcriptions (2021) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Choral music holds a central position in Villa-Lobos’s catalogue of works, but among these famous pieces is a series of little-known transcriptions for a cappella choir taken from the standard classical repertoire. They were intended for a teachers’ chorus and for use in schools, and through astonishing alchemy they achieve a true ‘orchestration’ of largely piano originals, adding a fresh new repertoire for vocal ensembles. This album also includes the first ever recording of Villa-Lobos’s complete set of a cappella transcriptions from Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier.

“Among the vast number of compositions created by Heitor Villa-Lobos there is a sizeable quantity of choral music including arrangements he made for school use.

They were for an unaccompanied groups, mostly four part mixed male and female choirs, and were created from works by famous composers, often originally for the keyboard. The objective being to have voices taking the different strands that formed the original work, so that you have an ‘orchestra’ of voices. That would teach young people how to vocalize and to employ part-singing. It was a project so close to the heart of the Brazilian composer, that he set aside major compositional projects in order to meet this task that formed part of a four year period from 1932 to 1936. The whole idea then grew to have the works as a useful part of developing mature choral groups. Some of the original pieces he used were well-known and retained their attraction, while there are others, such as Bach’s Fugues, where the fast-moving originals would prove a challenge. Some tracks have words, including Schubert’s Standchen and Massenet’s Elegie, but it is a disc largely of sounds. It ends with a rare performance of the vocal version of Villa-Lobos Ninth Bachianas Brasileiras, already well-known in its string orchestra garb. Performed by the Sao Paulo Symphony Choir, a relatively recent major adjunct to music in the city, I hope teachers will buy and listen to the disc and use the whole concept in their schools.” (David’s Review Corner)

Tracklist

1. São Paulo Symphony Choir – No. 3 in E Major, Adagio non troppo, MWV U 104 (Arr. H. Villa-Lobos for Choir)
2. São Paulo Symphony Choir – I. Prelude
3. São Paulo Symphony Choir – II. Fugue
4. São Paulo Symphony Choir – No. 7, Träumerei (Arr. H. Villa-Lobos for Choir)
5. São Paulo Symphony Choir – II. Fugue (Arr. H. Villa-Lobos for Choir)
6. São Paulo Symphony Choir – No. 4, Ständchen (Arr. H. Villa-Lobos for Choir) [Sung in Portuguese]
7. São Paulo Symphony Choir – II. Fugue (Arr. H. Villa-Lobos for Choir)
8. São Paulo Symphony Choir – No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor (Arr. H. Villa-Lobos for Choir)
9. São Paulo Symphony Choir – I. Prelude (Arr. H. Villa-Lobos for Choir)
10. São Paulo Symphony Choir – No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor, Prélude “The Bells of Moscow” (Arr. H. Villa-Lobos for Choir)
11. São Paulo Symphony Choir – I. Prelude (Arr. H. Villa-Lobos for Choir)
12. São Paulo Symphony Choir – Elégie (Arr. H. Villa-Lobos for Choir) [Sung in Portuguese]
13. São Paulo Symphony Choir – II. Fugue (Arr. H. Villa-Lobos for Choir)
14. São Paulo Symphony Choir – II. Adagio cantabile (Arr. H. Villa-Lobos for Choir)
15. São Paulo Symphony Choir – Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9, W449 (Version for Choir)

Download:

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