Santoro, Guarnieri, Braga, Pinto, Villa-Lobos, Nazareth, Gnattali, etc

The 31 tracks here represent 21 composers, from two ‘Lessons’ by Luiz Álvares Pinto (1719-89), which are the earliest known Brazilian keyboard pieces, to Cláudio Santoro and César Guerra-Peixe, both of whom died a few years ago when 69 and 79 respectively. No one very up to the minute, then, and the

Our rating

5

Published: January 20, 2012 at 1:17 pm

COMPOSERS: Braga,etc,Gnattali,Guarnieri,Nazareth,Pinto,Santoro,Villa-Lobos
LABELS: BIS
ALBUM TITLE: Collection: Brasiliana
WORKS: Works
PERFORMER: Arnaldo Cohen (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: CD-1121

The 31 tracks here represent 21 composers, from two ‘Lessons’ by Luiz Álvares Pinto (1719-89), which are the earliest known Brazilian keyboard pieces, to Cláudio Santoro and César Guerra-Peixe, both of whom died a few years ago when 69 and 79 respectively. No one very up to the minute, then, and the

majority of pieces are from the late 19th or early 20th centuries, many – like Villa-Lobos’s well-known O Polichinello – ideal for encores: short novelties that are rhythmic and witty, sometimes lightly sentimental, but never taking themselves too seriously. Guerra-Peixe’s Preludio tropical No. 2 is about the most dissonant – a quirky bi-modal invention strung on an ostinato. Henrique Oswald’s Il neige

is a charmingly delicate moto perpetuo. Camargo Guarnieri’s Ponteio No. 49 has a Romantic sweep reminiscent of Rachmaninoff, but with Brazilian rhythmic detail. Francisco Mignone’s Valsa de

Esquina No. 1 has intriguingly irregular phrases, and Ernesto Nazareth’s catchy polka, Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho, exploits only the top half of the keyboard to irresistible effect.

In short, a box of treats, most musically played by Arnaldo Cohen and with lovely recorded sound. Adrian Jack

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