7/28/2019 Nascimento 2

1/2

Villa-Lobos and Brazilian Rhythms(Part 11)Tiberio Nascimento

hen the young Villa-Lobos visited the interior ofBrazil, itwith guitar in hand that he "discovered" many rhythmst he never heard in his native Rio. These rhythms formedintegral part of his musical ideas, and some sketches fromtime include what was later to become the Etudes in theTheguitar served him wellfor his purpose, not only for

its percussive qualities, but because as the national instrument,it was always part of the people's musical life. Let us look at arhythm that may have influenced the creation ofEtude no. 8.The Xoteis a medium tempo rhythm from the northeast of

Brazil. Here is a typical bass line: (Ex. 1)

_ . - -#-U ~ L - J

>accompaniment pattern may be: (Ex. 2)>) - - - - ~..,...d:- I I

I -- .- ! I : IIa variation with arpeggios: (Ex. 3)

u r ~) l i ~ 1.>'l': ., . ., - U - j U-reiisolate the top voice, (Ex. 4)

rewrite Ex. 4 like this: (Ex. 5)

..

7/28/2019 Nascimento 2

2/2

Then change i t sl ightly like this: (Ex. 6)

rD ~ . d : , .. VI- .- L ., r I , . 1 I. J - k L -- ~ ,We begin to see the direct relationship between the Xote andEtude no. 8. (Ex. 7)

r ~ - - . . - - : -

D ~ ' ..-.. --.....

d - .. .- .- "1 I, ...h I A:lo' 11 l? I ~ - ~- ~ - - ~....-

In the Xote, as in other rhythms, th e accentuation is veryimportant. In examples 1-6, the second beat should be thestrongest, followed by the last eighth note of themeasure, andthen the first beatof themeasure. Occasionally the last eighthnote is the strongest. In Etude no. 8 we see these accentsclearly emphasized: (Ex. 8) (Ex. 9)

u >r~ ~ ~> 6I 1,

11 " U- -.-PI .., T11 .. - , - ,11 '- ., W -.;;T -.,y - -" ~ -TBy analysing a specific work with reference to a traditionalrhythm, my intention is to get at the "roots" ofwhat perhaps

inspired V. Lobos to write the piece. In the Etudes, therhythmic pattern determines the basic character of the piece.It is the responsibility ofthe interpreter to "read between thelines"- to knowwhat nuances in accentuation thereare inthepopular rhythms, and then incorporate them into his owninterpretation.

It is a tribute to the greatness of V. Lobos' music that somany guitarists interpret the Preludes and Etudes so differently, that they want to "do" something with them. Butoften guitarists take l ibert ies that change the distinctivequalities of the rhythm. For example, the rhythmic patternstarting on bar 15 is often played with a Spanish flavour. (Ex.10).

>

> > J ~D t . o . ~ ~ .h ...r .", r...:J .. .. '"'!if"

"1 . " [ T . q ~ - ......... .....- - -Throughout his life, Villa-Lobos derived inspiration fromthe folk and popular music ofBrazil. He considered rhythmin music of primary importance. Turibio Santos tells us V.Lobos' general definition ofmusic: "Music has thehead as themelody, the torso as the harmony, and the legs as the rhythm. It raises itselfand walks when perfect, bu t when it is deprivedof one of its members, it does not go".**Turibio Santos, H. Villa-Lobos E 0 Vialao l.,luseu VillaLobos, 1975, MEC-Departamento De Assuntos Culturais(p.38).f

~ ~ ~ j ~.JII ". . ."" T --." ~

- ~-- """"""-Guitar International December 1986 39