Maybe My Favorite Microphone-less Vocalist
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Artist:Victoria de los Angeles, Heitor Villa-Lobos
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Album:Villa-Lobos
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Track:Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for Soprano and Eight Cellos
Victoria de los Angeles worked within a type of music that demands that the singer’s voice be heard without a microphone, over a large orchestra in a large theater. To sing loudly enough, most singers in this situation can’t avoid excessive vibrato (vibrating pitch), which to me this makes the voice sound in some ways less musical. Victoria de los Angeles (1923-2005) is one of the handful of classical singers I can think of who sing with a purer, more musical tone.
Brazillian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) conducted the Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise and wrote the liner notes for the album that the following two cuts come from.“_The Bachianas Brasilieras_, comprising nine suites, were written in homage to the great genius of J. S. Bach. They were inspired by the musical atmosphere of Bach in respect to harmony and counterpoint and by the atmosphere of the folk music of Brazil’s northeastern region.”About _Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for Soprano and Eight Cellos_ he wrote:“The first movement of this work, _Aria_ (Cantilena) was written in 1938 with lyrics by Ruth V. Correa; the second, _Dansa_ (Martelo) in 1945 with lyrics by the great Brazilian poet Manuel Bandeira.“The _Aria_, an original melody, is a kind of Brazilian lyric song, with the pizzicati support as in a serenade. _Danza_ represents a persistent and characteristic rhythm much like the emboladas, those strange melodies of the Brazilian hinterland. The melody suggests the birds of Brazil.”I first heard the _Aria_ on Joan Baez’s fifth LP, and she did a pretty good job with it, eight cellos and all. But Victoria de los Angeles (L.A.’s Victory) takes it to a whole other level. I’ve heard it in the soundtrack of several lesser-known foreign movies decades ago. I guess the film-makers couldn’t create enough poignancy and depth on their own. There is a voice and guitar arrangement that I used to privately hum and pluck decades ago also.See first comment for the _Danza_
Brazillian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) conducted the Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise and wrote the liner notes for the album that the following two cuts come from.“_The Bachianas Brasilieras_, comprising nine suites, were written in homage to the great genius of J. S. Bach. They were inspired by the musical atmosphere of Bach in respect to harmony and counterpoint and by the atmosphere of the folk music of Brazil’s northeastern region.”About _Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for Soprano and Eight Cellos_ he wrote:“The first movement of this work, _Aria_ (Cantilena) was written in 1938 with lyrics by Ruth V. Correa; the second, _Dansa_ (Martelo) in 1945 with lyrics by the great Brazilian poet Manuel Bandeira.“The _Aria_, an original melody, is a kind of Brazilian lyric song, with the pizzicati support as in a serenade. _Danza_ represents a persistent and characteristic rhythm much like the emboladas, those strange melodies of the Brazilian hinterland. The melody suggests the birds of Brazil.”I first heard the _Aria_ on Joan Baez’s fifth LP, and she did a pretty good job with it, eight cellos and all. But Victoria de los Angeles (L.A.’s Victory) takes it to a whole other level. I’ve heard it in the soundtrack of several lesser-known foreign movies decades ago. I guess the film-makers couldn’t create enough poignancy and depth on their own. There is a voice and guitar arrangement that I used to privately hum and pluck decades ago also.See first comment for the _Danza_
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