A Stylistic and Compositional Analysis of Ciranda Das Sete Notas By Heitor Villa-Lobos
Abstract
Heitor Villa-Lobos created his idiosyncratic Brazilian style in Ciranda das Sete Notas by using Bach’s compositional numbered alphabet idea. The intention is to help musicians, and more specifically bassoonists, have a clearer understanding of the construction of Villa-Lobos’s Ciranda das Sete Notas by providing context for the composer’s choices and compositional process. The central argument focuses on the interrelationship between the compositional intention and post-composition analyses with regard to Brazilian stylistic foundations. Beyond this process, with a nod to Bach's numerical approach, the errors found on the only printed version in 1961 have been leading bassoonists to misguided performances, resulting in a misinterpretation of tempo, style and phrases. In sum, the intent is to provide bassoonists, or any musician interested in the piece, greater clarity for artistic decisions in performance. The analysis was based on a table explaining his symbolic tools including the letters and numbers represented.
