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What are the lyrics to Brazil\u2019s national anthem?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
Best Latin American composers of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
South America\u2019s best tenors to listen to<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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This iconic country has deep, multi-cultural influences with European classical music seasoned with innumerable indigenous and African flavours. Here are 6 Brazilian works that everyone should know.<\/p>\n
Best Brazilian classical music<\/h2>\n
Overture Concertante by Camargo Guarnieri (1907-1993)<\/h3>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Composer Camargo Guarnieri (main picture) was in fact curiously named \u201cMozart Camargo Guarnieri\u201d. Despite being uncomfortable with this pretentious name his Italian parents gave him, he went on to become one of the great names in Brazilian music.<\/p>\n<p>Amongst the various works he composed, this overture is one of the most ingenious and exciting overtures I know.\u00a0It was written in a neoclassical style for a Mozartean-sized classical orchestra, and grants the timpanist a privileged role. Guarnieri builds this overture, creating a rhythmically strong first theme that contrasts with a lyrically seductive second theme. A delicious concert opening!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Sonata in D \u201cwooden donkey\u201d\u00a0for Strings Orchestra by Antonio Carlos Gomes (1836-1896)<\/h3>\n<iframe title=\""Carlos\" gomes=\"\" sonata=\"\" para=\"\" cordas=\"\" de=\"\" pau=\"\" summer=\"\" music=\"\" institute=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gdrOfdvy0DI?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Brazilian repertoire has an infinity of works for strings orchestra. The <em>Sonata em Re<\/em>, which is a work in four movements, is perhaps the best of them.<\/p>\n<p>It is an extremely well-constructed and captivating work that seems somehow related\u00a0to <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/youtu.be\/gdrOfdvy0DI"\">Tchaikovsky<\/a><\/strong>\u2018s Serenade for Strings. The Sonata\u2019s last movement is known as \u201cwooden donkey\u201d: Gomes builds onomatopoeic effects with the strings, imitating a child playing with his wooden donkey, until little by little through the \u201cbattuto \u00e0 la corda\u201d effects, this donkey comes to life and takes the child for a gallop! Whilst Carlos Gomes was mostly praised for being a composer of Operas, this work is a jewel worth discovering.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Symphony No. 2 \u201cUirapuru\u201d by Camargo Guarnieri\u00a0(1907-1993)<\/h3>\n<iframe title=\""Symphony\" no.=\"\" i.=\"\" energico=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0dIMq56qMM0?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 1945, Guarnieri wrote his second symphony, subtitled \u201cUirapuru\u201d, which was dedicated to Villa-Lobos in reference to Villa-Lobos\u2019s 1917 ballet of the self-same name. Legend has it that Uirapuru was an Amazon bird, a God of love, that transformed into a beautiful indigenous Amazonian man and whom the indigenous Amazonian women argued over.<\/p>\n<p>The symphony has 3 movements (I. energetic II. tender III. festive), and each carries great orchestral brilliance. His lyrical and virtuous musical language is reminiscent of <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/dmitri-shostakovich\/"\">Shostakovich<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Heitor Villa-Lobos \u2013\u00a0Bachianas Brasileiras 4 (1887-1959)<\/h3>\n<iframe title=\""Heitor\" villa-lobos=\"\" bachianas=\"\" brasileiras=\"\" no.4=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/r-XGAWjwj-c?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p><em>Bachianas Brasileiras<\/em> is a series of 9 orchestral suite compositions that pay tribute to Bach. It is important to bear in mind that at the start of the twentieth century, Villa-Lobos\u2019 Bach was \u201cromantic and epic\u201d in style, taking after Leopold Stokowski\u2019s concept of the composer.<\/p>\n<p>The best known Bachianas suite is No. 5, though they are all simply amazing. My special highlight is No. 4, which was composed for symphonic orchestra. It is introduced by a beautiful prelude for strings, in an adagio that evokes Barber. This Prelude is a collective song imbued with nostalgia, probably inspired by Bach\u2019s Air on the G string. A gathering of people express their extreme existential pain but, beyond suffering, also sing their hope and their deep thirst for life.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Marlos Nobre, Kabbalah for Orchestra (1939 \u2013 current)<\/h3>\n<iframe title=\""MARLOS\" nobre=\"\" kabbalah=\"\" for=\"\" orchestra=\"\" albert=\"\" hall=\"\" bbc=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NpefsIbKcRA?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>Marlos Nobre is a contemporary composer influenced by his masters: Alberto Ginastera, <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/olivier-messiaen\/"\">Olivier Messiaen<\/a><\/strong>, Aaron Copland, and Luigi Dallapiccola. Marlos Nobre conceived his impressive Kabbalah as an <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/the-best-overtures-of-all-time\/"\">overture<\/a><\/strong> in two connected parts representing light and energy.<\/p>\n<p>The first part is rigorously mathematical in organising the micro and the macro structure, whilst the second part was composed in a totally free form of intuition as spontaneous inspiration. Nobre uses almost an entire song from the Xingu peoples, and creates a frantic and dense pace that illustrates tribal movement.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Heitor Villa-Lobos \u2013 Amazon Rainforest\u00a0(1887-1959)<\/h3>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Floresta\" do=\"\" amazonas:=\"\" a=\"\" floresta=\"\" forest=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hmcgnZBhL1g?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Villa-Lobos said that his work were letters to posterity, and his work <em>Amazon Rainforest<\/em> undoubtedly is. Villa-Lobos\u2019 orchestration was always sophisticated, luxuriant and exuberant. In fact, Messiaen once said that <em>Turangalila<\/em> was inspired by Villa-Lobos\u2019 symphonic orchestration style.<\/p>\n<p>The music has a primitivist and complex rhythm akin to <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/igor-stravinsky\/"\">Stravinsky<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s, a deep tragic lyricism like <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/dmitri-shostakovich\/"\">Shostakovich<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s work and an epic character that is reminiscent of Carmina Burana.<\/p>\n<p>The work was commissioned by Hollywood for the film Green Mansions, but it was not used in the way he conceived it. So, he took the music and created it into a symphonic piece. One of the great treasures of this suite is 4 songs with soprano and grand orchestra.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Encore\u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Orchestra\u00e7oes de Klaus Ogerman das musicas de Tom Jobim!<\/h3>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Wave\" tom=\"\" jobim=\"\" ogerman=\"\" fondse=\"\" simone=\"\" menezes=\"\" conductor=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-fazsdWC2Zk?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2026 And as an encore, why not explore Antonio Carlos Jobim\u2019s (Tom Jobim) music with orchestration by Klaus Ogerman? Many of the father of Bossa Nova, Tom Jobim\u2019s, rich harmonic songs were orchestrated by the great maestro Ogerman.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Main image: Camargo Guarnieri \u00a9 Brazilian National Archives, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Freya Parr Published: Friday, 16 December 2022 at 12:00 am When we think of Brazilian music, typically samba, bossa nova, tropicalia and other widely appreciated styles of jazz immediately come to mind. However, Brazilian classical music is an immense and incredibly\u00a0rich undiscovered treasure, with symphonies, concertos, overtures and other classical music forms. What are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":22900,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/12\/the-best-brazilian-classical-music.jpg",1317,1867,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/12\/the-best-brazilian-classical-music-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/12\/the-best-brazilian-classical-music-212x300.jpg",212,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/12\/the-best-brazilian-classical-music-768x1089.jpg",768,1089,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/12\/the-best-brazilian-classical-music-722x1024.jpg",722,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/12\/the-best-brazilian-classical-music-1084x1536.jpg",1084,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/12\/the-best-brazilian-classical-music.jpg",1317,1867,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Freya Parr Published: Friday, 16 December 2022 at 12:00 am When we think of Brazilian music, typically samba, bossa nova, tropicalia and other widely appreciated styles of jazz immediately come to mind. However, Brazilian classical music is an immense and incredibly\u00a0rich undiscovered treasure, with symphonies, concertos, overtures and other classical music forms. 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