HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS
COMPLETE MUSIC FOR SOLO GUITAR
Chôros No.1
Suite Populaire Brésilienne
Twelve Études
Five Préludes
Norbert Kraft -Guitar
Naxos
8.553987
Crotchet
Norbert Kraft has long been associated with the coordination of the classical
guitar repertoire that the super-budget label Naxos has so successfully marketed
in recent years. So it only seems appropriate that it is Norbert Kraft that
here performs the Complete solo guitar works of Heitor Villa-Lobos - works
that are central to the core repertoire written during the first half of
the 20th century, works that all guitarists seem to regard as
essential to their repertoires and works that also have stood the test of
time.
Certainly there is an abundance of recordings of all of these pieces
(particularly the 5 Preludes) so it is questionable whether further versions
would enrich an already long list. However, given the range of classical
guitar music in the Naxos catalogue they would be conspicuous by their absence.
The Chôros, a popular musical form similar to that of a rondo, was
performed by street musicians in the cities of Brazil. Villa- Lobos was a
guitarist, so it is significant that he chose the guitar for the first in
his set of fourteen Chôros, all written for various instruments. To
guitar enthusiasts of a certain age it is safe
to say that their first experience of this work was probably Julian Bream's
1962 recording, and although at times it does bear Bream's idiosyncratic
style (in particular the dwelling over the second measure of bars 10 and
12 marked 'rall' that occurs with each repeat of the section) I am sure that
if Villa -Lobos had heard the recording he would have approved. Consequently
any subsequent recordings that does not indulge itself in a like manner somehow
seems lacking. Never the less, Norbert Kraft's reading still has its own
qualities
The Twelve Études of 1929 has been described as the guitarists equivalent
of Chopin's piano Etudes Op. 10 and 25, works of a didactic nature to expand
the guitarists technique. This does seem to be the case for the earlier
études (1-6), indeed the first three are devised to develop arpeggio
playing. But by the time we reach étude No. 7 pieces are worthy of
inclusion in concert programmes, which many guitarists over the years have
done. Whatever their purpose, a technique of the highest standard is required,
a technique that Norbert Kraft possesses which has enabled him to produce
one of the most convincingly assured performances of this set.
In writing Suite Populaire Brésilienne Villa- Lobos used his wide
musical knowledge to create an exotic blend of 19th century European
dance forms with the rhythms of the Brazilian Chôros. Although written
between 1908 and 1912 it was only after the other works found popularity
that guitarists seeking alternative pieces by Villa-Lobos turned to these,
the earliest of his guitar compositions.
Perhaps over familiarity through numerous recordings has over the years
diminished the impact that the 'Five Preludes' (1940) had on first hearing
(even with selective purchasing I have seven sets of these Preludes in my
collection). So it is not surprising that making comparisons is unavoidable,
and though Norbert Kraft's view of these works has many commendable points
in their favour, they still do
not replace my own first choice of Julian Bream's 1971 set . (N.B. Norbert
Kraft's version of Prelude No.3 is the second recent recording that for some
reason does not observe the written repeat.)
It is probably true that any disc of such well known works is open to
hypercriticalness, but on the whole this recording ranks as one of the best
available interpretations of this music. I can recommend it to anyone wanting
the complete solo guitar works of Villa-Lobos on one disc.
Andy Daly
