Elias Arizcuren

Villa-Lobos was a composer of astonishingly prolific creativity, though most of his works are little-known and his discography is meagre. An autodidact, he developed a personal system of composition, inspired by Brazilian folk music (cf. Chôros VII which mixes winds and strings in a direct evocation of the streets of Rio), contemporary European music, and Bach (in the Bachiana brasileira nr. 1 which employs the special sound of an orchestra of cellos). The focal point of this record, Chôros XII, described by the composer as "strong, big and robust as an old elephant" is a monumental work that develops a structure based on variation form. Villa-Lobos displays an consummate art of orchestration. The publication Les indispensables du disque compact classique (Fayard) refers to this recording as "to be marked by a white stone: we had no idea these musicians from Liège could pick up Brazilian rhythms so naturally. A success" - one that is updated for the greater pleasure of listeners.