"Musique cannibale": The Evolving Sound of Indigeneity in Heitor Villa-Lobos's Tres poêmas indigenas. (12th January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Burns, Chelsea
• Is Part Of: Music theory spectrum. Volume 43:Number 1(2021)
• Page Start: 91
• Page End: 113
• Publication Date: 2021-01-12
• Subjects: Heitor Villa-Lobos -- Modernism -- Latin American Music -- indigeneity -- Paris -- Jean de Léry -- Edgard Roquette-Pinto -- Mário de Andrade -- Rio de Janeiro -- Brazil; Music theory -- Periodicals; Music theory; Periodicals; 781.05
• DOI: 10.1093/mts/mtaa019
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0195-6167

Abstract

Abstract: Heitor Villa-Lobos's Tres poêmas indigenas (1926, published 1929) provide an unusual image of Brazilian indigeneity: in three short songs, he creates a narrative of progress, one that ends with redefining himself and modernist colleague Mário de Andrade as Amerindian. The first two songs set melodies collected in 1557 and 1912, the third a new poem by Andrade (1926). The set begins with a narrow pitch collection, thin textures, and ostinatos and ends with a lied-like approach to text–music relations. In this way, Villa-Lobos creates an evolving image of Amerindian music-making that capitalizes on Indianist fantasies while redefining indigeneity as encompassing even the most modern and urbane Brazilians.