Choros N. 10 by Heitor Villa-Lobos: Analyzing the Themes and Compositional Techniques of Brazilian Modernism

<p>Heitor Villa-Lobos (b. March 5, 1887 - d. November 17, 1959) can be considered the most important composer in Brazilian music history. Although the composer is listed as one of the most influential composers in the history of the guitar, he reached his peak in his works for piano and symphonic groups. Works such as <em>A Prole do Bebê </em>(1 and 2), and the series of <em>Chôros</em>, came out during an extremely convoluted time, where Brazilian artists engaged in seeking an artistic representation of a unique Brazilian identity. Those works not only satisfied the hunger, but pushed the movement to a new level, which, some would argue, has never been surpassed by any other composer. Unlike his work for the guitar, on which hundreds of analyses and articles can easily be found, <em>Chô</em><em>ros No 10</em> has had little to no attention from a theoretical viewpoint. Being considered perhaps Villa-Lobos’ masterpiece, this piece brought what is most Brazilian into classical music, with a calculated European influence among genuine Brazilian characteristics made into music. To date, there have been many writings about <em>Chô</em><em>ros No 10</em> from a historical perspective. The theoretical writings about this piece are few, and in my research I was not able to find any such writings that were exhaustive or very in depth. This thesis analyzes the elements in <em>Chô</em><em>ros No 10</em>, such as themes and harmonic implications, linked to the historical background of the Brazilian Modernism in music.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Music (MM)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Music

Year dc:date.available

2016

Author dc:creator

• Campos-Neto, Andre Oliveira

Contributors dc:contributor

• Douglas Rust
• Daniel Beard
• Joseph Brumbeloe

• Heitor Villa-Lobos
• Choros
• Brazilian
• Modernism
• Analysis
• Brazil
• Ethnomusicology
• Latin American History
• Music
• Music Performance

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/185

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1216