Symphony No. 7 (Villa Lobos)

History

Villa-Lobos composed his Seventh Symphony in Rio de Janeiro in 1945 for a competition in Detroit. As required by the rules of the competition, it was submitted anonymously, using the pseudonym A. Caramurú (borrowed from the title of a well-known gauchesco novel by the 19th-century Uruguayan writer Alejandro Magariños Cervantes). It was not awarded a prize in the competition. It was first performed in London on 27 March 1949 by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the composer (Villa-Lobos, sua obra 2009, 45).

The symphony, written shortly after the surrender of Germany on 7 May 1945, is subtitled "Odisséia da paz" (Peace Odyssey) (Appleby 2002, 149). The second edition of the official Villa-Lobos catalogue, however, at one place gives "Odisséia de uma raça" (the title of an unrelated symphonic poem from 1953), together with a short programmatic description (Villa-Lobos, sua obra 1972, 243):

A tidal wave splits up part of the Earth. Hills and mountains appeared, uncovering to human eyes a tortuous and irregular perspective, similar to the path of life across the centuries.

As long as there are hills and mountains on earth, people will seek peace. The hills and mountains, firm and solid, planted on earth, defend mankind from whomever wishes, in vain, to destroy them and mimic them.

Instrumentation

The symphony is written for an orchestra consisting of 2 piccolos, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, cor anglais, 3 clarinets, 2 bass clarinets, 3 bassoons, 2 contrabassoons, 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, timpani, tam-tam, cymbals, triangle, pandeira, chocalho, glockenspiel, reco reco, side drum, large snare drum, bass drum, novachordion, xylophone, vibraphone, celesta, 2 harps, piano, and strings.

Analysis

The symphony has four movements:

1. Allegro vivace
2. Lento
3. Scherzo (Allegro non troppo)
4. Allegro preciso