Symphony No. 7 (Villa-Lobos)

Symphony No. 7, Odisséia da paz (Peace Odyssey) is a composition by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, written in 1945. A performance lasts about 30 minutes.

Symphony No. 7
Odisséia da paz
by Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos
English	Peace Odyssey (subtitle)
Catalogue	W458
Genre	Symphony
Composed	1945: Rio de Janeiro
Published	1978: Rio de Janeiro
Publisher	Ricordi/Belwin Mills
Recorded	January 1954
Movements	4
Scoring	Orchestra
Premiere
Date	27 March 1949:
Location	London
Conductor	Heitor Villa-Lobos
Performers	London Symphony Orchestra

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. 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, Novachord, 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

References

• Appleby, David. 2002. Heitor Villa-Lobos: A Life (1887–1959). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-4149-9.
• Béhague, Gerard. 1994. Villa-Lobos: The Search for Brazil's Musical Soul. Austin: Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 1994. ISBN 0-292-70823-8.
• Enyart, John William. 1984. "The Symphonies of Heitor Villa-Lobos". PhD diss. Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati.
• Peppercorn, Lisa M. 1991. Villa-Lobos: The Music: An Analysis of His Style, translated by Stefan de Haan. London: Kahn & Averill; White Plains, NY: Pro/Am Music Resources Inc. ISBN 1-871082-15-3 (Kahn & Averill); ISBN 0-912483-36-9.
• Salles, Paulo de Tarso. 2009. Villa-Lobos: processos composicionais. Campinas, SP: Editora da Unicamp. ISBN 978-85-268-0853-9.
• Villa-Lobos, sua obra: Programa de Ação Cultural. 1972. Second edition. Rio de Janeiro: MEC, DAC, Museu Villa-Lobos.
• Villa-Lobos, sua obra. 2009. Version 1.0. MinC / IBRAM, and the Museu Villa-Lobos. Based on the third edition, 1989.