A musical analysis of rhythmic, melodic, structural, and harmonic elements in Villa-Lobos’ Gavota-Choro

Salahuddin Bin Shaharum; Herry Rizal Djahwasi; Mohd Yusran Bin Mohd Yusoff

doi:10.21831/imaji.v23i1.84613

A musical analysis of rhythmic, melodic, structural, and harmonic elements in Villa-Lobos’ Gavota-Choro

Salahuddin Bin Shaharum, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Malaysia
Herry Rizal Djahwasi, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Malaysia
Mohd Yusran Bin Mohd Yusoff, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia

10.21831/imaji.v23i1.84613

Abstract

This study addresses a significant gap in Villa-Lobos scholarship: the absence of detailed analytical studies examining how the composer specifically integrated European and Brazilian musical elements in his guitar compositions. While existing research acknowledges Villa-Lobos's cross-cultural synthesis, it rarely extends beyond historical contexts to provide systematic stylistic analysis of individual works. This research conducts a comprehensive stylistic analysis of Villa-Lobos's Gavota-Choro, examining precisely how the composer achieves the integration of European formal structures with Brazilian rhythmic and melodic idioms. The methodology employs multiple analytical approaches, including rhythmic analysis drawing on Sandroni's paradigmatic framework, harmonic analysis, and formal analysis adapted to account for both European and Brazilian structural principles. The analysis reveals Villa-Lobos's sophisticated integration techniques, including layered rhythmic structures, metric transformation, chromatic enhancement of traditional harmonies, and linear bassline construction. These findings contribute significantly to three domains: theoretical musicology, by demonstrating effective analytical approaches to cross-cultural musical synthesis; performance studies, by providing performers with deeper understanding of interpretative implications; and Latin American music scholarship, by illuminating how Villa-Lobos operationalized cultural integration in his compositional practice, establishing a model for national art music that honors both European traditions and indigenous expressions.

Keywords: Villa-Lobos, Gavota-Choro, Brazilian classical guitar, cross-cultural musical synthesis, stylistic analysis

Keywords

Villa-Lobos, Gavota-Choro, Brazilian classical guitar, cross-cultural musical synthesis, stylistic analysis

References

Appleby, D. P. (1983). The music of Brazil. University of Texas Press.

Appleby, D. P. (1988). Heitor Villa-Lobos: a bio-bibliography. In (No Title).

Barbosa Cardoso, L. (2024). Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 by Heitor Villa-Lobos: A Conductor’s Perspective on Analysis and Performance.

Béhague, G. (1994). Heitor Villa-Lobos: the search for Brazil’s musical soul. (No Title).

Buch, D. J. (1985). The Influence of the" Ballet de cour" in the Genesis of the French Baroque Suite. Acta Musicologica, 57(Fasc. 1), 94–109.

Carlevaro, A. (1988). Technique, Analysis and Interpretation of the guitar works of Heitor Villa-Lobos: 12 Studies (vol III). Atlanta: Chanterelle Verlag.

Coelho, T., & Koidin, J. (2005). The Brazilian Choro. The Flutist Quarterly, 31(1), 36–45.

Coelho, V. (2003). The Cambridge companion to the guitar. Cambridge University Press.

Crawford, T., & Gibson, L. (2016). Modern methods for musicology: prospects, proposals, and realities. Routledge.

de Lemos Almada, C., de Barros, G. S., de Souza, R. C., Gerling, C. C., & Nogueira, I. (2018). The reception and dissemination of European music theories in Brazil: Riemann, Schenker, and Schoenberg. Zeitschrift Der Gesellschaft Für Musiktheorie [Journal of the German-Speaking Society of Music Theory], 15(2), 129–154.

Djahwasi, H. R., Sampurno, M. B. T., Saidon, Z. L., & Anggoro, R. R. M. K. M. (2024). Interprtative Lens of Segovia’s classical guitar transcription on Bach’s Chaconne from Partita No.2 in D Minor Bwv 1004. Rast Muzikoloji Dergisi, 12(4), 419–444. https://doi.org/10.12975/rastmd.20241243

Djahwasi, H., Saidon, Z. L., Pongpradit, P., & Sampurno, M. B. T. (2023). Interpretation of technical and expression aspects on Mauro Giuliani’s “Grand Overture, Op. 61.” Rast Müzikoloji Dergisi, 11(4), 563–587.

Dos Santos, R. L. (2004). Brazilian popular music and modernist discourse on national identity. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dragomir, D. (2021). ASPECTS OF MUSICAL LANGUAGE OF HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS’CONCERT STUDIES. Review of Artistic Education, 21, 122–132.

Ferraz, G. A. (2012). Heitor Villa-Lobos and Getúlio Vargas: Constructing the" New Brazilian Nation" through a nationalistic system of music education. University of Florida.

Flach, L., & Antonello, C. S. (2011). Improvisation and learning processes in organizations: a metaphor applying the brazilian rhythm choro. Organizações & Sociedade, 18, 681–699.

Garcia, T. G. (1997). The" Choro", the Guitar and Villa-Lobos. Luso-Brazilian Review, 57–66.

Gidal, M. (2010). Contemporary" Latin American" Composers of Art Music in the United States: Cosmopolitans Navigating Multiculturalism and Universalism. Latin American Music Review/Revista de Música Latinoamericana, 40–78.

Goldspiel, A. (1996). How Analysis Improves Performance: Villa-Lobos’s Prelude No. 1. American String Teacher, 46(2), 62–66.

Hess, C. A. (2023). Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Magdalena: classical music, the Broadway stage and the challenges of reimagining. Comparative Cultural Studies: European and Latin American Perspectives, 17, 69–85.

Hoffmann Uller, A. J. (2023). VILLA-LOBOS CHOROS NO. 1: A STUDY OF THE RECORDINGS. University of Southern Mississippi.

Hudson, R. (1986). The Allemande, the Balletto, and the Tanz: 2 The Music.-IX, 252 S. University Press.

Huether, J. (2011). Villa-Lobos’s “Cinq Préludes”: An analysis of influences [Master’s thesis]. University of Oregon.

Jenne, N. (1973). Bach’s Use of Dance Rhythms in Fugues. Bach, 18–26.

Kennedy, M., & Kennedy, J. (2013). The Oxford dictionary of music. Oxford University Press, USA.

Körver, I. (2020). 150 Years of Choro–Where Are We Now? Musicologist, 4(1), 56–77.

Kraniauskas, J. (2005). Hybridity in a transnational frame: Latin-Americanist and post-colonial perspectives on cultural studies. In Hybridity and its Discontents (pp. 245–266). Routledge.

Little, M., & Jenne, N. (2009). Dance and the Music of JS Bach. Indiana University Press.

Magalhães, M. G. M. (2014). The Brazilian Choro: Its History and Structure. Ars Inter Culturas, 3, 79–93.

Mair, M. (2000). A history of Chôro in context. Mandolin Quarterly, 5(1), 13–20.

Moss, F. C., Souza, W. F., & Rohrmeier, M. (2020). Harmony and form in Brazilian Choro: A corpus-driven approach to musical style analysis. Journal of New Music Research, 49(5), 416–437.

Murray, E. A. (2013). Tradition and innovation in the pedagogy of Brazilian instrumental choro. Kent State University.

Navia, G. (2020). Aspects of Villa-Lobos’s Tonal Style in Some of His Studies for Guitar. Revista Vórtex, 8(3), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.33871/23179937.2020.8.3.1.12

Palomino, P. (2020). The invention of Latin American music: A transnational history. Oxford University Press.

Peppercorn, L. M. (1977). Foreign Influences in Villa-Lobos’s Music. Ibero-Amerikanisches Archiv, 3(1), 37–51.

Piedade, A. T. C. (2015). Analysing Heitor Villa Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras Nr. 2 under the perspective of music topics, rhetoricity and narrativity. Topical Encounters and Rhetorics of Identity in Latin American Art Music, 18.

Saeb Valenzuela, C. R. (2017). The Cadenzas of the First Modern Guitar Concertos.

Sandroni, C. (2001). Feitiço decente: transformações do samba no Rio de Janeiro (1917-1933). Editora Schwarcz-Companhia das Letras.

Tarasti, E. (1990). Heitor Villa-Lobos and the problem of national neoclassicism. Atti Del XIV Congresso Della Società Internazionale Di Musicologia: Trasmissione e Recezione Delle Forme Di Culture Musicale, 381–394.

Walidaini, B., Sayuti, S. A., & Pradoko, A. M. S. (2022). The Patterns of Music Learning in Phenomena of Valerio International Guitar Festival. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education, 22(1), 91–102.

Warner, M.-J. E. (1974). Gavottes and bouquets: a comparative study of changes in dance style between 1700 and 1850. The Ohio State University.

Wright, S. (1992). Villa-Lobos. Oxford University Press.

Zaparolli, M. A. R. (2019). The Early Compositions for Cello and Piano by Heitor Villa-Lobos. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21831/imaji.v23i1.84613