Edwin Olson

Heitor Villa-Lobos was an early twentieth-century composer whose Brazilian roots were a fundamental force in his work. Just before his death in 1959, he said, “If [my musical work] is in large quantity, it is the fruit of an extensive, generous, and warm land.” His attention to Brazilian customs (musical and otherwise) are apparent, even in one of his earlier works, Uirapuru.

Brazil was entering a new era when Villa-Lobos first set his pen to paper. A year after his birth, slavery was abolished, and Brazil’s government was reborn into a republic the following year. Rio de Janerio, Heitor’s hometown, was growing at a tremendous rate and would double in population in just over twenty years. Villa-Lobos’ revolutionary spirit matched his country’s; while he was eligible for formal education, he rejected it. His father, Raul, was a stern disciplinarian and amateur musician who can be credited with Heitor’s early musical exposure—including learning to play the clarinet, cello, and other instruments. However, despite his father’s steering towards a more formal (and European) musical training, Villa-Lobos (even early in his life) was attracted to the music of his country. He taught himself guitar, which was the preeminent folk instrument and an instrument generally rejected by the intellectual musical culture.

Still, Raul was an impediment to Heitor fully immersing himself in to folk music until he died in 1899. Free of his father’s restrictions, he was able to make journeys into remote regions of Brazil, and even the Amazon jungle. During these trips, he was exposed to numerous examples of indigenous music. Villa-Lobos particularly enjoyed pointing out the similarities of the natives’ music and those of the classical masters. Biographer Paula Barros remarked after a conversation with Heitor: “What a huge surprise when, in the middle of the sertoes [wilderness] of Bahia, Pernambuco, Ceara, and Maranhao, Villa-Lobos found melodic cells with characteristics of rhythmic accentuations and an extreme affinity with elements of works of Beethoven. And he was astounded to ascertain that many modulations and counter-melodies in the manner of Bach live in these faraway places. In the Bahian capital, for example, he appreciated modinhas [love songs] that reminded him, unmistakably, of Chopin’s lyric melodies…”

Doubtless, it is during these sojourns that Villa-Lobos gathered the foundation of knowledge that, years later, would develop into the ballet Uirapuru in the early 1930’s. Uirapuru is the common name of a colorful Brazilian bird that is known for its enchanting song, which Indian worshipers consider the King of Love. Much like Stravinsky’s L’Oiseau de Feu (which preceded Uirapuru by twenty years), Uirapuru is derived from a story. The story itself is a concoction of Villa-Lobos, but is surely consistent with folk tales that he became familiar with during his travels. Accompanying the score, the story is summarized:

The bird’s nightly song lured the Indians into the woods in search of the enchanting singer. In such a search, a gay group of young natives come upon an ancient and ugly Indian seated in the forest playing upon his nose-flue … Suspecting the invasion of their forest by this unsightly old man, the natives beat him mercilessly and drive him out. Continued search for the elusive uirapuru by the natives is witnessed by all the members of the nocturnal animal and insect kingdoms … A beautiful maiden appears—also lured by the sweet song of the uirapuru. Armed with bow and arrow, she catches up with the Enchanted Bird, piercing its heart, where-upon the singing Bird is immediately transformed into a handsome youth. The Happy Huntress, who has thoroughly captivated the handsome youth, followed by the amazed natives, is about to leave the forest when they are halted by the shrill unpleasant notes of the distant nose-flute. Suspecting the arrival of the ugly Indian … the natives hide in the dense woods. The unsuspecting youth boldly confronts the ugly Indian who slays him with a perfectly placed arrow. As the Indian maidens tenderly carry the body to a nearby fountain, it is suddenly transformed into a beautiful Bird which flies, its sweet song diminishing, into the silence of the forest.

This story combines Villa-Lobos’ love of folk legend while, since it was a concoction of Villa-Lobos, retains the unique individuality and distinctiveness that he constantly worked for. Yet simultaneously, it was Villa-Lobos’ way to acknowledge (or even repay) a source of deep inspiration, for Uirapuru would be only the beginning of a long series of celebrations of Brazilian spirit.