Nationalistic Elements Demonstrated in Villa-Lobos' Clarinet Writing in Chamber Music Works Entitled

Abstract

In the collaborative integration of the components in Brazilian folk music language and of western art music style, Villa-Lobos' compositional style is unique in reflecting a self-defined method apart from the development of nineteenth century Nationalism. The purpose of this study is to identify the use of the Brazilian nationalistic elements in the music of the Brazilian art music composer Heitor Villa-Lobos as well as to examine his approach of the use of the representative components in his writing for clarinet. The choice of compositions included in this document focuses on the three chamber music works with clarinet in the set of the Chôros: Chôros No. 2 (1924), Chôros, No. 7 (1924), and Quintette en forme de chôros (1928). The Chôros was chosen because these compositions exhibit the maturity of Villa-Lobos' writing style of Brazilian nationalistic language. This study also discusses the historical background of traditional choro music as a prominent style in Brazilian popular music during the 1920s and analyzes how this genre influenced the set of Villa-Lobos' Chôros.