クラシックの名曲をアレンジして歌った録音は過去に多くありますが、これはヴィラ=ロボスによる合唱編曲という点に注目!
ブラジルの民族音楽に根差したオーケストラ作品やギター曲で知られるヴィラ=ロボス。彼は生涯に1000曲ほどの作品を書きましたが、その中には数多くの合唱作品があります。このアルバムでは、その中でもとりわけ珍しい"ヴィラ=ロボスによるバッハからロマン派作品の合唱編曲版"を収録。これらは主としてリオデジャネイロで活動していた「Choir of the Orfeao dos Professores=教師の合唱団」のために書かれたもので、ほとんどが1933年から1935年の間に初演されています。原曲の多くは鍵盤曲ですが、ヴィラ=ロボスはこれらを見事にアレンジ。ベートーヴェンやシューベルト、シューマン、ショパンなどの良く知られた旋律が声による交響楽として生まれ変わっています。すべてア・カペラ(無伴奏)、2曲以外は歌詞を持たないヴォカリーズなので純粋に音楽として楽しめるのも魅力。また、ここには彼が敬愛したバッハの『平均律クラヴィーア曲集』からの合唱アレンジが全て含まれています。
ナクソス・ジャパン

発売・販売元 提供資料 （2020/12/17）

The Naxos labels The Music of Brazil series, backed by the Brazilian government, unearths a real find here, with barely known choral arrangements of a set of preludes and fugues (separate, not paired) of Bach, by Heitor Villa-Lobos, here receiving their world recorded premieres. The rest of the program consists of similar a cappella arrangements of famous repertory pieces, both polyphonic and tune-plus-harmony, both vocal and instrumental. The arrangements were made in the mid-1930s and intended for school choruses. A few of the songs are given Portuguese texts, but it is the arrangements of instrumental pieces that are the most striking. They are wordless, but they are not vocalises. Villa-Lobos adds color by scoring them for varied syllables from the choir, and this is done with exceptional subtlety. Listen to any of the Bach pieces, or the Chopin Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2 (especially the middle section). What could easily have been a mechanical exercise instead lies close to the heart of Villa-Lobos art and becomes a kind of recomposition, with delightful results for the listener. The Bachianas Brasileiras are part of a related impulse here, and the original choral version of one of those concludes the program as a kind of flourish. The Choir of the Orquestra Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paulo under Valentina Peleggi is challenged by some of the faster polyphony in the Bach, but this hardly matters; the impression is close to what Villa-Lobos must have had in mind for the original performers. Villa-Lobos interrupted work on much more prestigious compositional engagements to write this music, and it is easy to see why he did so and how he became interested in the project, which he executed with great skill. A must for Villa-Lobos fans and an enjoyable choral novelty for any listener. Kudos all around.

Rovi