We’re pleased to announce the next presenter for the Music History/Theory Workshop on May 15, 4:30pm, in the library seminar room, JRL 264. Chelsea Burns, graduate student in music history and theory at the University of Chicago will present her recent work on Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. Her pre-circulated paper is available below.
ABSTRACT
In the period between the two World Wars, art and art music in Brazil were dominated by participants in the modernismo movement–artists, writers, and composers who prioritized creation of a Brazilian national identity within the arts. Modernista composers discussed concerns about outside influence and self-exoticizing, and they questioned which musical elements could best serve as representatives of this Brazilian identity within the confines of Western art music. Far from being a unified movement, modernistas provided different interpretations of these nationalist values. In this paper, I explore some of the cues and markers that were central to the movement, using Heitor Villa-Lobos’s A Prole do Bebê, No. 1 as an analytical example.
Please listen to four audio examples from Chelsea’s paper:
10 Characteristic Pieces, Vol. 1_ O Polichinelo No. 7
13 Characteristic Pieces, Vol. 1_ Caboclinha No. 3
14 Characteristic Pieces, Vol. 1_ Branquinha No. 1
Pre-circulated written materials available here. Email marycaldwell@uchicago.edu or aasheehy@uchicago.edu for the password.
Those needing additional assistance to attend this event should contact one of the graduate coordinators, Mary Caldwell (marycaldwell@uchicago.edu) or August Sheehy (aasheehy@uchicago.edu)