In the normal way, a certain logic would exist in a Bach-loving nationalist composer progressing from transcribing some of the '48' preludes and fugues for an ensemble of cellos (his own instrument) to composing for that combination works which attempted to fuse native and Bachian idioms. with Villa-Lobos, however, one comes to expect the unexpected, and in fact the transcriptions were written after the present two Bachianas brasileiras—or, to be precise, since a glorious chaos accompanied many of his compositions, after all but the second movement of No. 5, which was an afterthought. Predictably with this composer and this instrumentation, the skilful transcriptions are highly romanticized Bach, with the E flat minor Prelude from Book 1 (transposed down a semitone) slowed to snail's pace; but they are beautifully played by the Pleeth cello team, with ravishing tone and the utmost attention to internal balance.
The same care over balance, and great finesse in nuance, is also very evident in the Bachianas No. 1, which is suitably energetic in the outer movements and avoids mawkishness in the lovely Modinha. An excellent performance by this accomplished group—indeed, the only recommendable version currently available. No. 5, or at least its initial Cantilena, has of late become something of a happy hunting-ground, but, as I detailed in the February issue (page 1138), for various reasons none of the existing recordings is entirely satisfactory. The situation is saved by the appearance of the present performance: tempos are well judged, there is real understanding of the relative dynamics of the textural strands, and Jill Gomez produces a seductive sound in the first movement and clean, well-paced singing (plus good words) in the second. Extra interest is added to this record by the inclusion of the early and more trenchant Suite for voice and violin, in which Jill Gomez has the opportunity to display something of her gifts for characterization and for coloration of a vocalise, and Peter Manning handles the extremely demanding violin part with virtuosity. The recording throughout is made in a pleasantly warm acoustic, perhaps just a shade on the resonant side in the Suite.'