Search - Heitor Villa-Lobos, Sonia Rubinsky :: Villa-Lobos: A Prole do Bebe No. 2, Cirandinhas

Vol. 1 of this series was greeted with great delight, which should be repeated for this new disc. Cirandinhas (translated here as "Little Round Songs," based on a folk dance form) is as delightful and stimulating as the Cirandas in Vol. 1. The first book of The Baby's Family (also in Vol. 1) is better known than Book 2, included here. This second, larger set of pieces is just as full of tangy folk flavor as the first was. They're also quite varied (note, for example, "O Bosinho de chumbo," which could easily be taken for Piazzolla). The three briefer pieces included in this collection are highly varied and consistently interesting. As before, Rubinsky's playing is ideal. She captures the rustic rhythms of the music so infectiously that it's hard to keep your feet still while listening, and she is just as good with Villa-Lobos's lyricism. This composer wrote an enormous amount of music and not all of it is up to his best standard, but so far this series is skimming cream. If you liked Vol. 1, you'll like this one just as well. Beautiful recording, too. --Leslie Gerber