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AN OVERVIEW OF ALMEIDA PRADO'S "TRANSTONAL" SYSTEM
IN HIS CARTAS CELESTES, FIRST SIX VOLUMES,
FOR PIANO SOLO
by
Maria Helena Peixoto Ferraz
_____________________________
Copyright © Maria Helena Peixoto Ferraz 2009
A Document Submitted to the Faculty of the
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
In the Graduate College
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
2009
2
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
GRADUATE COLLEGE
As members of the Document Committee, we certify that we have read the document
prepared by Maria Helena Peixoto Ferraz
entitled An Overview of Almeida Prado’s "Transtonal" System in his Cartas Celestes,
First Six Volumes, for Piano Solo
and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the document requirement for the
Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts
_______________________________________________________________________
Date: 12 November 2009
Tannis Gibson
_______________________________________________________________________
Jay Rosenblatt
_______________________________________________________________________
Pamela Decker
Final approval and acceptance of this document is contingent upon the candidate’s
submission of the final copies of the document to the Graduate College.
I hereby certify that I have read this document prepared under my direction and
recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the document requirement.
________________________________________________ Date: 12 November 2009
Document Director: Tannis Gibson
3
STATEMENT BY AUTHOR
This document has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an
advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library
to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library.
Brief quotations from this document are allowable without special permission, provided
that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended
quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by
the copyright holder.
SIGNED: Maria Helena Peixoto Ferraz
4
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The present acknowledgment is a most sincere recognition of gratitude to
everyone who helped me on the elaboration of this document.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of those who have made it
possible for me to reach the completion of my doctoral degree. To my dearest parents
Ruy and Maria Stella for their lifelong unconditional love, trust, support, and
encouragement, and for assisting me on the collecting of musical scores and articles in
Brazil, during my research process for the realization of this document. Also, to my
beloved sister Maria Stella for her artistry, caring support and help in all phases of my
research in Brazil for this document.
I am deeply grateful to my beloved husband Richard for the elaboration of the
artistic musical examples, for his invaluable assistance, steadfast love, patience,
encouragement, strong support, and wonderful sense of humor. I have no words to
express my gratitude and love.
I was fortunate to have Professor Gibson, my advisor, Dr. Rosenblatt and Dr.
Decker in my committee, offering me an exemplary guidance and support. I would like to
show my gratitude and thankfulness to Professor Gibson for her insights, editorial
observations and suggestions.
My special thanks to the great Brazilian composer, Almeida Prado, for making
many scores available and for the relevant information he provided so generously. Also
to Helenice Audi for helping me with the musical scores and manuscripts of Almeida
Prado.
My appreciation to Marian Golf and Dirk Fleisher of Tonos Music for the
permission to use musical extracts from Cartas Celestes in this document.
5
DEDICATION
I dedicate this document to my most loving and dearest parents
Ruy and Maria Stella for their eternal encouragement, and to my beloved husband
Richard with all my love and gratitude.
6
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES.................................................................................. 8
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. 12
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION…………........................................................... 13
A. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF STUDY............................. 13
B. REVIEW OF LITERATURE........................................................................ 15
CHAPTER TWO
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF BRAZILIAN MUSIC IN THE
TWENTIETH CENTURY ............................................................. 19
CHAPTER THREE
A BIOGRAPHY OF ALMEIDA PRADO
HIS FIVE COMPOSITIONAL PHASES AND INFLUENCES.. 26
A. A BIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................... 26
B. ALMEIDA PRADO' S FIVE COMPOSITIONAL PHASES AND
INFLUENCES .............................................................................................. 31
1. "NATIONALISTIC PHASE" ................................................................... 31
2. "EXPERIMENTAL ATONAL PHASE"................................................... 32
3. "UNIVERSAL PHASE 'TRANSTONAL'"................................................ 34
4. "ECOLOGICAL PHASE" ........................................................................ 35
5. "FREE TONAL PHASE".......................................................................... 36
CHAPTER FOUR
"TRANSTONALISM" ................................................................. 38
A. "TRANSTONALISM:" A SYSTEM CREATED BY ALMEIDA PRADO ... 38
B. "THE ORGANIZED SYSTEM OF RESONANCES" CREATED BY
ALMEIDA PRADO ...................................................................................... 47
C. THE TWENTY-FOUR CHORDS ............................................................... 59
7
TABLE OF CONTENTS – Continued
CHAPTER FIVE
CARTAS CELESTES ...................................................................... 78
A. CARTAS CELESTES: VOLUMES I-VI......................................................... 78
B. CARTAS CELESTES VOLUME I ................................................................. 94
C. DESCRIPTION OF THE PÓRTICO DO CREPÚSCULO, THE
CONSTELLATIONS HÉRCULES, LYRA AND SCORPIO, AND THE
PÓRTICO DA AURORA, FROM CARTAS CELESTES VOLUME I.......... 99
APPENDIX A
PERMISSION ................................................................................. 113
APPENDIX B GENERAL CATALOGUE OF PIANO SOLO WORKS BY
ALMEIDA PRADO........................................................................ 117
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 129
8
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
Example 1. Ascending Harmonic Series....................................................................... 38
Example 2. Constellation Hércules (mm. 26-28) – Cartas Celestes Volume I............... 42
Example 3. Pórtico do Crepúsculo (Portico of the Twilight) (modules 1-4)
Cartas Celestes Volume I ........................................................................... 42
Example 4. Via Láctea (Milky Way) (mm. 28-32) - Cartas Celestes Volume I.............. 52
Example 5. Descending Harmonic Series ...................................................................... 53
Example 6. Pequena Nuvem de Magalhães (Small Cloud of Magellan) (mm. 1-3)
Cartas Celestes Volume II .......................................................................... 53
Example 7. Via-Láctea (mm.23-26) - Cartas Celestes Volume I ................................... 54
Example 8. Via-Láctea (first section from m. 27) - Cartas Celestes Volume I .............. 54
Example 9. Grande Nuvem de Magalhães (Large Cloud of Magellan) (m. 1)
Cartas Celestes Volume II .......................................................................... 55
Example 10.Via-Láctea re-exposition (mm. 6-12) - Cartas Celestes Volume I .............. 56
Example 11. Buraco da fechadura (the Keyhole) (mm.1-2)
Cartas Celestes Volume IV....................................................................... 56
Example 12. Nebulosa (Nebula) NCG 696095 (m.1)
Cartas Celestes Volume I.......................................................................... 56
Example 13. Scorpio Constellation (mm. 1-9) - Cartas Celestes Volume I .................... 58
Example 14. Via-Láctea (m. 16) - Cartas Celestes Volume I......................................... 58
Example 15. Chord Alpha α.......................................................................................... 59
Example 16. Chord Beta β ............................................................................................ 60
Example 17. Chord Gamma γ........................................................................................ 61
Example 18. Chord Delta δ ........................................................................................... 62
9
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES – Continued
Example 19. Chord Epsilon ε ........................................................................................ 62
Example 20. Chord Zeta ζ............................................................................................. 63
Example 21. Chord Eta η .............................................................................................. 64
Example 22. Chord Theta ϑ .......................................................................................... 64
Example 23. Chord Iota ι .............................................................................................. 65
Example 24. Chord Kappa κ ......................................................................................... 66
Example 25. Chord Lambda λ....................................................................................... 66
Example 26. Chord Mu µ .............................................................................................. 67
Example 27. Chord Nu ν............................................................................................... 68
Example 28. Chord Xi ξ................................................................................................ 69
Example 29. Chord Omicron ο...................................................................................... 70
Example 30. Chord Pi Π ............................................................................................... 71
Example 31. Chord Rho Q ............................................................................................ 72
Example 32. Chord Sigma σ ......................................................................................... 72
Example 33. Chord Tau Τ ............................................................................................. 73
Example 34. Chord Upsilon υ ....................................................................................... 74
Example 35. Chord Phi ϕ .............................................................................................. 74
Example 36. Chord Chi χ.............................................................................................. 75
.
Example 37. Chord Psi Ψ.............................................................................................. 76
Example 38. Chord Omega ω........................................................................................ 77
10
Example 39. The twenty-four chords from Cartas Celestes Volume I............................ 80
Example 40. Constellation Eridanus – chart from Cartas Celestes Volume II ............... 81
Example 41. Constellation Cetus- chart - Cartas Celestes Volume II............................. 82
Example 42. Galáxia (Galaxy) NGC 224 = M31 (m. 1 first section)
Cartas Celestes Volume I.......................................................................... 84
Example 43. Sirius e Capella, as estrelas super brilhantes (the super bright stars)
(mm. 1-2) - Cartas Celestes Volume IV..................................................... 85
Example 44. Júpiter, o planeta gigante (Jupiter, the giant planet) (mm. 1-4)
Cartas Celestes Volume V ......................................................................... 85
Example 45. Júpiter, o planeta gigante (mm. 39-41) - Cartas Celestes Volume V ....... 86
Example 46. Plutão (Pluto) (m. 16) - Cartas Celestes IV .............................................. 86
Example 47. Constellation Peixe Austral (the Southern Fish) (m. 1)
Cartas Celestes Volume II ........................................................................ 87
Example 48. Mercúrio (Mercury) (two sections from m. 47)
Cartas Celestes Volume II ........................................................................ 87
Example 49. Mercúrio (mm. 52-56) - Cartas Celestes Volume II.................................. 88
Example 50. Mercúrio (mm. 73-76) - Cartas Celestes Volume II.................................. 89
Example 51. Perséfone, o décimo planeta? (Persephone, the tenth planet?) (mm. 1-3)
Cartas Celestes IV .................................................................................... 89
Example 52. Galaxia espiral (Spiral Galaxy) NGC 5457 = M 101 (mm. 2-6)
Cartas Celestes V ..................................................................................... 91
Example 53. Constellation Cruzeiro do Sul (the Southern Cross) (mm. 4-5)
Cartas Celestes Volume V ......................................................................... 91
Example 54. Pórtico do Crepúsculo (modules 1-10) - Cartas Celestes Volume I......... 101
Example 55. Ápex (mm. 27-28) - Cartas Celestes Volume I ....................................... 104
11
Example 56. Constellation Hércules (mm. 3-4) - Cartas Celestes Volume I ................ 105
Example 57. Constellation Hércules (mm. 9-10) - Cartas Celestes Volume I .............. 105
Example 58. Constellation Hércules (m. 23) - Cartas Celestes Volume I .................... 106
Example 59. Lyra Constellation (mm.1-4) - Cartas Celestes Volume I....................... 107
Example 60. Scorpio Constellation (mm. 1-15) - Cartas Celestes Volume I ................ 108
Example 61. Pórtico do Crepúsculo (Portico of the Twilight) (modules 13-18) and
Pórtico da Aurora (Portico of the Dawn) (modules 1-6)
Cartas Celestes Volume I........................................................................ 111
Example 62. Sun’s Rays.............................................................................................. 112
12
ABSTRACT
This study attempts to demonstrate the singular synthesis of influences and
compositional techniques represented by the work Cartas Celestes (Celestial Maps) for
piano by José Antonio Rezende de Almeida Prado (born in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil, on
February 8, 1943). Although Almeida Prado, clearly one of the more influential Brazilian
composers, wrote a vast repertoire for all genres, his piano works are fundamental
throughout his compositional career. This significant body of work allows one to track
his evolution as a composer and to define the changing characteristics of his style within
the different phases of his trajectory. This study will examine Cartas Celestes Volumes IVI, Almeida Prado's most important work for piano solo, with particular attention to
Volume I. This document will also discuss "Transtonalism," the "System of Organized
Resonances," and the Twenty-Four chords, all created by him.
The examination of Cartas Celestes Volume I will focus on Almeida Prado's
innovative compositional devices and techniques. In addition, this study will investigate
the most important aspects of Almeida Prado's music, including timbre exploration and
the use of the piano with emphasis on touch, attacks, pedaling, pianistic gestures, and
technique.
13
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
A. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF STUDY
This study attempts to demonstrate the singular synthesis of influences and
compositional techniques represented by the work Cartas Celestes (Celestial Maps) for
piano by José Antonio Rezende de Almeida Prado. Although Almeida Prado, clearly one
of the more influential Brazilian composers, wrote a vast repertoire for all genres, his
piano works are fundamental throughout his compositional career. This significant body
of work allows one to track his evolution as a composer and to define the changing
characteristics of his style within the different phases of his trajectory. This study will
examine Cartas Celestes Volumes I-VI, Almeida Prado's most important work for piano
solo, with particular attention to Volume I.
José Antonio Rezende de Almeida Prado (born in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil,
on February 8, 1943) is acclaimed as one of the more prominent composers of the 20th
and 21st Centuries in Brazil. The Brazilian musicologist Vasco Mariz (b. 1921) states:
The composer [Almeida Prado] from Santos has reached complete maturity and,
in this decade [1990s], takes the position of our most important and refined
musical creator.1
Almeida Prado has also been described in various major dictionaries such as the
Dictionary of Contemporary Music2 (1974) and music history books such as "The Music
1
"O compositor [Almeida Prado] santista alcançou a plena maturidade e, nesta década [1990s],
desabrochou para ser [o] nosso criador musical mais importante e mais refinado." Vasco Mariz, História da
Música no Brasil, 4th ed. (Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 1994), 388.
2
The Dictionary of Contemporary Music (1974), s.v. "Prado, José-Antonio (sic) (Almeida)."
14
of Brazil" by David Appleby and "Music in Latin America: An Introduction" by Gerard
Béhague, to mention a few. The intention of this study is also to elucidate in more detail
the remarkable work of Almeida Prado and to publicize more sources of study available
internationally, with the intent of making his music better known and available.
An examination of the characteristics of Almeida Prado's music should be helpful to
performers, scholars, and the general public in understanding his musical ideas and his
prominence among contemporary composers.
Almeida Prado has shown a constant and abundant production throughout his life,
especially with works that display high compositional technique and aesthetic level.3
He developed an individual style marked by his own innovative harmonic system, called
"Transtonalism." For many years his compositions have been performed at important
musical events in Brazil and abroad,4 in countries such as France, Austria, Germany,
USA, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Colombia, and Brazil.
An explanation of the development of Brazilian music in Almeida Prado's lifetime
is essential to understanding his place in the historic musical setting of Brazil. It
establishes his prominence in the evolution of Brazilian music. This study, therefore
includes a brief historical overview of musical nationalism in Brazil. Chapter Two
briefly summarizes this topic, as a more detailed explanation of the style of each
composer would be too lengthy or extensive for the intent of this study.
Chapter Three presents Almeida Prado's biographical material and his piano
3
4
Vasco Mariz, História da Música no Brasil, 391.
Ibid., 388.
15
music through an explanation of his five phases of composition: Nationalistic,
Experimental Atonal, Universalistic ("Transtonal"), Ecological, and Free Tonal. It
discusses the influences on Almeida Prado as a composer: Brazilian folk music, classical,
modern, and Brazilian composers, as well as influences from abroad, such as Messiaen,
Boulanger, and Schoenberg.
Chapter Four is the focal point of this document, for it explains "Transtonalism,"
the "Organized System of Resonances," and the Twenty-Four chords, all innovations of
Almeida Prado. It also briefly discusses the parallel and similar events to
"Transtonalism," with regard to Gerard Griséy and the Spectral School in France.
Chapter Five discusses Almeida Prado's Cartas Celestes in six volumes, with
emphasis on Volume I.
B. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The existing literature on Brazilian music is of excellent quality, both in
Portuguese and English. Most of it presents Brazilian music history in general, while
others are about specific composers and their works. There are numerous choices for
the most celebrated Brazilian composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), and also some
for the important nationalist composer Mozart Camargo Guarnieri (1907-1993) (Almeida
Prado's first important teacher, when he was fourteen years old), to mention a few.
Almeida Prado, even though from a younger generation, is mentioned in various sources
of important literature in English. Here they list his biographic material, important
compositional trends and main works, but with much less detail. Gerard Béhague, in his
"Music in Latin America: An Introduction" (1979), cites the importance of Almeida
16
Prado, including a short biography and main characteristics of his music.5 David
Appleby, in his "The Music of Brazil" (1983), discusses the uniqueness of Almeida
Prado as a composer and his ability to fuse elements from his national origins with the
techniques learned while a student in France."6 He also provides a short biography
including a press review of Almeida Prado (piano) and Victoria Kerbauy's (voice)
concert in Queen Elizabeth Hall and various compositional trends of the composer.
Lastly, he mentions and includes a musical example of the first page of the score of
Cartas Celestes, Volume I, by Almeida Prado.7 Almeida Prado is also well presented by
Gerard Béhague in "The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians" (2001).8
Béhague gives brief but significant biographic material, traits of Almeida Prado's
compositional style, and a selective list of his works, encompassing approximately one
hundred and twenty out of some three hundred.
The present author had access to numerous newspaper articles about Almeida
Prado's life, music, and reviews of concerts performed by him and various other
renowned artists. The author read journal articles and chapters or summaries of various
master’s theses, one doctoral dissertation, and post-doctoral research written on the works
of Almeida Prado, two of them in English and the great majority in Portuguese. The
author has also read many books and articles that review Brazilian music history, some
with more detailed information about Almeida Prado and his works, most of these are
5
Gerard Béhague, Music in Latin America: An Introduction (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
1979), 347.
6
David P. Appleby, The Music of Brazil (Austin: University Press, 1983), 180.
7
Ibid, 181-182.
8
Béhague, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 20: 254-255.
17
also in Portuguese. The author briefly overviews those dissertations in the next
paragraphs.
"The Timbre in Ilhas Savanas by Almeida Prado: A Contribution to Interpretive
Practices," a master’s thesis, in Portuguese, by Ana Cláudia de Assis from the
Universidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1997), discusses timbral peculiarities found in
this particular work. Assis includes specific aspects of musical language such as harmony
and rhythm, and performance and interpretive matters, including different types of touch
and pedal effects. She also approaches Almeida Prado's unique ways of using the
instrument.
"Almeida Prado - Sonata no. 9 for Piano,"9 a master’s thesis, in Portuguese, by
José Wellington dos Santos, presents an analysis of this sonata.
"Sonata no. 10 (Sonata das Rosas) for piano solo by Almeida Prado,"10 master’s
thesis, in Portuguese, by Robervaldo Linhares Rosa. Rosa discusses the style and
provides an analysis of this work.
"Almeida Prado and Tristan Murail: Empiricism and Composition – Some
Theoretical Questions Involved in a Post-doctoral Research,"11 developed by Carole
Gubernikoff at Columbia University in New York in 1998, focuses on these two
composers. Gubernikoff "questions theoretical principles and observes their
inseparability from compositional practices found in the two works, Missa de São
9
José Wellington dos Santos, "Sonata no. 9 for piano (1992)," Cadernos do Colóquio (Maio 2000): 101.
Robervaldo Linhares Rosa, "Sonata no. 10 (Sonata das Rosas) Para Piano Solo de Almeida Prado,"
Cadernos do Colóquio (Maio 2000): 94-100.
11
Carole Gubernikoff, "Almeida Prado e Tristan Murail: Empirismo e Composição-Algumas Questões
Teóricas Envolvidas na Pesquisa de Pós-Doutorado," Cadernos do Colóquio (Abril 1999): 25-26.
10
18
Nicolau by Almeida Prado and Désintégrations by Tristan Murail." She traces some of
Messiaen's general theoretical principles and indicates some of their consequences in the
creative thinking of Almeida Prado.12
Finally, in "The Ecology of Recent Brazilian Piano Music by Almeida Prado,"
master’s thesis by Denise Pelusch at the University of North Dakota, she discusses
programmatic concepts intended by Almeida Prado in Seis Episódios de Animais, and
the understanding of extramusical representation in Almeida Prado's music.
12
Ibid.
19
CHAPTER TWO
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF BRAZILIAN MUSIC IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
During the last decades of the nineteenth century, a new aesthetic incorporating
musical nationalism was arising in Europe. Composers were employing musical
elements, including rhythms and popular melodies, from their countries. At that time, in
Brazil, the introduction of folk and popular elements in compositions met resistance from
the public concert societies. One reason for this was the strong presence of traditional
European music. The other was the fact that the richest source of inspiration in popular
music originated from the Afro-Brazilians, who had only recently achieved emancipation.
The cultural and musical contributions from this social class were undervalued by the
concert audiences and presenters.1 Toward the end of the nineteenth century, numerous
Brazilian musicians were completing their studies in Europe, including the composer,
pianist, conductor, and music critic Alexandre Levy (1864-1892), one of the most
significant contributors to the development of a national musical identity in Brazil. Upon
returning from studying in Europe, he found Brazil in political turmoil over the abolition
of slavery and the movement for the Republic foundation (proclamation) in 1889. In this
patriotic atmosphere he composed the two most familiar of his compositions, Tango
Brasileiro, for piano, and Suite Brasilienne, an orchestral work in four movements, the
last of which is entitled Samba. This is the first time a published musical work used the
1
Vasco Mariz, História da Música no Brasil, 4th ed. (Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 1994), 115116.
20
word "samba" in its title. Vasco Mariz observes, "Still in the 1920s it was necessary to
disguise the 'sambas' under the title of 'tangos' for them to be released and accepted."2
By the beginning of the twentieth century there was a growing interest in art
music that also expressed national identity. The first exponent of the nationalist
movement in Brazil was the composer, teacher, and musical commentator Alberto
Nepomuceno (1864-1920), who was considered an artist of the transition between
European musical traditions and Brazilian nationalism.3 Nepomuceno left a legacy of
compositions for various instruments and ensembles, including piano, chamber music,
operas, and orchestral works. His compositional technique incorporated popular songs,
dances, popular material, and a nationalistic aesthetic that elevated the status of Brazilian
art and culture to one equal to European models. Several of his compositions written as
early as 1892 have a predominantly rhythmic style, predating twentieth century European
works of similar emphasis.
Levy and Nepomuceno, inspired by European nationalistic movements, created
compositions incorporating Brazilian popular themes, albeit within traditional European
harmony, form and texture. Nepomuceno, who has been called the "founder of Brazilian
music,"4 was, like his contemporaries, unable to break from the influence of European
Romanticism and the restrictions of its tonal system. It was not until the arrival of
Modernism and the freeing from the limitations imposed by the tonal system that a truly
2
Ibid., 116. "Ainda em 1920 era preciso disfarçar os'sambas' sob o título de 'tangos' para que pudessem ser
lançados e aceitos. " All translations by the present author unless otherwise indicated.
3
Ibid., 124.
4
Gerard Béhague, The Beginnings of Musical Nationalism in Brazil, Detroit Monographs in Musicology,
n.1 (Detroit: Information Coordinators, INC, 1971), 41.
21
Brazilian national music could emerge. It is interesting to note that near the end of his
life, Nepomuceno convinced a publisher, Sampaio Araújo, to publish some works of a
then-unknown young composer named Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959).5
The Week of Modern Art, which took place in São Paulo, February 11th through
18th 1922, proved to be a defining moment in Brazilian Art. It was an event of great
historic prominence and represented the realization of the idealism of a generation of
artists, writers and musicians. It featured a series of concerts, lectures, and shows of
painting and sculpture representing the official first public exposure to the Modernismo
movement. The activities of the Week of Modern Art provoked vigorous published
debates and arguments between music critics and writers in general, resulting in public
awareness of changes taking place in the aesthetics of Brazilian art and music. The
primary instigator behind the event was the musicologist, poet, author, and philosopher
Mário de Andrade (1893-1945). The fundamental principles emerging from the Week of
Modern Art as summarized by Andrade were: "the right of artistic experimentation, the
continual updating of Brazilian artistic intelligence, the formation of a national artistic
expression, and the elimination of the slavish imitation of European models."6 The
contents of this manifesto, vigorously promoted in the writings of Andrade, became the
philosophical and political foundation of the subsequent generations of Brazilian
composers. Even though the various lecturers, musicians, and artists proceeded from a
heterogeneous background, they all held the nationalistic philosophy of Brazil.
The only Brazilian composer invited to participate in the Week of Modern Art
5
6
David P., Appleby, The Music of Brazil (Austin: University of Texas, 1983), 90.
Mário de Andrade, O Movimento modernista (Rio de Janeiro: Casa do Estudante, 1942), 2.
22
was Heitor Villa-Lobos, who was able to present various compositions featuring great
interpreters from Brazil. His compositions included numerous piano works and songs;
Second Sonata for cello and piano; Trios nos. 2 and 3 for piano, violin and cello; Third
String Quartet; Quartet for flute, saxophone, celeste, harp or piano, and offstage women's
voices.7
Heitor Villa-Lobos emerged as a figure of growing prominence in the 1920s. The
impact from his participation in the Week of Modern Art brought the composer an even
greater degree of public exposure and made his music more widely known. The
preeminence of Villa-Lobos in Brazilian music, and perhaps in the music of all Latin
America, was to remain undisputed for many decades afterward. He is the best
representative personality of musical nationalism in South America and universally
considered to be a major figure in the arts world of Brazil. His prodigious output
overshadows that of his South-American predecessors and contemporaries. In his most
successful works, Villa-Lobos, "fused European, African, and Indian elements
completely, possessing a musical and creative personality which was symbolic of all of
Brazil."8 His works are characterized by a multitude of ideas, a variety of procedures and
singular creative force. Vasco Mariz writes:
The position of Villa-Lobos in the history of Brazilian music is fundamental,
because his works divide it into two periods. He was the creator of the Brazilian
national music and continues to be our most important composer. However, VillaLobos did not create a school because he did not have time to teach. His music is,
7
Appleby, 91.
Marlos Nobre, "Brazil," in John Vinton, ed. Dictionary of Contemporary Music (New York: E. P. Dutton
and Co.), 101.
8
23
however, a guide to all Brazilian composers and his influence persists, very
notably, even among the young vanguard musicians.9
Villa-Lobos’s most significant works encompass seventeen String Quartets
(1915-1957), twelve Symphonies (1915-1957), the series of fourteen Choros (19201929), the series of nine Bachianas Brasileiras (1930-1945), and a large catalog of works
for piano considered to be one of the most substantial from the Brazilian musical
literature.10 Gerard Béhague observes:
There is little doubt that Villa-Lobos's works of the period 1910 to 1930 represent
the boldest Brazilian achievement in the assimilation of contemporary techniques
of composition. Although he became acquainted with Debussy's music only after
he met Darius Milhaud in 1917, and although Stravinsky's music remained
unknown to him until 1923, several of his works of the 1910s disclose technical
procedures akin to contemporary European new styles.11
And Brazilian musicologist Carlos Kater (b. 1948) states:
Various music [compositional] procedures adopted by Villa-Lobos make it
possible to place him, not only as the legitimate representative of the Brazilian
musical production, but also as an active participant in the Modernista musical
movement such as it was practiced internationally in the 1920s, especially.12
The most important composers representing the second generation of
nationalism are Oscar Lorenzo Fernandez (1897-1948), Luciano Gallet (1893-1931),
Francisco Mignone (1897-1986), and Mozart Camargo Guarnieri (1906-1993). The
contribution of Francisco Mignone to the nationalist movement is of great
significance. His works draw inspiration from a wide array of popular and folk elements
9
Mariz, 161.
Ibid., 169.
11
Gerard Béhague, Music in Latin America: An Introduction (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1979), 242.
12
"Vários procedimentos musicais adotados por Villa-Lobos nos possibilitam situá-lo, não apenas como o
representante legítimo da produção musical brasileira, mas também como participante ativo da
modernidade musical tal como praticada internacionalmente nos anos 20, em especial." Carlos Kater,
Música Viva e H. J. Koellreutter: movimentos em direção à modernidade (São Paulo: Musa Editora:
Atravez, 2001), 31.
10
24
and encompass many genres, from ballet, opera, orchestral, and chamber music to pieces
for piano solo and other instruments.
Camargo Guarnieri is considered one of the most important figures of Brazilian
music of the twentieth century. The consistent high quality of his craftsmanship as well
as the remarkable volume of works, encompassing over fifty years of creative output
place him securely as the successor to Villa-Lobos.13 Guarnieri began his studies in
aesthetics in 1928 with Andrade, who exerted an enormous influence on him. From that
time forward, a lifelong and fruitful partnership followed, and Guarnieri's compositions
represented the modern, nationalist aesthetic of Andrade. As a teacher, Guarnieri has
exerted influence on generations of young composers, including some of the most
important Brazilian composers of the second half of the twentieth century, Osvaldo
Lacerda (b. 1927), Marlos Nobre (b. 1939), Aylton Escobar (b. 1943), Sérgio
Vasconcelos Corrêa (b. 1934), Teodoro Nogueira (b. 1913), and Almeida Prado (b.
1944). Author Juan Orrego-Salas writes:
In general Guarnieri no longer draws his materials from folk music, yet his works
sound utterly Brazilian and at the same time show a discipline of form and an
economy of means that has led many critics to classify him as a neoclassicist.14
Arriving from Germany to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1937 was the flutist, composer
and conductor Hans-Joachim Koellreutter (1915-2005). A former composition student of
Paul Hindemith, Koellreutter introduced the latest works of European composers,
13
Mariz, 291.
Juan Orrego-Salas, “Brazil," in Willi Apel, ed. Harvard Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. (Cambridge:
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969), 111.
14
25
especially Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), to a new circle that included young
composers, scholars, music critics, and students. In 1939, along with his students,
Koellreutter created and published the journal Música Viva with the purpose of
publicizing musical events related to the group and disseminating the new musical
aesthetic being developed. The members of Grupo Música Viva focused on the music of
European composers with emphasis on dodecaphonic music. The composers most closely
associated with this movement included Claudio Santoro (1919-1989), César Guerra
Peixe (1914-1993), and Edino Krieger (b. 1928). Although the group Música Viva
disbanded in 1948, the introduction of this music and its influence, heretofore unknown
in Brazil, was to unleash a controversy which culminated with the publication in 1950, by
Camargo Guarnieri, of the Open Letter to Musicians and Critics of Brazil. In that letter,
Camargo Guarnieri reveals his strong nationalist position, as well as his opposition to this
new European influence.
In 1963 a new movement began in Santos, with the formation of the Grupo
Música Nova, led by the composer Gilberto Mendes (b. 1922) along with Willy Corrêa
de Oliveira (b. 1938). The group included Damiano Cozzela (b. 1929) and Rogério
Duprat (1932-2006) among others. The declared intention of the group was to utilize
aleatoric, visual, concrete, microtonal, and mixed media elements as material for
composition. It was Gilberto Mendes that Almeida Prado met in 1969 and with whom he
began having informal studies after several years of independent study following his
training with Camargo Guarnieri.
26
CHAPTER THREE
A BIOGRAPHY OF ALMEIDA PRADO
HIS FIVE COMPOSITIONAL PHASES AND INFLUENCES
A. BIOGRAPHY
The Brazilian musicologist Vasco Mariz (b. 1921) asks the following question,
with Almeida Prado clearly in mind:
"Has there finally appeared a successor to Villa-Lobos?"1
The Franco-Brazilian Musicologist Gerard Béhague (1937-2005) states:
The resounding international success of many of his [Almeida Prado] works from
the 1970s to the 90s has ensured that he is recognized as one of the most creative
figures in Brazilian contemporary music.2
José Antônio Rezende de Almeida Prado, born in Santos, on the southeast coast
of Brazil, on February 8, 1943, is one of the most prominent Brazilian contemporary
composers.3 Almeida Prado was exposed to music at early age. His mother and older
sister Tereza Maria played the piano very well. Almeida Prado's piano lessons began with
Lourdes Jopper, a teacher in Santos, who had him play J. S. Bach, Czerny and Diabelli
among other classical composers. Almeida Prado began composing small pieces at the
age of seven, and also created music to accompany his sister Tereza Maria's puppet
shows. He reflects:
1
"Estará surgindo afinal o sucessor de Villa-Lobos?" Vasco Mariz, História da Música no Brasil, 4th ed.
(Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 1994), 392.
2
Gerard Béhague, "Prado, José (Antonio Resende (sic)) de Almeida," in The New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians, 2nd edition, 254-255.
3
Almeida Prado, "Almaida, Almida, ou melhor Almeida Prado," by Paulo Martinelli, Correio Popular,
Campinas (Brazil), 9 August 1993, Caderno C, p. 1.
27
Just as Mozart or Beethoven imitated Haydn, Händel and who came before, I
imitated Villa-Lobos. Villa-Lobos of Cirandinhas, the pieces I heard my older
sister Tereza Maria practice while I was playing.4
Almeida Prado continued composing intuitively until Dinorah de Carvalho (19041980), a great pianist, composer, and pioneer in Brazil, heard him play and invited him
to study piano with her in São Paulo, beginning in 1954. Thus Almeida Prado developed
as a pianist, giving recitals and interpreting the classical piano repertoire, including the
music of Mozart Camargo Guarnieri (1907-1993), Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), Lorenzo
Fernandez (1897-1948), along with his own little pieces.5 Almeida Prado also studied
composition with Carvalho until 1957, when she advised him to further his studies of
harmony and counterpoint with Osvaldo Lacerda (b. 1927) and composition with
Camargo Guarnieri. Almeida Prado continued his studies with Camargo Guarnieri until
1963. In the same year, he graduated from the Santos Music Conservatory, where he then
taught piano from 1965-1969.
From 1963 until 1969 Almeida Prado pursued his studies on his own. During this
period he met the composer Gilberto Mendes (b. 1922) in Santos, who introduced him to
contemporary European compositional techniques. In 1969, Almeida Prado won the first
prize at the First Festival of Guanabara with the work Os Pequenos Funerais Cantantes
for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra, with text by Hilda Hilst. This prize afforded
him the opportunity to pursue his studies in Europe.
From 1969 to 1973, Almeida Prado lived in Paris and studied with Olivier
4
João Marcos Coelho, “Um Músico Erudito Desce da Torre,” Folha de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil), 1
July 1978, Folha Ilustrada, p. 1.
5
Ibid.
28
Messiaen (1908-1992), Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979), and Annette Dieudonné.6
Messiaen and Boulanger exerted a profound influence on him; Boulanger in harmony,
counterpoint and form, and Messiaen in rhythm. It was during this period that Almeida
Prado, drawn towards experimentation, began exploiting and integrating atonal, serial,
and modal techniques. He also took a course in composition in Darmstadt, studying with
Györgi Ligeti (1923-2006) and Lukas Foss (1922-2009).
In 1973, upon his return to Brazil, Almeida Prado assumed the directorship of the
Music Conservatory of Cubatão, and in 1974 he accepted the position of Professor of
Composition and Orchestration at the University of Campinas, Department of Music.
Presently, Almeida Prado, retired from his professorship, continues composing, lecturing,
giving master classes and teaching special advanced courses in analysis and composition.
Almeida Prado's prizes in Paris include the Lili Boulanger Prize for his First
Symphony in 1970; the Fontainebleau Prize for his Trio for piano, violin, and cello in
1971; the Lili Boulanger - Boston Foundation Prize for Sonata no. 2 for piano and the
Cerimonial for bassoon and orchestra, in 1972; the Lili Boulanger - Boston Foundation
Prize for Portrait de Lili Boulanger for piano, flute, and string quartet, in 1973. Also in
that same year he received two second prizes at the Goethe Institute Competition for his
works Livro Sonoro for string quartet and Magnificat for choir of six voices. In Brazil,
Almeida Prado's prizes include the first prize at the National Competition Celebrating
the 150th Anniversary of the Independence of Brazil, with the Trajetória da
Independência, a one hour long oratorio in three parts for narrator, soprano solo, choir,
6
Annette Dieudonné, friend and colleague of Nadia Boulanger, taught solfège at the Conservatoire
National de Paris and at Fontainebleau.
29
and orchestra; the Carlos Gomes Prize for Monumento a Carlos Gomes, in 1977, and
the first prize at the Universidade de Minas Gerais Ars Nova Competition with
Cantata Bendito da Paixão de Jesus de Nazaré, in 1978. More recent prizes include the
Max Feffer Prizes, for the Episódios de Animais, in 1993, and for the body of his work,
in 1994; the Art Critics Association of São Paulo7 first prizes with Noturno no. 13, in
1993, and, the Arcos Sonoros da Catedral Anton Bruckner an experimental symphonic
work, in 1996; the Best Composer of the Year Prize by the National Prize of Music
Funarte,8 the most honored prize in the musical field of Brazil. In Spain, Almeida Prado
received the first prize at the IX Concurso Francesc Civil de Girona, Espanha, with
Cantares do seu nome e de partidas with text by Hilda Hilst, for soprano and string
orchestra, in 1996.
For many years Almeida Prado's compositions have been performed at important
musical events in Brazil and abroad, such as: France, in 1971 at the International Festival
of Provence; Paris in 1974, with the Portrait de Lili Boulanger; Austria in 1974 with
Exoflora for piano and orchestra. Also in Austria, in that same year, several of his
works were chosen to represent Brazil at the Music Festival at Graz. Almeida Prado's
Aurora for piano and orchestra was performed at the Warsaw International Festival of
Music in 1975. He was selected as the Brazilian representative to the Boston meeting of
the International Society for Contemporary Music, where his Portrait de Lili Boulanger
received enthusiastic critical acclaim by the Boston Globe in 1976.
7
8
Associação Paulista de Críticos de Arte.
Prêmio Nacional de Música-Funarte.
30
Almeida Prado's important commissioned works include the oratorio
Villegaignon, ou, Les Isles Fortunées, with text by Henri Doublier, commissioned by the
French Foreign Office in 1971, first performed in France in 1971 and later at the
Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro in 1973. His second oratorio, Thérèse d'Amour de
Dieu ou La Passion de Sainte Thérèse de Lisieux, commissioned by the Ministry of
Education of France, was first performed in Rio de Janeiro at the Municipal Theater in
1975. His Concerto Fribourgeois for Piano and Orchestra, commissioned by Paul and
Margrit Hahnloseer from Switzerland, was premiered with great acclaim from the public
and press in Switzerland,9 Brazil (1995), and Colombia10 (2001). In 1997, Almeida Prado
was commissioned by the City Government of Rio de Janeiro to compose Fantasia for
violin and orchestra, for the celebration concert honoring the visit of Pope John Paul II to
Brazil. Almeida Prado's compositions have been performed and recorded by well known
musicians in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Switzerland, USA, Spain, Denmark, Finland
and France, with excellent reception by the press and the general public.11 Mariz
concludes:
There was no other composer in Brazil who had been so prolific during this
decade [1990s] and of such a high technical and aesthetic level [as Almeida
Prado].12
It is not surprising that he has been profoundly influential for a generation of composers
9
Review of Concerto Fribourgeois by Almeida Prado, with Fribourg Orchestre (Théophanis Kapsopoulos,
conductor, and Maria Helena Ferraz, solo pianist), by Bernard Sansonnens, La Liberté Newspaper,
Fribourg, 1 February 1995, 19.
10
Review of Concerto Fribourgeois by Almeida Prado, with La Orchesta Sinfónica de EAFIT (Cecilia
Espinosa, conductor, and Maria Helena Ferraz, solo pianist), by Rafael Vega Bustamante, El Colombiano
Newspaper, Medellin, 13 September 2002.
11
Mariz, História da Música no Brasil, 388.
12
Ibid., 391.
31
not only in Brazil but worldwide. Almeida Prado's output, numbering over three hundred
works, includes solo, chamber music, and symphonic works. His compositions display an
influence of early musical nationalism, Afro-Brazilian evocations, spiritualism, profound
mysticism, and evocations of ecology. As Béhague concludes:
His music in general exhibits rigorous structural integrity, highly individual
harmonic and timbral effects and an overt poetic and spiritual content.13
Almeida Prado’s most innovative contribution to contemporary music is his
"Transtonalism," a new harmonic system first introduced in his Cartas Celestes Volume
I (1974). Cartas Celestes and "Transtonalism" will be further discussed in Chapters Four
and Five.
Almeida Prado's compositional style is divided into five different phases that
are named and characterized by the composer himself.14 The first three phases
(Nationalistic, Experimental Atonal, and Universalistic) occur between 1952 and 1974.
The following two (Ecological and Free Tonal) were distributed among different periods
throughout Almeida Prado's life from 1973 to the present.
B. ALMEIDA PRADO'S FIVE COMPOSITIONAL PHASES AND INFLUENCES
1. "NATIONALISTIC PHASE"
Almeida Prado's first works date from 1952 and 1953, when he was nine or ten
years old. At that stage his compositions display strong influences of Heitor Villa-Lobos,
the foremost figure in Brazilian music of the 20th Century and the founder of nationalism
13
Béhague, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 254.
Manuscript General Catalogue of Almeida Prado's solo piano compositions organized and handwritten by
the composer in 1999. Author’s archives.
14
32
in Brazilian music. At the age of fourteen, Almeida Prado started studying with Mozart
Camargo Guarnieri the most important figure of the second generation of Brazilian
nationalist composers. These studies included harmony, counterpoint and the application
of Brazilian folk music in variations, fugues, and inventions, without using direct
quotation from folk melodies.
Almeida Prado's nationalistic phase (1960-1965) includes predominantly tonal
works that rely on variations on Brazilian folk tunes, texts from popular poetry, and that
have rhythmic and melodic elements derived from indigenous folk music. It reflects the
influence of his teachers Camargo Guarnieri, in composition, Osvaldo Lacerda (b. 1927),
in counterpoint, and Mário de Andrade (1893-1945), in aesthetics.
The following works constitute the principal materials of Almeida Prado's first
phase:
14 Variações sôbre o Tema Afro-Brasileiro Xangô (1961)
5 Peças Brasileiras para piano à maneira de Camargo Guarnieri (1962)
Variações para piano e orquestra (1963)
Invenções a duas e três vozes (1961 through 1964)
Sonata no. 1 para piano (1965)
2. "EXPERIMENTAL ATONAL"
During his experimental atonal phase (1964-1969) Almeida Prado was selftaught. At that time, he met Gilberto Mendes (b. 1922), an avant-garde composer, who
had a profound influence on Almeida Prado's career as a composer. Through their
33
frequent conversations and informal lessons, Gilberto Mendes introduced him to works
by Boulez, Stockhausen, Berio, Messiaen, Pousseur, Schoenberg, Webern, and others.
From that introduction, the realization that other musical pathways were open to him led
to exploration of new possibilities. Although still fond of the baião, toada, and cururú,15
Almeida Prado now understood that he had transcended this nationalistic phase. He
began to experiment with twelve-tone and polytonal music, moving away from modal
music and nationalistic styles. For Almeida Prado, the discovery of compositional
systems such as twelve-tone music, aleatory techniques and multi-serialism, during his
development as a composer, led him into substantial moments of self-examination. These
particular moments of deliberation led him to reconsider the utility of his music; he
reflected on his response to the needs of an audience, and his role as a member of a
society undergoing continuous change.16
Prime examples of Almeida Prado's second phase are found in the following
works:
Tocata para piano (1964)
Seis Momentos para piano (1965)
Sonatina no. 1 (1966)
Ponteio para piano (1966)
15
Toada: A vocal song that in general reflects the regional peculiarities of Brazil: at times happy, sad, or
tearful, funny or satirical, with a simple melody but has stanza and refrain. Popular in many parts of Brazil.
Baião: Popular dance and song, accompanied by guitar and other instruments, derived from baiano (baiano
chorado). Cururú: Old popular folk dance, surviving from Amerindian dance, from São Paulo region.
Currently, cururú is performed as a vocal call and response song style.
16
Almeida Prado, Cartas Celestes, Uma Uranografia Sonora Geradora de Novos Processos
Composicionais, (Doctoral Dissertation), Campinas: UNICAMP Universidade Estadual de Campinas,
1985, 2.
34
Variações, Recitativos e Fuga para piano (1968)
Pequenos Funerais Cantantes, cantata for mixed voices choir, orchestra, soloists,
with text by Hilda Hilst (1969), first prize at the Guanabara Festival (1969)
Sonata no. 2 para Piano (1969)
Seis Momentos para Piano (1969)
3. "UNIVERSAL PHASE"
Almeida Prado's universal phase (1969-1974) began with his studies in France.
Three prominent musicians heavily influenced his development: Nadia Boulanger (18871979), Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992), and Annette Dieudonné. During this time free
tonal procedures became more evident in his compositions, as Almeida Prado explored
and combined atonal, serial, and modal techniques. Influenced by his teacher, Messiaen,
he began to investigate more complex rhythmic structures, especially rhythmic
counterpoint. Messiaen was responsible for initiating him into his theory of rythmes
augmenté et diminués and various other rhythms such as Hindu and Greek. On the other
hand, Nadia Boulanger taught him the concepts of form and structure. It was during this
phase that Almeida Prado created Cartas Celestes Volume I, his major work:17 "The
Cartas Celestes would be the concrete object, the starting point for a reflection on my
evolution as a composer."18 For Almeida Prado, it was a "great adventure, a fantastic
journey throughout the cosmos." He claims that it was something into which he had
launched himself, without knowing where he would go, like a rocket that departs from
17
18
Ibid.
Ibid.
35
earth with no return.19 It was also during this phase that Almeida Prado created his
"Transtonal System" and his "System of Organized Resonances" (explained in Chapter
Four), the organizing principle in writing Cartas Celestes. It is interesting to note that
technical challenges for the performer become remarkably greater in works from this
phase. The principal pieces from Almeida Prado’s third phase are:
Portrait de Lili Boulanger for piano, flute, and string quartet (1972)
Portrait de Nadia Boulanger for soprano and piano (1972)
Taaroá for piano (1972)
Estações for orchestra (1972)
Livro sonoro for string quartet (1973)
Lettre de Jerusalém for soprano and percussion (1973)
Cartas Celestes Volume I (1974)
4. "ECOLOGICAL PHASE"
The fourth phase, his ecological phase is split into two parts (1973-1978 and
1996). Here, the composer is inspired by the sounds and sights of Brazilian nature, its
fauna and flora. The most significant pieces of Almeida Prado's fourth phase are:
Ilhas for piano solo (1973)
Seis Momentos de Cubatão for piano (1973)
Exoflora for piano and orchestra (1974)
19
Almeida Prado, Cartas Celestes, Fernando Lopes, piano, Estudio Eldorado Série Super Luxo Clássico,
n° 66.82.0352, 1982.
36
Ex Itinere for piano, violin, viola, and cello (1974)
Rios for piano solo (1976)
Paná-Paná for flute, oboe, and piano (1977)
Macaíra for harpsichord and two pianos (1978)
Fantasia Ecológica for piano solo (1996)
VI Novos Episódios de Animais (1996)
5. "FREE TONAL PHASE"
In the free tonal phase (1976-present) the composer expresses a profound
mysticism and religious consciousness presented in a neo-Impressionistic style. Almeida
Prado considers this phase to be one of total freedom from previous attachments. He
no longer feels obliged by rules and is absolutely free to write in any style of his
choosing. The main works from this phase are:
Itinerário Lírico ou Livro de Helenice for piano (1976)
Concerto for violin and chamber orchestra (1976)
Livro de Ogum for piano (1977)
Memorial de San Martin for two pianos (1978)
Crônica de um dia de verão for clarinet and chamber orchestra (1979)
Concerto for flute and chamber orchestra (1980)
Cenas Infantis for piano (1983)
Cinco Presilúdios for piano (1983)
Três Sonatas for violin and piano (1980-1992)
VII Caderno de Momentos for piano (1983)
37
Espiral I e II for soprano and piano (1983-1993)
Sonatina for violin and piano (1984)
Sonatas no. 3– no. 10 for piano (1984-1996)
Sonata no. 5 - Omulú (1985)
Le Rosaire de Medjugorjie (1987)
Sinfonia dos Orixás (1985)
Quatorze Noturnos for piano (1985-1992)
Sinfonia Apocalipse (1987)
Nove Louvores Sonoros for piano (1988)
15 Flashes de Jerusalém for piano (1990)
Três Croquis de Israel for piano (1990)
Três Mosaicos for piano (1990)
Balada Shirá Israel for piano (1990)
Balada B'nai B'rith for violin and piano (1993)
Sinfonia no. 2 (Unicamp)
Cartas Celestes Volumes II-VI
Arcos Sonoros da Catedral A. Bruckner (1996)
Fantasia for violin and orchestra (1997)
Salmo 148 for piano and jazz symphonic band (1997)
Cartas Celestes no. 7 for two pianos and symphonic band (1998)
38
CHAPTER FOUR
"TRANSTONALISM"
A. "TRANSTONALISM:" A SYSTEM CREATED BY ALMEIDA PRADO
An understanding of Almeida Prado's "Transtonalism" requires a fundamental
knowledge of certain acoustical principles, specifically harmonics, resonances, and
spectrum of resonances as employed by Almeida Prado in his Cartas Celestes.
Harmonics:
The term harmonic is employed to represent a general acoustical phenomenon.
A musical sound is comprised of a fundamental frequency and its related frequencies
which are called harmonics. The frequencies of these harmonics are a series of
symmetrical mathematical multiples of the fundamental frequency. The harmonics
display an amplitude which is a fraction of the amplitude of the fundamental frequency.
For instance, "an instrument which produces the tone of the frequency n actually
produces vibrations (pure sounds) of the frequencies n, 2n, 3n, 4n,… (up to 20n and
more)."1 The illustration below shows the first sixteen harmonics of the fundamental C.
Example 1. Ascending Harmonic Series
1
Willi Apel, Harvard Dictionary of Music (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1953), 13
(“Acoustics”).
39
On the piano the harmonics can be demonstrated by depressing the key of low C
without producing a sound (simply raising the damper of the key), then striking forcefully
the key of the bass C and releasing it immediately. The higher C will clearly be heard.
Therefore, when the low C is played one is actually listening to all the harmonics of that
C. This occurs because the harmonics bass C, G, c, e, etc., produced by the fundamental
low C originate, by means of resonance, sympathetic vibrations in the shorter strings
corresponding to these tones.2 Another way to demonstrate harmonics on the piano is by
playing any key and making stops on the corresponding strings.
The physical phenomenon of the harmonics is illustrated by a vibrating body, such
as a string that vibrates concurrently as a whole and in smaller portions of one-half, onethird, one-fourth, etc., of the whole length. Nevertheless, the amplitude of the secondary
vibrations is considerably smaller -- approximately between one fifth and one-fiftieth of
that of the fundamental.3
The harmonics are the materia prima (primary material) used by Almeida Prado
to create the desired resonances. They produce timbre (sound color) and resonances.
Resonance:
Resonance is an acoustical phenomenon. "It is the transmission of vibrations from
one vibrating body to another;"4 a reinforcement of sound in a vibrating body caused by
waves from another vibrating body at nearly the same rate.
2
Ibid., 14.
Ibid., 13.
4
Ibid., 637.
3
40
[Resonance] takes place only when the two bodies are capable of vibrations of the
same frequency. If, for instance, two tuning forks of the same frequency are
placed next to each other and if one of them is struck with a hammer, the other
will instantly begin to vibrate and to emit the same sound, as can be heard by
silencing the first one.5
When considering vibrating strings, the possibilities of resonance are greatly larger due to
the presence of the harmonics. On the piano, for instance, the low C string originates
resonant vibrations in the strings: bass C, G, middle C, E, etc,6 as shown in Example 1.
The resonances in the numerous strings of the piano, accessed by means of lifting
the dampers, offer immense possibilities of sound and timbre. For instance, by pressing
some keys down on the lower range of the keyboard, without making a sound and playing
some keys in the middle range of the keyboard, the harmonics shared by the played notes
can be heard. Still more important is the piano's sounding board, the so-called general
resonator, which is the body that reinforces sounds of all frequencies and pitches.
Almeida Prado uses various types of resonance-based harmonies to create his music.
These resonances can modify the timbre of the piano according to the number and
intensity of the harmonics in use. The resonances are the materia prima in the creation of
Almeida Prado's "System of Organized Resonances" and the Spectrum of Resonances.
Spectrum of Resonances:
Spectrum of Resonances refers to the final sound resulting from a wide range
of multiple resonances. These resonances may be derived from numerous chords within a
passage, or chords built up over an entire movement of a composition. In a Spectrum of
5
6
Ibid.
Ibid.
41
Resonances, the different harmonics are amplified or attenuated by various resonances
inside the piano in such a way that certain harmonics may be greatly emphasized while
others may be deeply suppressed according to how the composer combines them.
Almeida Prado creates these spectrums by means of the damper pedal, keeping all
dampers lifted for a passage or even an entire movement of the composition. He also
intensifies to varying degrees one color or another by using a sequence of chords whose
spectrums share some harmonics. The Spectrums of Resonances are the materia prima
and the main element in the construction of Almeida Prado's Cartas Celestes.
Almeida Prado utilizes a wide and vast range of sound spectrums in Cartas
Celestes. The sound projection capability of the piano for creating the spectrums of
resonances is a crucial element in Cartas Celestes and in other of Almeida Prado's
"Transtonal" piano compositions.
42
Example 2. Spectrum of Resonances - Constellation Hércules (mm. 26-28) - Cartas
Celestes Volume I
Example 3. Spectrum of Resonances - Pórtico do Crepúsculo (Portico of the Twilight)
(modules 1-4) – Cartas Celestes Volume I
43
"Transtonalism:"
Cartas Celestes is considered one of Almeida Prado's most important creations
because it represents the origin of his explorations into a new compositional procedure
called "Transtonalism." This procedure, whereby sounds are organized by their
resonances, is neither tonal or atonal. In "Transtonalism" the composer explores the
ascending and descending harmonics of fundamental notes or chords and their
resonances, disassociating them from harmonic function. The sounds are intensified and
enriched in many degrees according to the number and intensity provoked by the applied
resonances. The numerous motives and themes he creates with these resonances
(designed with a variety of timbres and textures) become tonal centers for a variety of
forms. These tonal centers are the recurring events, represented by their specific motives
and themes, which Almeida Prado uses to develop his musical portraiture of the skies.
"Transtonalism" is the idiom in which Almeida Prado applies the spectrums of
resonances obtained from ascending and descending harmonic series. It is a new tonalism
based in resonances. The term "Transtonalism" was first used in 1975 by the Brazilian
musicologist Yulo Brandão after listening to Cartas Celestes Volume I by Almeida
Prado. Brandão noticed in it a new vision in which the tonalism was transfigured.7
"Transtonalism" is defined by the musicologist Gerard Béhague in the New Grove
Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001), as "extended tonalism."8 Perhaps Béhague
refers to Almeida Prado’s use of tonal properties without the limitations of the tonal
7
Vasco Mariz, História da Música no Brasil, 4th ed. (Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 1994), 392.
Gerard Béhague, "Prado, José (Antonio Resende (sic)) de Almeida," in The New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians, 2nd edition, 254-255.
8
44
system. "Transtonalism" addresses the relationship between resonances. It transcends
tonality in the sense that the use of tonal chords, for example a C Major chord does not
follow the hierarchy of the tonal system. Almeida Prado himself defines it as
"transfigured tonal presence, but free from the reminiscences of tonal cadences." He
explains that "Transtonalism" is
the observation of ascending and descending harmonics resulting from a given
note and the incorporation of everything that could be obtained from
contemporary techniques, such as serialism and minimalism, into the utilization of
sonorous blurs (clusters), plus all the rhythmical richness of Messiaen and VillaLobos.9
Almeida Prado actively explores all components of sound. The resulting timbres
represent the fundamental aspect of his music. Interestingly, he adds that all elements
must interact with freedom and fantasy.10
An important remark should be made about the similarities and differences
between Almeida Prado's "Transtonalism" and the "Spectralism" of the 1970s as
represented by French composer Gérard Grisey (1946-1998). Almeida Prado’s
"Transtonalism" and Grisey’s "Spectralism" were similar in that both occurred at the
same time and both dealt with harmonics, timbres, and textures. An important innovative
contribution that "Transtonalism" and "Spectralism" present is the creation of musical
structures built of harmonics and timbres. In "Spectralism," the music construction is
grounded on frequencies. The frequency of a sound is the number of times that a sound
9
Mariz, História da Música no Brasil, 392.
Almeida Prado, José Antonio Rezende de. "Cartas Celestes: Uma Uranografia Sonora Geradora de
Novos Processos Composicionais." [Celestial Maps: A Sonorous Uranography Generator of New
Compositional Processes] (Doctoral diss., Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 1985), 28.
10
45
wave repeats its cycle per second. For Almeida Prado's "Transtonalism," the music
structure is based on resonances. Almeida Prado and Grisey were unaware of each other’s
work. Independently, both explored the acoustic properties of sound and the capability of
human perception. Another important characteristic of Almeida Prado's "Transtonalism"
and Grisey's "Spectralism" is that sound and all its components serve as the organic
structural element in music. Each closely aligns sound with natural physical properties of
the Earth. Grisey and the French Spectral School see psychoacoustics as the basic
element for their compositional procedure. Grisey understood sounds "not as dead objects
that you can easily and arbitrarily permutate in all directions, but as being like living
objects with a birth, lifetime and death."11 Considering these particularities, a new
listening approach becomes essential to understanding their music. Fineberg observes:
By listening closely to any sound, it becomes possible to hear the separate
components, and, by adding sounds together it is easy to hear the global sound
color, or timbre emerge and evolve.12
This approach to the listening may be applied to the global spectrum of sounds created on
the piano by Almeida Prado. Almeida Prado and Grisey also qualified the timbre of a
note not only by its spectrum but also by its intensity and range. Generally speaking,
Grisey's technique was developed scientifically, grounded in electro-acoustic techniques
and with the application of computer programs. By contrast, Almeida Prado's technique
was and continues to be developed with the use of harmonics and resonances properties
and the incorporation of his profound knowledge of the piano, as well as other acoustic
11
Gérard Grisey, Gérard Grisey, on-line Interview by David Bundler (18 January 1996); available from
www.angelfire.com/music2/davidbundler/grisey.html; accessed 12 October 2009.
12
Joshua Fineberg, “Guide to the Basic Concepts and Techniques of Spectral Music,” Contemporary Music
Review 19 (2000): 85.
46
instruments. Other compositional techniques such as tonalism, atonalism, serialism, and
free tonalism are mastered and incorporated freely into his music. In a broader sense,
Almeida Prado and Grisey were searching for different sources of sound material and
compositional techniques to express their music, rather than the traditional musical
compositional techniques used up to that time period in music history. Their great interest
in the phenomenon "sound as sound" may be an indication of a reaction to serialism and
its abstract technique of measuring intervals and the arbitrary permutation of notes (or
pitches) in all directions.
Another important observation is that Almeida Prado13 and Grisey14 both
recognized the composer Edgar Varèse (1883-1965), with his work Déserts, as the
initiator of the use of sonorous masses for filling a space in time. Varèse pioneered a
broader compositional process by introducing the creation and elaboration of new sounds
and sonorous masses rather than composing with traditional sounds only. He also
initiated the application of technology in composing.
Two other composers who also should be acknowledged for their approach to
creating large sonorous masses within their compositions are Yannis Xenakis (19222001) and György Ligeti (1923-2006). Iannis Xenakis, a composer, engineer, and
architect, who worked in Le Corbusier's architectural firm for several years, used
computer applications to explore numerous musical structures derived from sonorous
densities. These sonorous densities, made out of a multitude of isolated sounds, generate
13
14
Almeida Prado, Doctoral Dissertation, 529.
Gérard Grisey, Gérard Grisey, on-line Interview by David Bundler (18 January 1996).
47
new sonorous masses when they are observed in their totality.15 György Ligeti developed
a compositional technique that he called "micropolyphony." This technique is grounded
in his use of highly dense and complex polyphonic textures, which erases for the listener
the distinction among melody, harmony, and rhythm. Both Ligeti16 and Xenakis have
emerged as fundamental influences on contemporary music.
Almeida Prado writes that Cartas Celestes occupies a new sonorous space.17
Through the presentation of a continuous sound vibration for the duration of the work,
almost uninterruptedly, the composer reveals a new preoccupation with time and space.
This space is filled with the sounds from abundant chords and the resonances created by
them. For the composer, the objective of sounds and sonorous masses is to fill a space in
time, continuously, as the sound takes over the musical form or structure.
In order to consolidate his "Transtonalism" into a system, Almeida Prado created
his "System of Organized Resonances," which will be discussed in this chapter.
B."THE SYSTEM OF ORGANIZED RESONANCES" CREATED BY ALMEIDA
PRADO
Almeida Prado explains in his dissertation that Cartas Celestes "gave him the
opportunity to rethink the tonal system versus the atonal system."18 He writes,
15
Iannis Xenakis, Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition Revised edition
(Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1992), 9.
16
Paul Griffiths, "Life in Counterpoint: Paul Griffths on Gyorgy Ligeti," Artforum International 45.1
(September 2006): 61 (2).
17
18
Ibid., 541. "Ao compor o Volume I das Cartas Celestes foi me dada a oportunidade de repensar o
Sistema Tonal versus o Sistema Atonal."
48
Contemporary music, which in this century [20th Century] was aesthetically
divided into multiple courses, was faced suddenly with the responsibility of
demonstrating coherence and a logical explanation.19
For him, this process of thoughtful reconsideration "offered the opportunity to organize a
system capable of embracing various sonorous materials and creating some unity among
them."20 Almeida Prado’s system would address the matter of coherence through the use
of combinations of ascending and descending harmonics while adding numerous
dimensions of instrumental and timbral richness and variety. For him, that plurality and
abundance of new material possibilities would become an integral part of a new
compositional system.21
Almeida Prado, in his dissertation, reviews the tonal system organized by JeanPhilippe Rameau (1683-1764) in his "Treatise of Harmony" (1722). Almeida Prado
elucidates Rameau’s discourse on "the importance of the relationship between tonic and
dominant, the hierarchy of major and minor triads, the specific functions of diminished
triads and the significance of dissonances and consonances as vital elements for the
dialectic of the tonal system."22 He explains:
the tonal system served as a support for numerous generations of composers in
Europe, aiming above all to serve as a language in which the elements of
consonance and dissonance articulate within a constant dialectic of contrasts. The
tonic is the starting and the returning point for a determined sound called tonality.
After leaving the initial tonality the music wanders through modulations, which
are the temporary installations of the tonality (or tonal regions). These temporary
19
Ibid. "A música contemporânea, que neste século [século XX] se dividiu em múltiplos caminhos
estéticos, viu-se de repente com uma responsabilidade de coerência [e] de explicação lógica."
20
Ibid. "Era me oferecida então a chance de organizar um sistema capaz de abarcar várias situações
sonoras, colocando-as juntas, criando um mínimo de unidade."
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
49
installations give the sensation that the initial tonality has been converted into
another one.23
Continuing this process, and after continuous modulations have gone through a
cadence passage, the music returns to the initial tonality. In the cadence process, the
dominant, with its essential role, "counterbalances the importance of the tonic."24
Almeida Prado concludes:
The dominant chord tries to dominate the tonic, always giving the impression of
victory. After a while, however, the dominant gives primacy to the tonic, which
closes the argument between the two. The subdominant chord balances this
dynamic antagonism and plays the role of mediator between the tonic and the
dominant forces.25
Almeida Prado continues the discourse illustrating significant points of the tonal
system with various musical examples of procedures used by J. S. Bach and Georg
Friedrich Händel. He describes this tonal system as somewhat simple and tracks it along
an evolution where it acquires more and more chromatic features and arrives, finally, at
its near dissolution with the opera Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner (1813-1883).26
For Almeida Prado, the highest point of the evolution of the tonal system occurs
with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Franz Liszt,
and Johannes Brahms. These composers retain the dialectic between tonic and dominant.
With musical examples from Brahms, Liszt, and Wagner, Almeida Prado makes the point
that, even with a great deal of chromaticism in their music, combined with complex new
aggregation features camouflaging the tonal course, these composers still used a
23
Ibid., 547-548.
Ibid., 548.
25
Ibid..
26
Ibid., 553.
24
50
supporting bass line as a main component in formal structures.27
Following this chromatic period, Almeida Prado affirms that Arnold Schoenberg
(1874-1951) is a crucial figure in the evolution of music. Schoenberg’s creation,
dodecaphonism or the twelve-tone system is organized through a series of pitches. Its
four initial rows (original, inversion, retrograde, and retrograde inversion) result in a total
of forty-eight possibilities through twelve transpositions of the initial four series or
"rows." Schoenberg's system suppresses the hierarchic relations among tonic, dominant,
and subdominant of the tonal system, creating both a new language and a structure based
on continuous variation. As an innovator, Schoenberg marks the abolition of the
traditional tonal functions and creates a totally new treatment of dissonance. Almeida
Prado states that, as a consequence, "the redundancy, element preponderant of the tonal
system, was annulled."28
Reflecting on the trajectory of 20th-Century atonal music, Almeida Prado notes
that it did not achieve the expected repercussions; the majority of the general public
worldwide did not comprehend atonal music.29
In his search for a meaningful and new language, one in which he could
encompass atonal experiences and the use of harmonics and resonances, Almeida Prado
created his "System of Organized Resonances" working with variable "zones of sonorous
densities."
[He] tried to prove that it was possible, through the rational and organized use of
resonances, to transmit to the listener an emotion of intense vibration, placing him
27
Ibid.
Ibid., 557.
29
Ibid., 559.
28
51
[the listener] in confrontation with a new proposition of sonorous space, no longer
committed to melodies or rhythms, but materialized by dense or transparent zones
of sonorous masses.30
Almeida Prado’s system incorporates his atonal experiences and the use of resonances
organized according to sounds from the ascending and descending harmonic series,
creating what he calls "zones of perception of resonances."31
The composer divides his system into four zones, each addressing a different
perception of resonances, which are named by him:
1) "Zone of Explicit Resonance:"
a) When considering the rational and organized use of the ascending harmonic
series:32
This occurs when the composer uses the ascending harmonics (shown in Example
1). In this case, the composer clearly displays the notes of the ascending harmonic series
of a given fundamental sound, without the interference of any other note that does not
belong to that harmonic series.
30
Ibid., 29.
Ibid., 559. “Quando se leva em conta o uso racional e organizado da Série Harmônica Superior.“
32
Ibid., 560.
31
52
Example 4. The application of the ascending harmonic series - Via Láctea (Milky Way)
(mm. 28-32) - Cartas Celestes Volume I
b. When considering the rational and organized use of the descending harmonic
series:33
Here the composer refers to the use of the descending harmonics of a fundamental
note, again without the interference of any other note which does not belong to that
harmonic series.
33
Ibid., 561. "Quando se leva em conta o uso racional e organizado da Série Harmônica Inferior."
53
Example 5. Descending Harmonic Series
Example 6. The application of all the notes of the descending harmonic series.
Pequena Nuvem de Magalhães (Small Cloud of Magellan) (mm. 1-3)
Cartas Celestes Volume II
c. Any outside note to the fixed spectrum of harmonics [of a given sound] is
considered an intruding element, ornamental sound, not altering the explicitness
of the basic elements of the series.34
34
Ibid., 562. "Qualquer nota estranha ao espectro fixo dos harmônicos é considerada elemento invasor, sons
ornamentais, não alterando a explicidade dos elementos básicos das series."
54
Example 7. Intruding elements - Via-Láctea (mm.23-26) and (m. 27) - Cartas Celestes
Volume I
The P 5th C-G, the motive of Via-Láctea is surrounded by intruding elements.
Example 8. The application of the descending harmonic series interspersed by intruding
elements - Via-Láctea (first section from m. 27) - Cartas Celestes Volume I
55
Example 9. Intruding elements - Grande Nuvem de Magalhães (Large Cloud of
Magellan) (m. 1) – Cartas Celestes Volume II
2) "Zone of Implicit Resonance: "
When in the use of an atonal sequence, some hinting notes (or insinuating notes)
impose themselves as constituent elements of resonance from the spectral of
descending or ascending harmonics.35
In this case, the composer presents a free atonal passage or sequence, but still
brings some of the notes that belong to the ascending or descending harmonic series of a
fundamental note, sparsely giving hints of the harmonics of a given fundamental. The
implicit notes provide only a suggestion of the harmonic series within the musical
passage.
35
Ibid., 563. "Quando, em se usando uma sequência atonal, insinuam-se algumas notas que se impõem
como elementos constituintes de Ressonância do Espectro dos Harmônicos Inferiores ou Superiores."
56
Example 10. "Zone of Implicit Resonance" using ascending harmonic series - ViaLáctea re-exposition (mm. 6-12) - Cartas Celestes Volume I
The notes marked with + indicate the implicit resonances of the harmonic series of C that
interweave with a free atonal passage.
Example 11. "Zone of Implicit Resonance" using descending harmonic series - Buraco
da Fechadura (the Keyhole) (mm.1-2) - Cartas Celestes Volume IV
Example 12. "Zone of Implicit Resonance" using both, ascending and descending
harmonic series – Nebulosa (Nebula) NCG 696095 (m.1) - Cartas Celestes
Volume I
57
3) " Zone of Multiple Resonance:"
When the employment of simultaneous or sequential chords, constituted of mixed
resonances, creates a whirlwind rush of resonances, making it almost impossible
for the ear to distinguish them. This cumulative process creates an incredible
sonorous power due to the uneven beating of the simultaneous vibrations.36
Almeida Prado makes use of this particular procedure in a great number of his
piano compositions. Scorpio, the third constellation in Cartas Celestes Volume I,
constituted of multiple chords of massive resonances, illustrates Almeida Prado’s
application of his " Zone of Multiple Resonance." The fast harmonic rhythm -- or the
rapid frequency and rate in which the harmony repeats and changes -- varies throughout
the course of the entire movement and effectively contributes to the strong agitato
feeling. This pattern of uninterrupted harmonic repetition in ff translates into a thick
texture and massive sound, revealing the emotional state and overwhelming
psychological effect of power that the composer wishes to convey. Scorpio Constellation
will be discussed in Chapter Five.
36
Ibid., 565. "Quando o uso de acordes simultâneos ou sequenciais, constituidos de ressonâncias
misturadas, criam um turbilhão de ressonâncias, - tornando quase impossível a distinção pelo ouvido. Este
processo acumulativo de notas é de incrível poder sonoro devido ao batimento desordenado das vibrações
simultâneas."
58
Example 13. Scorpio Constellation (mm. 1-9) - Cartas Celestes Volume I
4) "Zone of Non-Resonance:"
When rationally employing the use of chords, or melodic elements, simple or
polyphonic, which generate a minimum resonance, creating a necessary opacity
zone, neutrality, a vital contrasting element.37
In this case, Almeida Prado makes use of passages of single slow moving notes,
with very few resonances, to convey a quiet moment.
Example 14. Via-Láctea (m. 16) - Cartas Celestes Volume I
37
Ibid., 566. "Quando emprega racionalmente o uso de acordes, ou de elementos melódicos, simples ou
polifônicos, os quais resultam em pouca ou mínima ressonância, criando uma necessária zona de
opacidade, neutralidade, elemento também vital de contraste com os outros."
59
C. THE TWENTY-FOUR CHORDS
The twenty-four chords form the fixed sonorous material, which Almeida Prado
uses as a basic element to give unity to his entire work. These twenty-four chords, each
one with a specific assigned register, encompass the entire range of the keyboard. The
specific register of each chord is kept throughout the entire work, except for a few chords
from the Scorpio, Hércules and Lyra constellations, which will be discussed in Chapter
Five. Each of the twenty-four chords in Cartas Celestes has five successive
transpositions, each transposition corresponding to a volume in the cycle. The
constellations, the core of the entire cycle, are the movements that are constructed by the
twenty-four chords exclusively.
Example 15. Chord Alpha α
The chord Alpha α is the key chord for the cycle. Almeida Prado describes it as
the "chord symbol and the thematic key for the entire cycle."38 It is made of two superimposed perfect fifths, with a tritone formed between the upper note of the lower fifth
38
60
and the lower note of the upper fifth. This tritone gives a strong quality to this chord.
Almeida Prado calls it corola de uma flor: the body formed by the group of petals of a
flower.39 The listener hears the tritone in the center followed by the vibrating sound of the
P 5th C-G.
Example 16. Chord Beta β
The chord Beta β has a striking effect. The intervals compounding it are P 4th, m
2nd, augmented 2nd, m 2nd, and m 2nd. The treble A can be heard along with the fast
repeated vibrations of the chromatic upper notes C#, D and Eb, as in a spinning
evolution. Almeida Prado applies this chord to "give the sensation of an intensely bright
star."40
39
40
Ibid.
Ibid.
61
Example 17. Chord Gamma γ
8va
The chord Gamma γ, for Almeida Prado, "results in a resonance resembling
chimes because of the predominance of the oscillations involving the augmented fifth
Db-A."41 The upper tones also bring an illuminating effect. Its component intervals are:
m 2nd, m 2nd, aug. 5th, P 5th, m 7th, m 2nd, and M 2nd. In Volume I, the Gamma chord high
staff is transposed one octave higher.
41
Ibid., 12.
62
Example 18. Chord Delta δ
8va
The chord Delta δ is made up of m 2nd, m 3rd, m 2nd, m 2nd, P 4th, dim. 4th, and
double augmented 4th. It also has a bright effect but more metallic because it is played in
the higher register (high G# is the highest note). After striking the chord the treble A# is
heard followed by the vibrations of semitone E-Eb (treble). In Volume I, the chord Delta
δ high staff is transposed one octave higher.
Example 19. Chord Epsilon ε
The chord Epsilon ε is made up of m 2nd, aug. 6th, m 2nd, and m 9th. The octaves
here originate an effect of ampleness along with the intense vibrations of the half step B-
63
C at the bass of the chord. It generates a bright and sparkling timbre, an effect of
transparency "as the blue-violet brightness of a star."42 Almeida Prado says that "it was
43
always used with the intention of [bringing] brilliance and luminosity."
Example 20. Chord Zeta ζ
The chord Zeta ζ is made up of M 2nd, m 2nd, m 6th, aug. 8va, m 6th, M 2nd, m 2nd,
and M 2nd. The first striking sounds in this chord are the result of the vibrations of the
diminished octave (or Major Seventh) F#-F natural and the Major third F#-A#. An
expanded effect is created by the two double-octave intervals from middle F# to high F#,
and treble F to F one octave higher than high F.
42
43
Ibid., 13.
Ibid.
64
Example 21. Chord Eta η
The chord Eta η is made up of m 3rd, M 2nd, M 2nd, m 2nd, augmented 3rd, m 2nd, M
2nd, M 2nd, m 3rd, and m 3rd. It is a cluster-chord with a density of sounds in the middle
register of the keyboard. Its sonority is brilliant and resplendent starting from the P 5th AE and the fluctuations of treble C# and D#, and the high A.
Example 22. Chord Theta ϑ
The chord Theta ϑ is made up of m 3rd, double augmented 4th, m 2nd, P 4th, and M
6th, and uses the middle C as its lowest note. The minor third is the main resonance along
with vibrations of the semitone treble A# and B. It is a chord with less vibration and with
65
a predominance of the lower tones. Almeida Prado uses it as an ideal chord to represent
shade when contrasting with light.44
Example 23. Chord Iota ι
The chord Iota ι is made up of aug. 3rd, m 2nd, P 11th, m 2nd, aug. 3rd, m 3rd, M 2nd,
and m 3rd. It is a dark and dense chord for the dominance of the lower resonances from F
and A# and the vibrations of basses A# and B. The high F# and A# are the next sounds to
be heard after the vibrations of the lowest notes, starting from the bass F. It is a chord of
impact, tension and drama. The vibrations of the bass notes cause a dense effect. It is one
of the most voluminous and sonorous of all the chords
44
Ibid., 14.
66
Example 24. Chord Kappa κ
The chord Kappa κ is made up of a dim. 5th, M 2nd, P 4th, aug. 4th (tritone), and
P 5th, starting on the bass E. Almeida Prado calls it a "bell-chord." The chord Kappa κ
does not appear in Volumes I and II of Cartas Celestes.
Example 25. Chord Lambda λ
8va
The chord Lambda λ is made up of M 2nd, m 2nd, aug. 5th, M 2nd, dim. 14th, P 5th,
m 2nd, aug. 8va, m 2nd, aug. 5th, and P 4th. The P 5th G-D is the first to be heard, followed
67
by the reverberations of the semitones D-Eb and E-F. It is an ample, massive and
powerful chord. It encompasses more than five registers, starting from the lowest A,
causing the reverberation of a wide spectrum of sounds. Almeida Prado describes it as "a
sumptuous chord with no octaves, with a large ultraviolet spectrum and a high dramatic
power." For him "it creates an atmosphere of cosmic infinitude."45 Transposed one octave
lower on the low staff, the Lambda λ is the second most repeated chord in the Scorpio
Constellation, the dominant section of Cartas Celestes Volume I. The first time it
appears, it is repeated consecutively thirty-nine times, powerfully and in ff, creating a
great magnitude of resonances.
Example 26. Chord Mu µ
The chord Mu µ is made up of M 6th, m 2nd, m 2nd, aug. 8va, and dim. 8va. The bass
E is its lowest note. It has a predominance of two double-octave intervals bass E and high
E, and treble Eb and Eb two octaves higher. The resonances heard initially are wide
45
Ibid., 16.
68
oscillations created by C#-D-Eb, followed by the reverberations of its highest Eb.
Almeida Prado describes this as a "trill-chord, excellent for passages of great
luminosity."46
Example 27. Chord Nu ν
The chord Nu ν is made up of P 4th, m 10th, P 4th, P 4th, and M 3rd, with the bass C#
as its lowest note. It is a mixed chord composed of F# m and GM, both in second
inversion. It presents a superposition of three perfect fourths starting from bass C#-F#,
treble A-D, and treble D-high G. Almeida Prado uses the chord Nu ν to punctuate the
phrases of the Scorpio Constellation in Volume I.
46
Ibid., 17.
69
Example 28. Chord Xi ξ
The chord Xi ξ is a chord cluster with more than two octaves of extension ranging
from middle Bb to high D#. The Bb resonances predominate followed by the vibrations
of the P 5th middle Bb and F and complemented by numerous resonances due to the
number of octaves. It is made up of M 2nd, M 2nd, M 2nd, m 2nd, M 2nd, M 2nd, M 2nd,
m 2nd, m 2 nd, M 2nd, m 2nd, m 2 nd, M 2nd, M 2nd, m 2nd, m 2 nd, and M 3rd.
70
Example 29. Chord Omicron ο
The chord Omicron ο is made up of m 2nd, m 3rd, M 3rd, m 2nd, P 4th, m 2nd,
aug. 2nd, and m 2nd. The resonances of the Major seventh interval are dominating in this
chord, followed by the coloring made by the other intervals. The higher tones are clearly
heard.
71
Example 30. Chord Pi Π
16
8va higher
The chord Pi Π is made up of P 4th, M 3rd, P 4th, m 9th, m 2nd, M 2nd, M 2nd, M 2nd,
and m 2nd. It is dominated by the vibrations of an F# Major chord 6/4 and the presence of
two superimposed perfect fourths. It is complemented by the resonances of a cluster in
the high register. In the Scorpio Constellation, the Pi Π chord is transposed two octaves
higher on the high staff and one octave higher on the low staff.
72
Example 31. Chord Rho Q
The chord Rho Q is made up of aug. 2nd, m 3rd, m 3rd, m 2nd, m 2nd, m 3rd, and m
3rd. It is dominated by the vibrations of G, E, and F.
Example 32. Chord Sigma σ
The chord Sigma σ is made up of m 9th, m 2nd, aug. 6th, M 2nd, and dim. octave.
The bass C# resonances predominate in this chord, followed by the vibrations of D, Eb,
C#, and D#. Almeida Prado calls it a "trill-chord of great luminous effect."47
47
Ibid., 21.
73
Example 33. Chord Tau Τ
The chord Tau Τ is made up of m 6th, m 2nd, m 2nd, m 2nd, m 2nd, and P 5h. Almeida
Prado calls it a "transtonal chord,"48 because of its construction based on the resonances
of the fundamental note A. It is displayed according to the harmonic series. The widely
separated bass notes are followed by the higher harmonics, which are separated by
smaller intervals. It is a chord of intense vibration. The resonances of the octave A
prevails followed by the vibrations of the P 5h.
48
Ibid., 22.
74
Example 34. Chord Upsilon υ
The chord Upsilon υ is made up of dim. 4th, M 2nd, P 4th, aug. 4th, and m 6th. It has
a great undulating effect caused by the tritone and the augmented octave Bb and B and
the M 2nd Bb and C.
Example 35. Chord Phi ϕ
The chord Phi ϕ is made up of m 2nd, m 3rd, m 2nd, m 2nd, M 2nd, m 2nd, m 2nd,
and m 3rd. It is a cluster chord predominated by its bass G# and the vibrations of middle
75
C. Almeida Prado refers to it as "tragic, frightening and heavy."49
Example 36. Chord Chi χ
16
8va
The chord Chi χ is made up of M 2nd, and dim. octave, which is doubled and
separated by five octaves. It is a dense chord of ample spectrum generated by its extended
range and dominated by its lower resonances. In the Scorpio Constellation, the chord Chi
χ is transposed two octaves higher on the high staff and one octave lower on the low
staff.
49
Ibid., 23.
76
Example 37. Chord Psi Ψ
The chord Psi Ψ is made up of P octave, m 2nd, m 2nd, M 2nd, m 2nd, m 2nd, m 2nd, m
2nd, dim. 4th, and a P 5h. Almeida Prado calls it a "transtonal chord,"50 because of its
construction based on the resonances of the fundamental C. Here the bass notes are heard
one octave apart, followed by higher harmonics which are separated by smaller intervals
plus the P 5h on the top. The resonances of the C major triad dominate the sound of this
chord.
50
Ibid., 24.
77
Example 38. Chord Omega ω
The chord Omega ω is made up of two P 5h intervals separated by four octaves. It
is the opposite of the alpha chord, having the predominance of the low C followed by the
resonances of G. Almeida Prado uses it to close a musical passage or movement.
78
CHAPTER FIVE
CARTAS CELESTES
A. CARTAS CELESTES: Volumes I-VI
Cartas Celestes Volume I, one of Almeida Prado’s most "communicative and
most performed pieces"1 was well received by the critics and general public. The critics
credited the composer with having created a new musical language to represent the
cosmos.2 Renowned pianists including Almeida Prado, Roberto Szidon, Ney Salgado,
and others have performed the work in venues in South America, Europe, and the United
States. The Brazilian pianist Fernando Lopes recorded the entire six volumes and
performed Volume I in Carnegie Hall.3
Cartas Celestes is a descriptive cycle. Its inspiration is the Brazilian night sky as
viewed in different months of the year. Almeida Prado followed the Celestial Atlas by
Ronaldo Rogério de Freitas Mourão, a Brazilian astronomer-poet who describes the night
sky of Brazil for both amateurs and young learners. In this atlas one finds descriptions of
constellations, nebulae, globular agglomerations, galaxies, meteors, planets, and the
magnitude of stars. Mourão writes:
The idea of preparing a celestial atlas that would offer the aspect of the skies
within our latitudes came from adolescence, when I was bitten by a love for
stars…. [D]uring my nocturnal vigilance, in the garden of stars which is the life of
1
Almeida Prado, Cartas Celestes, Fernando Lopes, piano, Estudio Eldorado Série Super Luxo Clássico, n°
66.82.0352. CD notes.
2
Almeida Prado. "Cartas Celestes: Uma Uranografia Sonora Geradora de Novos Processos
Composicionais." [Celestial Maps: A Sonorous Uranography Generator of New Compositional Processes]
(Doctoral diss., Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 1985), 3.
3
Jurandy Valença, "O erudito guardado por Almeida Prado," Correio Popular (Campinas, São Paulo,
Brazil), 22 October 1995, Caderno C, p. 1.
79
an astronomer, I have never forgotten my obligation of preparing a work [atlas]
with which it would be possible for the youth to be initiated into the beauties of
our skies.4
Like Mourão's attempt to describe the wonders of the sky, Almeida Prado's
Cartas Celestes attempts to represent a musical interpretation of the same. Through a
large variety of sonorous material the composer not only musically registers the stars,
constellations, and all other celestial bodies, but also searches for a musical
representation of their corresponding intensity and brightness.
The constellations make up the main body of the entire structure of the cycle; they
serve as a basic unifying element and represent the main force of the work. As a means
of directly representing the stars within these constellations, Almeida Prado uniquely
constructs twenty-four chords and names each according to the corresponding Greek
letter by which each star is universally identified by astronomers. These chords, listed
and described in Chapter Four, become a basic unifying element for the entire cycle. It is
important to note that the resonance intensity level applied to each of these twenty-four
chords corresponds to the luminosity grade of each star. As a result, the constellations are
the most constant elements in the work because their structure is based exclusively on the
application of these twenty-four recurring chords.
4
Ronaldo Rogério de Freitas Mourão, Atlas Celeste 10th edition (Petrópolis: Editora Vozes, 2004), 10.
80
Example 39. The twenty-four chords from Cartas Celestes Volume I
81
Almeida Prado creates the original chords for Volume I and then employs them
for the entire cycle. These chords recur in volumes II-VI transposed respectively a minor
third up, a minor third down, a perfect fourth down, a major third up, and a perfect fourth
up from the notes in Volume I.
Example 40. Constellation Eridanus o Rio (Eridanus the River) - chart from Cartas
Celestes Volume II
82
Example 41. Constellation Cetus Baleia (Cetus the Whale) - chart from Cartas Celestes
Volume II
These constellations are depicted throughout Cartas Celestes, interspersed with
sections representing galaxies, meteors, agglomerations, planets, nebulae, and other
celestial bodies. These sections offer contrasting developmental material that weaves
many musical threads together, often in ornamental style. Each celestial body is given its
own designated theme and sonority.
Almeida Prado uses planets to introduce new sonorous material and form.
Providing dramatic contrast, they are the vehicle with which the composer introduces
unexpected material, thereby creating an element of surprise. This new material
positions the listener in the present. By contrast, the recurring material representing the
83
other celestial bodies gives the listener an opportunity to revisit previously-heard music.
This recurrence of specific sonorous material is a key factor throughout the entire work;
it provides form, a sense of unity, cohesion, and balance in each of the six volumes.
Cartas Celestes explores an enormous range of piano resonances, textures and
color. Almeida Prado is a master of the piano and his output for the instrument is
extensive. One observes through his piano compositions a special concern for timbre
exploration and massive sound production. His choice of the piano for Cartas Celestes is
logical given the piano is able to produce a vast array of resonances, and therefore offers
immense sound possibilities. As the composer observes:
I chose to compose [Cartas Celestes] for the piano, for this instrument is the most
adequate for the vertiginously rapid passages, the percussive passages and the
immense possibility for a grandiose resonance.5
The possibilities of creating states of high velocity, vertiginous accelerandos and
rallentandos, gives to the piano a primacy over all other instruments.6
Successful realization of the sound properties in Cartas Celestes is largely
dependent on the model, quality, and condition of the instrument. The sound projection
capability of the instrument is a crucial element for creating the spectrums of resonances
in Cartas Celestes. The acoustical environment of the hall is also a key factor to be
considered.
To represent the entirety of the Universe, Cartas Celestes demands a variety
5
"Preferi compor para piano por ser este o instrumento mais adequado para as passagens vertiginosamente
rápidas, as passagens percutivas e a imensa possibilidade de uma grandiose ressonância."Almeida Prado,
Cartas Celestes Volume I, preface, (Darmstadt:Tonos International, 1974), 2.
6
"As possibilidades de criar estados de alta velocidade, de acelerandos vertiginosos e de ralentandos dá ao
piano a primazia dos instrumentos." Almeida Prado Doctoral Dissertation, 4.
84
of touches, attacks, and weight techniques. Pedaling applications, attention to extreme
dynamics, and register changes all contribute to the new timbres and types of sounds
demanded of the performer. Additionally, the composer draws from the pianism of
Chopin, Liszt, Albeniz, Debussy, Villa-Lobos, and Messiaen, especially in regard to
ornate filigree writing and a colorful virtuosic approach. Almeida Prado, in quest of a
new language, adds his own innovative procedures.7 He applies numerous exquisite
pianistic effects including brilliant arpeggios, polyrhythmic tremolos and trills, trills and
glissandos simultaneously, the build up of high velocity clusters in whirling spiral form,
fast tremolos with long pedals, double glissandos (black and white keys,
simultaneously), glissando with tremolo of clusters, wide skips, massive chords and
double octaves, polyrhythmic and simultaneous cluster-tremolos and broken clusters,
some played as fast as possible. The result is a dazzling array of pianistic techniques.
Example 42. Galáxia (Galaxy) NGC 224 = M31 (Nebulosa Andrômeda) (Andromeda
Nebula) (ms. 1 first section) - ornate filigree writing from Cartas Celestes
Volume I
7
85
Example 43. Sirius e Capella, as estrelas super brilhantes (the super bright stars)
(mm. 1-2) - ornate filigree writing from Cartas Celestes Volume IV
Example 44. Júpiter, o planeta gigante (Jupiter, the giant planet) (mm. 1-4)
Cartas Celestes Volume V - colorful virtuosic approach, forearm clusters
86
Example 45. Júpiter, o planeta gigante (mm. 39-41) – Cartas Celestes Volume V colorful virtuosic approach
Example 46. Plutão (Pluto) (m. 16) - Cartas Celestes Volume IV - arpeggiated
clusters played with forearms8
8
Performance instruction by the composer. Cartas Celestes Volume IV, 18.
87
Example 47. Constellation Peixe Austral (the Southern Fish) (m. 1) – Cartas Celestes
Volume II - double glissando (black and white keys, simultaneously)
Example 48. Mercúrio (o planeta mais próximo do sol) (Mercury) (the planet closest to
the sun) (two sections from m. 47) - Cartas Celestes Volume II - whole
arm cluster in fff
Cartas Celestes is technically very challenging for the pianist and requires a great
amount of physical endurance and stamina. The writing necessitates athletic motions of
the arms and hands; this is mostly due to the constant register shifts, fast and bright
glissandi, unrelenting passages of fast tremolo, and chord repetitions with great crescendi
88
and expressive diminuendi. There are many instances of rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic
configurations within fast tempi and wide dynamic ranges. As Saloméa Gandelman
writes:
It requires imagination for the conception of the timbres, control of the instrument
on the production of pp, ppp and pppp and, overall, careful attention to the
production of the torrential resonances [,] which should follow the sonorous
masses.9
Example 49. Mercúrio (o planeta mais próximo do sol) (mm. 52-56) - Cartas Celestes
Volume II - athletic motions, tempo changes and contrasting dynamics
9
Saloméa Gandelman, Almeida Prado: works for piano & piano and violin, Luiz Senise, Elizabete
Aparecida, Constança Almeida Prado and Helenice Audi, NovoDiscManaus, CD notes, MR04-23, 2001.
89
Example 50. Mercúrio (o planeta mais próximo do sol) (mm. 73-76) - Cartas Celestes
Volume II - athletic motions, tempo changes and contrasting dynamics
Example 51. Perséfone, o décimo planeta? (Persephone, the tenth planet?)
(mm. 1-3) - Cartas Celestes Volume IV- glissando with tremolo of clusters
from ppp to fff
In addition to his innovative use of celestial maps and the creation of twenty-four
chords as a new vocabulary in Cartas Celestes, Almeida Prado's unique use of piano
resonances as a materia prima is notable. Cartas Celestes is an exercise in the building of
90
resonances to create an expanded sense of sonority and form. Expanding the number of
notes in the chords and extending the uninterrupted repetition of the chords to produce
greater density of resonances is also innovative. Almeida Prado uses constructions of
harmonics as a source of sound and sound extension. According to the intensity and type
of pianistic attack, the relative amplitudes of the harmonics -- at a given moment and as
they modify in time -- determine the timbre or color of the sound. Almeida Prado
intensifies the natural resonances by working with sounds that share harmonics and
notating the notes that represent the harmonics of each sound.
The following example shows the representation of Galaxia espiral (Spiral
Galaxy) NGC 5457 = M 101 from the constellation Ursa Maior (Ursa Major), found in
Cartas Celestes Volume V. Here, Almeida Prado displays his inventiveness in his Rondo
of Rhythmic Figures,10 which is entirely built on a D# tremolo octave pedal point.
The composer notates that the arpeggiated motives should be played with freedom of
tempo, but the D# tremolo octave pedal point should always be played evenly and with
impassiveness.11
10
11
Almeida Prado, Cartas Celestes Volume V, Ursa Maior, manuscript, 21. (Almeida Prado’s archives).
Almeida Prado, Cartas Celestes Volume V, Ursa Maior, (Darmstadt: Tonos International,1981), 18.
91
Example 52. Galaxia espiral (Spiral Galaxy) NGC 5457 = M 101 from the constellation
Ursa Maior (Ursa Major) (mm. 2-6) – Cartas Celestes Volume V
In the Cruzeiro do Sul (the Southern Cross) Constellation, the Gregorian chant
Crux Fidelis is introduced.
Example 53. Cruzeiro do Sul Constellation (mm. 4-5) - Cartas Celestes Volume V
The use of literary quotations, to express religious or spiritual references in the
92
music, is found frequently in Cartas Celestes. As an example, the Cruzeiro do Sul
constellation from Cartas Celestes Volume V opens with a poem by the Brazilian writer
Cassiano Ricardo (1895-1974) as an epigraph:
E uma cruz misteriosa de estrelas
abriu no céu os seus braços de luz
como uma enorme profecia:
Eu sou a cruz do cruzamento!
O cruzeiro do amor universal.12
Almeida Prado makes intensive use of synesthetic13 interpretive indications
throughout his music, and Cartas Celestes is no exception. He utilizes effectual imagery
and poetic concepts in these indications to convey a meaning or a desired momentum.
These become effective tools for the interpreter and when successfully realized elicit
a range of sensations and emotions from the listener. Saloméa Gandelman, in her article
on the works for piano by Almeida Prado, writes:
[Almeida Prado] considers himself to be a pictorial composer, manifesting, in his
interpretative indications, a particular preoccupation with colors and timbres.
Common in his works is the usage of expressions, such as: luminous, solar,
nocturnal, as if it was dawn, floral, scintillating, as a spiral of fire, starry, metallic,
incandescent, etc.14
It is noteworthy that the six volumes of Cartas Celestes were not written over a
consistent period of time. In fact, there is a seven year gap between Volumes I and II.
12
Ibid., 20. And a mysterious cross of stars / Opened its arms of light in the sky / As an enormous
prophecy: / I am the cross of the crossroads! / The crux of the universal love.
13
Synesthesia or synaesthesia 1. in physiology, sensation felt in one part of the body when another part is
stimulated. 2. in psychology, a process in which one type of stimulus produces a secondary, subjective
sensation, as when a specific color evokes a specific smell sensation. Webster’s New World Dictionary of
the American Language.
14
Saloméa Gandelman,"A obra para piano de Almeida Prado," in Revista Brasileira de Música, n°19, Rio
de Janeiro: Escola de Música da UFRJ (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro), 1991, 115-120.
93
Within that period, Almeida Prado went through a "major change,"15 as he felt his music
was becoming enriched by new influences.16 He had entered a more fertile and productive
period, one in which he found himself drawing upon personal spirituality and ecological
themes. During this time, the composer was in his "Free Tonal Phase."
Almeida Prado describes an anecdotal event, one which inspired him to go back
and continue writing more volumes of Cartas Celestes. One evening, when in search of
a score of J. S. Bach, he found instead the Celestial Atlas by Ronaldo Mourão. He opened
it coincidentally to the charts for October and November. Noting that these were the
months that followed those represented in Cartas Celestes Volume I, he considered
it a sign for continuation of the cycle. Helenice, his wife at that time, encouraged him in
the task.17
Almeida Prado’s writing had gone through a considerable stylistic change since
the completion of Volume I. He now felt that his writing had become more fluent,
revealing new aspects of himself. Through this reflective process he quickly discovered
a solution for how to begin writing Volume II: he decided to return to the twenty-four
chords he created for Volume I and transpose them for the remaining volumes.18 The six
volume cycle was completed in October 1982.
In 1998 the composer decided to continue his explorations of "Transtonalism," a
journey he described as "a pretentious courage of traveling throughout the sky through
15
Almeida Prado, Cartas Celestes, Fernando Lopes, piano, Estudio Eldorado Série Super Luxo Clássico,
n° 66.82.0352. CD notes.
16
Ibid.
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid.
94
sounds and silences."19 He then wrote eight additional volumes, each with specific
chords, genre, and sky region: Cartas Celestes VII for two pianos and Symphonic Band
(1998), Cartas Celestes VIII for violin solo and orchestra, Cartas Celestes IX, X, XII,
XIII, and XIV for piano solo, Cartas Celestes XI for piano, marimba, and vibraphone.
Cartas Celestes XIV applies chords created for Cartas Celestes XIII, transposed.
B. CARTAS CELESTES VOLUME I
The composer reflects, "Daring to represent the Universe and its infinity
through music!… A pretentious ambition! But music also offers a magical and infinite
Universe, therefore, the imagination dares what reason hesitates to do…"20
Cartas Celestes Volume I was commissioned by José Luis Paes de Nunes, from the
Mayor’s Office of the city of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, in June 1974. The work was
to be used as a sound track for the presentations of the Municipal Planetarium of the
Ibirapuera. The Cartas Celestes Volume I was created in August 1974, and it was
premiered in the same year by the composer in Brazil at the Planetarium Ibirapuera, with
acclaim by the press and general public.21 In the same year, Almeida Prado performed the
piece in Geneva, where it was received with great success by the press, who declared that
he had created, through this piece, a new language, in which, intuitively, he fused
tonalism and atonalism, now named "Transtonalism."22 The work was written during his
19
Almeida Prado, Cartas Celestes Volume III (manuscript, 1981), preface. Translation made by the author.
"Ousar representar o Universo infinito na música! Uma pretenciosa ambição! Mas a música oferece
também um Universo infinito e mágico, logo, a imaginação ousa o que a razão titubeia…" Almeida Prado,
Cartas Celestes Volume I, (Darmstadt: Tonos International,1974), 2.
21
22
Almeida Prado, Almeida Prado: works for piano & piano and violin, Luiz Senise, Elizabete Aparecida,
Constança Almeida Prado and Helenice Audi, NovoDiscManaus, MR04-23, 2001.
20
95
"Universal Phase" (see Chapter Three).
Almeida Prado created Volume I based on a view of the Brazilian sky within the
period from August to September (part of the winter and beginning of spring in Brazil).
He viewed Cartas Celestes as an evocation of power and luminosity and he considered it
"a fantastic and mystic voyage."23 Volume I, and in fact the entire cycle, begins and ends
with the representation of the sun. Almeida Prado describes its significance: "This star
[the sun], the king star of our planetary system, is the sonorous essence of the [first] six
volumes of Cartas Celestes."24
The aesthetic of Almeida Prado in Cartas Celestes I is based on the sensory. This
aesthetic is grounded primarily in timbres, colors of the resonances, sound production,
and types of pianistic attacks. The interpreter and listener should be receptive to the
composer’s imagination and use of extramusical elements.
The form in Volume I is not the first preoccupation of Almeida Prado. The form
results from his development and building of resonances, timbral gestures, sonorous
masses, and their distribution according to the constellations, galaxies, and the celestial
bodies he chooses to represent. Almeida Prado explores sounds and sonorous masses
with the purpose of filling an infinite space. The idea for the musical structure was an
inspiration that came to him without deliberate reflection.25
The general structure of Volume I is also established by the representation of the
three periods of a day. It starts with the Pórtico do Crepúsculo (Portico of the Twilight)
23
Almeida Prado, Cartas Celestes Volume II, preface, (Darmstadt:Tonos Musikverlags, 1981), 2.
25
Ibid., 3.
24
96
(first movement), moves throughout the Noite (Night) (second movement and the main
body of the piece), and finishes at Pórtico da Aurora (Portico of the Dawn) and Manhã
(Morning) (the third movement). The first and third movements are constructed as a
palindrome, with a Coda added to the third movement. In the second movement, the form
is established by the recurrence of events articulating the constellations and their
treatment. The form was a resultant process rather than a generative factor.
The tempo is derived not only from the composer’s indications, but also from the
pacing of the events. It also relies on the sound capability of the piano, the ability of the
performer to produce and project the resonances, and the acoustics of the hall. The more
resonances the performer can generate, the longer the sonorous spaces between sections
become. In regard to the significance of tempo in general, Almeida Prado explains that
tempo is a symbolic factor for creating "sensations of vertiginous accelerandos and
rallentandos, or a complete absence of gravitation, in that case, musically applying a
very slow articulation."26
The rhythm is based on the energy generated from the gravitational force of the
celestial bodies; it is the force that holds the work together. This rhythmic energy is more
or less intense according to the number and density of stars contained in the
constellations. For example, in the Scorpio Constellation, Almeida Prado uses a
simultaneous and fast interplay of stars to create an intense rhythm application.
The textures are fundamental for the realization of Cartas Celestes, considering
the significance of the twenty-four chords. Here, Almeida Prado places these twenty-four
26
Almeida Prado Doctoral Dissertation, 29.
97
chords in specific registers throughout the keyboard. The various textures are created
according to the volume and density of each celestial body. The large range of densities is
represented either by massive chords, clusters, simultaneously played glissandi and
arpeggios, or by extremely light ornamental arpeggiated passages, filigree-like motives,
and various textural blurring of sounds.
The harmonic language is "Transtonalism" and the vocabulary is comprised of
the twenty-four chords (discussed in Chapter Four).
Almeida Prado reveals his religious faith in various works through biblical
quotations and through his references to mystical imagery themes and dedications. In
Volume I, the composer expresses his religiosity and faith in God, placing a citation from
Genesis as an epigraph:
And God said:
Let there be light
in the firmament,
to divide day and night,
to give signs, times,
days and years.
Let there be light
in the firmament,
so that they
light the earth.
And it was so.
The three movements appear with a varied number of sections, the second
movement having the greatest number:
98
I.
Portico of Twilight27
Night (Vesper - Venus)
II. Milky Way
Galaxy NGC 224 = M 31 (Andromeda Nebula)
Meteors
CONSTELLATION I (Hercules)
Globular Agglomeration Messier 13
Meteors
CONSTELLATION II (Lyre)
Nebula NGC 696095
CONSTELLATION III (Scorpio)
Nebula NGC 696095
Meteors
Alpha Piscium
Meteors
Milky Way
Venus
III. Portico of the Dawn
Morning
27
I. Pórtico do Crepúsculo
Noite (Vesper - Venus)
II.Via-Láctea
Galáxia NGC 224 = M 31 (Nebulosa de Andrômeda)
Meteoros
CONSTELAÇÃO I (Hércules)
Aglomerado globular Messier 13
Meteoros
CONSTELAÇÃO II (Lyra)
Nebulosa NGC 696095
CONSTELAÇÃO III (Scorpio)
Nebulosa NGC 696095
Meteoros
Alpha Piscium
Meteoros
Via-láctea
Venus
III.Pórtico da Aurora
Manhã
99
C. DESCRIPTION OF THE PÓRTICO DO CREPÚSCULO, THE CONSTELLATIONS
HÉRCULES, LYRA AND SCORPIO, AND THE PÓRTICO DA AURORA, FROM
CARTAS CELESTES VOLUME I
I. Pórtico do Crepúsculo28
The Pórtico do Crepúsculo, constructed of eighteen modules, introduces the
character of the piece. It starts with a descending passage of eighteen spinning chordclusters, played as fast as possible, starting from treble F in fff, moving down in a
continuous diminuendo line to reach the lowest range of the keyboard, in pppp. The right
hand plays a sequence of extremely fast chromatic descending quintuplets continuously
throughout the eighteen chord passage modules. The left hand moves polyrhythmically
along with the right hand, playing chord-clusters in tremolos, in groups of four thirtysecond notes. In order to generate more sound, the left hand starts the sequence with
chord-clusters in tremolos (for four measures) and then turns to fast, chromatic ascending
groups of four thirty-second notes. The Pórtico do Crepúsculo lasts approximately one
minute and fifty-three seconds and the damper pedal is held without release throughout
that evolution. These eighteen modules generate a continuous sonorous movement and
create an uninterrupted mass of sound. Representing the sunset, this movement starts in
fff and gradually fades completely into the quietness of the night in pppp. It carries a
certain mystery, a sense of darkness and a spiritual feeling. This character can be clearly
understood as the music moves on to represent the arrival of the Noite29 and the complete
absence of light.
28
29
Portico of Twilight.
Night.
100
The indication of tempo in Pórtico do Crepúsculo, reads O mais rápido possível
(as fast as possible), with no metronome indication. The duration of Pórtico do
Crepúsculo is indicated by numbers of seconds marked in each one of the eighteen
modules. The interpreter is given a small margin of freedom in the tempi of the modules
as their durations are approximate in length. The damper pedal is held down throughout
the eighteen modules until the beginning of the following section (Noite).
101
Example 54. Pórtico do Crepúsculo (modules 1-10) - Cartas Celestes Volume I
102
II. Second Movement
The second movement is the main body of the work. It is the longest and most
active movement; one may describe it as a show of stars. In this movement Almeida
Prado depicts meteors, constellations, nebulae, and globular agglomerations, and
translates them into music. The work is rhapsodic as Almeida Prado presents the sections
freely and irregularly. The constellations, as mentioned before, make up the main body of
the piece. It is in these constellations that Almeida Prado uses exclusively the chords he
created for the piece. The other sections in this movement (meteors, galaxies, nebulae,
and the planet Venus), are mainly ornamental and serve to link the constellations. The
recurrence of the sections Messier 13 (three times), Meteors (four times), and the
Nebulae (two times) gives the sense of unity to the piece.
The second movement contains the sections representing the constellations
Hércules, Lyra and Scorpio.
Constelação Hércules30
According to the Celestial Atlas by Ronaldo Rogério de Freitas Mourão (the Atlas
to which Almeida Prado referred as he was writing the six volumes of Cartas Celestes),31
one finds the explanation for the constellation Hércules and the phenomenal ápex, both
cited in Almeida Prado's doctoral dissertation:32
In the North Horizon, near to the meridian, we see the Hércules constellation,
where the ápex is found, an imaginary point toward which our solar system
dislocates.
30
Hercules Constellation.
Almeida Prado Doctoral Dissertation, 3.
32
Almeida Prado Doctoral Dissertation, 36-37.
31
103
When we cross a forest, the trees seem to move away to allow us to pass, but they
seem to move back together close to one another after we pass [.] [T]his is also
the phenomenon that the sky presents to us. There are no fixed stars, as no body is
fixed. The same way as it occurs with the Sun, the stars also dislocate in space.
Some of them, seen from Earth, following the movement of the Sun, appear to
move away to let it pass, while the others that are located in the opposite region of
the sky present the reverse phenomenon. The meticulous study of these
phenomena made it possible to determine that the ápex is located near the star Nu
of Hércules. In that direction we travel at a velocity of 20 kilometers per second,
covering a distance of almost two million kilometers a day.33
The ápex location, curiously and unfortunately, was not notated in the music
representing the constellation Hércules in Volume I of Cartas Celestes. Almeida Prado
does, however, indicate the location of this ápex in his Doctoral Dissertation.34 It is
unfortunate, because the intention of the composer for that particular passage could be
more clearly understood by the interpreter if it had been included in the music.
Almeida Prado represents the ápex phenomenon with a very fast ascending
arpeggio of clusters moving from the second lowest A to the high F#, followed by triplets
of thirty-second notes played by the right hand, against two thirty-second notes in the left
hand, repeated twelve consecutive times in ff. This should be played fast and with great
energy, and the damper pedal depressed throughout the entire movement. The ápex
representation thus closes the constellation Hércules.
33
34
Ronaldo Rogério de Freitas Mourão, Atlas Celeste (Rio de Janeiro: Editora Vozes, 2004), 60.
104
Example 55. The ápex in the constellation Hércules (mm. 27-28)
The constellation Hércules is comprised of fourteen chords, which appear in
the following order: Alpha α, Delta δ, Mu µ, Xi ξ, Omicron ο, Gamma γ, Beta β, Zeta ζ,
Epsilon ε, Pi Π, Theta ϑ, Eta η, Tau Τ, and Iota ι. The specific register of each chord is
kept throughout Hércules except for the chords Delta δ and Gamma γ, which appear on
the high staff transposed one octave higher, and the chord Pi Π, which appears on the low
staff transposed one octave higher.
105
The compositional techniques applied to the usage of the chords in this constellation are
striking. For example, one application is based on a rapid execution of arpeggiated or
broken chords played in ff and followed by the same notes played in blocked form, within
a diminuendo or pp subito, as to create an echo effect.
Example 56. Constellation Hércules (mm. 3-4) Delta δ chord - Cartas Celestes Volume I
Example 57. Constellation Hércules (mm. 9-10) Omicron ο chord - Cartas Celestes
Volume I
106
Another application is a block chord preceded by an appoggiatura, struck in ff and
followed by an ornamental arpeggio of the same notes, played polyrhythmically and in
contrary motion between the two hands, in a pp dynamic. These examples are indicative
of Almeida Prado’s sensitivity to the effects of reinforcing the resonance of chords.
Example 58. Constellation Hércules (ms. 23) Eta η chord35 - Cartas Celestes Volume I
Constelação Lyra 36
The constellation Lyra is made up of four stars, of which Vega is the most
important. Vega is the fifth brightest star and one of the more luminous stars in the Sun's
vicinity. Vega is represented by the Alpha α chord struck in fff. In constellation Lyra, the
compositional techniques present the Alpha α and Gamma γ chords struck as a fast
melodic arpeggiated filigree in ff, followed by the chord tones played individually in p,
each one accompanied by a rapid embellishment in ppp. Following the embellishment in
35
36
The Eta η chord in the score is mistakenly indicated with the symbol of Tau Τ.
Lyre Constellation.
107
ppp, the Alpha α and Gamma γ passages are both punctuated by the same chord played
as a block in pp. Almeida Prado represents Lyra constellation as if it were the sound of a
lyre. The constellation Lyra utilizes the chords Alpha α, Gamma γ, Delta δ, and Zeta ζ.
The specific register of each chord is kept throughout Lyra except for the chords Gamma
γ and Delta δ, which appear on the high staff transposed one octave higher.
Example 59. Lyra Constellation - Alpha α and Gamma γ chords (mm. 1-4)
Constelação Scorpio37
Scorpio, the last constellation of Volume I, bursts with a continuous repetition of
chords played fortissimo at high velocity. With the damper pedal held throughout the
entire section of sixty-eight measures, Scorpio's representation displays a massive sound,
immense energy, fulguration, luminosity, velocity, and virtuosity. Almeida Prado calls it
"the ferocious dance of the stars with a fantastic energy."38 It is loud, aggressive and
37
38
Scorpio Constellation.
108
demanding for the pianist, with continuous repetition of expansive chords and quick
displacement of the hands through repeated wide leaps across the keyboard. This
constellation requires great energy and resilience from the performer.
Example 60. Scorpio Constellation (mm. 1-13)
The Scorpio Constellation is made up of fifteen chords, which appear in the
following order: Pi Π, Delta δ, Beta β, Sigma σ, Alpha α, Iota ι, Epsilon ε, Mu µ, Zeta ζ,
Eta η, Theta ϑ, Chi χ, Lambda λ, Nu ν, and Psi Ψ. The structure of this constellation is
based on a sequence of these fifteen chords, repeated four times in its entirety. At the fifth
repetition, the sequence is interrupted after the third chord. In Scorpio Constellation,
109
Almeida Prado employs harmonic rhythm by use of continuous chord repetition with a
varied number of repetitions of each chord. Because of the dense texture and intense,
rapid, and irregular chord repetitions across the keyboard, Scorpio may initially evoke
an impression of turbulent chaos. The number of consecutive repetitions of each chord
diminishes each time the sequence is repeated. In the first appearance of the sequence,
chord Pi Π is repeated nineteen times, chord Delta δ fifteen times, chord Beta β thirtyone times, chord Sigma σ seven times, etc. In the subsequent times the sequence appears,
the number of repetitions of each chord continues to decrease, making the sequences
gradually more compressed. The composer’s interpretive indication reads luminoso,
fulgurante (luminous, fulgurant). The dynamic is predominantly ff until the point at
which the sequence repeats for a fifth time, here the volume is decreased to pp during
fifty-one repetitions of the chord Beta β. This is followed by two additional chords. The
last one being Psi Ψ, repeated fifteen times in pp.
The sequence of fifteen chords and their respective number of consecutive
repetitions appears as shown below:
Pi Π (19), Delta δ (15), Beta β (31), Sigma σ (7), Alpha α (2), Iota ι (8), Epsilon ε (5),
Mu µ (6), Zeta ζ (23), Eta η (15), Theta ϑ (3), Iota ι (15), Chi χ (21), Lambda λ (39), Nu
ν (3).
Pi Π (19), Delta δ (11), Beta β (15), Sigma σ (4), Alpha α (2), Iota ι (5), Epsilon ε (3),
Mu µ (4), Zeta ζ (11), Eta η (4), Theta ϑ (3), Iota ι (7),Chi χ (9), Lambda λ (3), Nu ν
(3).
Pi Π (11), Delta δ (7), Beta β (4), Sigma σ (3), Alpha α (2), Iota ι (3), Epsilon ε (2), Mu
µ (3), Zeta ζ (4), Eta η (3), Theta ϑ (2), Iota ι (4), Chi χ (3), Lambda λ (2), Nu ν (1).
110
Pi Π (7), Delta δ (3), Beta β (3), Sigma σ (2), Alpha α (1), Iota ι (2), Epsilon ε (2), Mu
µ (3), Zeta ζ (3), Eta η (3), Theta ϑ (2), Iotaι (3), Chi χ (2), Lambda λ (2), Nu ν (1).
Coda: Pi Π (4), Delta δ (3), Beta β (51), Psi Ψ (15).
The specific register of each chord is kept throughout Scorpio, except for the
following transpositions: chord Pi Π is transposed two octaves higher on the high staff
and one octave higher on the low staff; the chord Delta δ on the high staff is transposed
one octave higher; the chord Lambda λ on the low staff is transposed one octave lower;
chord Chi χ on the high staff is transposed two octaves higher and on the low staff one
octave lower; chord Iota ι retains the specific register throughout the entire section
except for measure fifty-one when its high staff appears transposed one octave higher.
The chord Sigma σ has an added note C and the chord Eta η has an omitted note B.
III. Pórtico da Aurora39
The third movement, the Pórtico da Aurora, is the reverse of the Pórtico do
Crepúsculo,40 suggesting a palindrome. It starts with the low clusters found at the end of
Pórtico do Crepúsculo, moving from pppp in a continuous crescendo line throughout the
eighteen modules.
39
40
Portico of Dawn.
Portico of Twilight.
111
Example 61. Palindrome suggested between Pórtico do Crepúsculo (modules 13-18)
and Pórtico da Aurora (modules 1-6) - Cartas Celestes Volume I
112
The Pórtico da Aurora will reach the representation of the "sun's rays"41 and the
beginning of the Coda, in module nineteen, in fff, concluding the piece and bringing the
listener to the beginning of a new day.
Example 62. Sun’s Rays
41
113
APPENDIX A
PERMISSION
114
115
116
117
APPENDIX B
GENERAL CATALOGUE OF PIANO WORKS
BY
JOSÉ ANTONIO REZENDE DE ALMEIDA PRADO
(period from 1952 to 1999)
WORK
YEAR
LOCAL
PUBLISHER
Adeus
1952
Santos/ Brazil
manuscript
Vamos brincar de roda?
1953
Santos
manuscript
O Saci
1953
Santos
manuscript
Cantiga
1958
Santos
manuscript
3 Invenções a 2 vozes sobre
Temas folclóricos brasileiros
1961-62
Santos
manuscript
VIII Variações sobre o Tema
Folclórico brasileiro "Onde
vais Helena?"
1961
Santos
manuscript
Embolada
1961
Santos
manuscript
XIV Variações sobre o Tema
afro-brasileiro "Xangô"
1961
Santos
manuscript
1962-64
Santos
manuscript
Estudo n°1
1962
Santos
manuscript
Estudo n°2
1962
Santos
manuscript
5 Peças Brasileiras à maneira de
Camargo Guarnieri: Chorinho,
Toada, Valsa, Romance, Baião
1962
Santos
manuscript
Rua Timbiras n°11-Valsa urbana
1962
Santos
manuscript
VIII Exercícios polifônicos sobre
Temas folclóricos brasileiros
118
VIII Variações sobre o Tema
Folclórico brasileiro "Aeroplano
Jahú"
1963
Santos
Irmãos Vitale
São Paulo (1969)
Toccata
1964
Santos
Ponteio
1965
Santos
Irmãos Vitale
(1969)
manuscript
Momentos 1-6 (1° Caderno)
1965
Santos
Sonata n°1
1965
Santos
Micro Tema e 2 Variações (fácil)
1966
Santos
Tonos Verlag
10300
Tonos Verlag
10322
manuscript
Sonatina n°1
1966
Santos
Ricordi Brasileira
Variações, Recitativo e fuga
1968
Santos
Irmãos Vitale1
VI Momentos2
1969
Frankfurt/Darmstadt
Ricordi Brasileira
Sonata n°2
1969
Paris
Tonos Verlag
10339
Taaroá -Variações com 2 Temas
1971
Paris
Tonos Verlag
10315
Ad Laudes Matutinas3
1972
Paris
Edition Gerig
Momentos 7-12
(2° Caderno)
1973
Paris
Tonos Verlag
10321
Ilhas
1973
Paris
Tonos Verlag
10314
Toada4
1974
São Paulo
manuscript
1
The "Recitativo e fuga" were published by Irmãos Vitale in 1969- The "variações" are still in manuscript.
These Momentos are not included in Tonos Verlag catalogue.
3
From "Neue Brasilianish Klaviermusiz" Heft 2.
2
119
Cariçuna (elementary level)
1974
Cubatão/
Brazil
manuscript
In Paradisum
1974
manuscript
Momentos 13-19
(3° Caderno)
1974
Rio de Janeiro/
Brazil
Geneva
As bromélias da Serra do Mar
1974
Cubatão
manuscript
Cartas Celestes I
1974
Cubatão
Rios
1976
Campinas/
Brazil
Tonos Verlag
10320
Tonos Verlag
10334
Itinerário Amoroso e Idílico ou O
Livro de Helenice
1976
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10340
Fragmento:
Os agapantos ao amanhecer
1977
Campinas
manuscript
Cantiga de Amor
1977
Campinas
manuscript
Momentos 20-25 (4°Caderno)
1977/78
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10344
1. Cantiga do Coração
1977
São Sebastião/Brazil
2. Balada para o Sergei
1977
Campinas
Momentos 26-31
(5° Caderno)
1979
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10359
Tonos Verlag
10359
Tonos Verlag
10354
Momentos 32-37
(6° Caderno)
1980
Kölu
Tonos Verlag
10356
Cartas Celestes II
1981
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10360
Tonos Verlag
10338
2 Leichte Klavierstücke:5
4
Toada was written for Guiomar Novaes and it is lost. Its manuscript was never found.
Cantiga do Coração and Balada para o Sergei are both published by Tonos under the title: 2 Leichte
Klavierstücke
5
120
Cartas Celestes III
1981
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10361
Tonos Verlag
10364
Tonos Verlag
10365
Tonos Verlag
10366
Cartas Celestes IV
1981
Campinas
Cartas Celestes V
1982
Campinas
Cartas Celestes VI
1982
Campinas
Cenas Infantis (Kinderszenen)
(18 peças de dificuldade média)
1982
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10367
Savanas - mural sonoro sobre
Temas Africanos6
1983
Campinas
Momentos 38-43 (7° Caderno)
1983
Campinas
Momentos 44-49
(8° Caderno)
1983
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10370
Tonos Verlag
10371
Tonos Verlag
10372
V Poesilúdios - Caderno I
1983
Campinas
Las Américas7
1984
Bloomington
Balada n°1
1984
Campinas
Raga
1984
Campinas
Devaneio entre Rio e Paris
1984
Campinas
Sonata n°3 - in two movements
1984
Bloomington
Prelúdio em 3 Ressonâncias
1984
Bloomington
Tonos Verlag
10373
manuscript
VIII Sonetos
1984/85
Bloomington
manuscript
Sonata n°4
1984
Bloomington
Tonos Verlag
10374
1984
Campinas
manuscript
Tonos Verlag
10390/1
Tonos Verlag
10324
Tonos Verlag
10323
Tonos Verlag
10387
manuscript
Fragmento: O Pensador de Rodin
6
7
Savanas - Sonorous mural on Afro-Themes. Work commissioned by artist Fúlvia Gonçalves.
Obra encomendada pelo pianista Caio Pagano (work commissioned by pianist Caio Pagano).
121
Portrait –
O Nome
A Cor
O Signo: Sagitário
1985
Campinas
manuscript
V Noturnos
1985
Campinas
V Poesilúdios - Caderno II
1985
Campinas
Momento-Raga
1985
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10394
Tonos Verlag
10390/2
manuscript
Balada-Rondó
1985
Campinas
manuscript
Sonata n°5 - Omulú
1985
Campinas
Euterpe Verlag
Prelúdios 1-6
1985
Campinas
Ode Interrompida
1985
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10396/1
manuscript
Neonlúdio n°1
1986
Campinas
manuscript
Halley
1986
Coral n°2
1986
Fribourg/
Switzerland
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10398
manuscript
1986
Campinas
manuscript
1986
Campinas
manuscript
1987
Lyon/France
Editora USP
Le Rosaire de Medjugorje –
cycle of 15 pieces:
Mystères glorieux
Mystères joyeux
Mystères douloureux
1987
Villars-sur- Glâne/
Switzerland
Tonos Verlag
10380
10380/1
10380/2
10380/3
2 Esquissis d'un voyage
1987
Villars-sur- Glâne
manuscript
Prelúdio, Variações e fuga
sôbre um Tema de Sócrates Nasser
Sonata n°6 - Romanceiro de São
João da Cruz
Homenagem a Camargo Guarnieri8
8
Work commissioned by pianist José Eduardo Martins.
122
9 Louvores Sonoros
1988
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10399
Fragmento: Oração à Virgem
Maria do Beato José de Anchieta
1988
Campinas
manuscript
3 Profecias em forma de estudo9
1988
Campinas
manuscript
Sonata n°7 - Salmo n°18
1989
New York
manuscript
Sonata n°8 - (Sonata Breve)
1989
New York
manuscript
Pèlerinage
1989
Jerusalem/Israel
Water lilies
1989
New York
Tonos Verlag
10701
manuscript
15 Flashes de Jerusalem
1989
Jerusalem
manuscript
3 Mosaicos Sonoros:
A Estrela de Belém
O Leão de Judá
O Pavão de Salomão
1989
Jerusalem
manuscript
Ciranda das Andorinhas
1989
Campinas
manuscript
Prelúdios 7-12
1989
Campinas
Balada n°2 - Shirá Israel
1990
Jerusalem
Tonos Verlag
10396/2
manuscript
3 Croquis de Israel:
Yam Kinneret
Kibutz Ortal
Eilat - Mar Vermelho
1990
Jerusalem
manuscript
Capricho
1990
Campinas
manuscript
Fragmento:
Os narcisos de Delphos
1990
Campinas
manuscript
Lacrymosa Meditação Sonora
1990
Campinas
manuscript
9
Work commissioned by pianist José Eduardo Martins for the 20th Century Etudes's Collection.
123
Paisagem Sonora
1991
Campinas
manuscript
14 Noturnos (1985-1991)
1991
Campinas
manuscript10
Floreal
1991
Campinas
manuscript
Guarânia
1992
Campinas
manuscript
Sonata n°9
1992
Campinas
manuscript
Jesus Cristo é o Senhor para a
glória de Deus Pai - Coral Pascal
1992
Campinas
manuscript
Elegia
1992
Campinas
manuscript
Linha Melódica
1992
Campinas
manuscript
25 Prelúdios (1989/92)
1992
Campinas
Fantasias12
1992
Campinas
Tonos Verlag11
10396
manuscript
O Canto das Rosas
1994
Campinas
manuscript
Ibeji -Acalanto para Cosme e
Damião (versão livre de um
Movimento da
Sinfonia dos Orixás -1985)13
1994
Campinas
manuscript
4 Líricas
1994
Campinas
manuscript
Monte Verde - Impressões
Serranas
1994
Monte Verde/Brazil
manuscript
Poema - Homenagem ao
amigo José Aristodemo Pinotti14
1994
Campinas
manuscript
Dinorá Radiosa
1995
Campinas
manuscript
10
From n°6 through n°14 are manuscript.
From n°1 through n°12 are published by Tonos Verlag; from 13 through 25 are manuscript.
12
Archive of pianist and musicologist Saloméa Gandelman.
13
Free version from a movement of Almeida Prado's Symphony of the "Orixás."
14
A homage to his friend José Aristodemo Pinotti.
11
124
O Profeta Daniel
1995
Campinas
manuscript
Recordare
1995
Campinas
manuscript
2 Peças Infantis: Uma
Valsinha para Vivian - Dança dos
Gnomos e das fadas
1995
Campinas
manuscript
1996
Campinas
manuscript
1996
Campinas
manuscript
Toccata da Alegria
1996
1996
Campinas
Campinas
Fantasia Ecológica16
1996
Campinas
manuscript
CDMC Ed.
Unicamp15
manuscript
VI Novos Episódios de Animais
1. Centopéia
2. Bicho-preguiça
3. Tatú-bola
4. Pirilampos
5. Sem-fim
6. Garça-Azul
1996
Campinas
manuscript
Salmo 148 - Intermezzo
1996
Campinas
manuscript
Três Andantes Líricos
1996
Campinas
manuscript
Divagações oníricas, antes de um
tema de Johannes Brahms
1997
Campinas
manuscript
Duas Sonatinas baseadas nos
modelos de Jan Krititel Vanhal e
Muzio Clementi
1997
Campinas
manuscript
Canção sem palavras à maneira de
Felix Mendelssohn
1997
Campinas
manuscript
Sonata n°10 (das rosas)
Cores e Construções e Texturas:
Sonora Arquitetura
As begônias do quintal celeste
15
16
Published by CDMC (Center of Contemporary Music of the University of Campinas - Brazil).
Ecological Fantasy - Dedicated to and in the Archives of pianist Maria Helena Ferraz.
125
Paisagens do Haras Gramado
Aquarela Sonora
1997
Campinas
manuscript
Momento musical
à maneira de Franz Schubert
1997
Campinas
manuscript
1997
Campinas
manuscript
1998
Campinas
manuscript
1998
Campinas
manuscript
1998
Campinas
manuscript
Rapsódia
1998
Campinas
manuscript
Moto Perpétuo - Toccata
1998
Campinas
manuscript
Paná - paná III
1998
Campinas
manuscript
Flowersong
1998
Campinas
manuscript
Caixinha de música para a linda
Aninha
1998
Campinas
manuscript
Magnólias –
Noturno perfumado
1998
Campinas
manuscript
7 Bagatelas de Primavera
1998
Campinas
manuscript
Xavantes - Toccata guerreira e
Carnavalesca
1998
Campinas
manuscript
Balada n°3
1999
Campinas
manuscript
30 Corais para o Ano Litúrgico
1984-1999 Bloomington and
Campinas
1999
Campinas
Nhá Euphazina, bela cabocla,
flor de maracujá - uma instalação
sonora em papel crepom
Sonatina n°2 - in two movements
Maria Clara –
Valsa Noturno n°1
Sonatina n°3 - in three movements
Constelação de Leandro
manuscript
manuscript
126
Cartilha Rítmica - 94 Exercícios
Rítmicos Progressivos
1999
Campinas
manuscript
Cantiga para Thereza Christina
1999
Campinas
manuscript
Sonetos nos 9, 10, 11
1999
Campinas
manuscript
Suite para Bia17
Valsa para Bia
O Cavalinho encantado
Ciranda das borboletas
Acalanto da Barbie
Marcha dos Soldadinhos
1999
Campinas
manuscript
À la manière de Scriabine,
Étude de couleurs18
1999
Campinas
manuscript
Cartas Celestes Volume IX As 4 Estações nas Constelações
do céu do Brasil
1999
Campinas
Manuscript
Works for Piano Four Hands and Two Pianos
IV peças fáceis
Ciranda
Jogo
Cantiga
Passeando
1967
Santos
Irmãos Vitale
1977
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10341
1978
São Paulo
Tonos Verlag
10348
O Livro de Ogum - (two pianos)
San Martin Memorial lírico e
heróico
(two pianos)19
17
Easy technical level of execution.
Work commissioned by pianist José Eduardo Martins for his large 20th Century Etudes's Collection.
19
Work commissioned by the Secretary of Culture of São Paulo State - 1978.
18
127
VI Episódios de Animais - (four
hands or two pianos)
1- Bem-te-vi
2- Marimbondos
3- Guaianú
(caranguejo)
4- Boicininga
(cascavel)
5- Libélula
6- Xauim (Sagüi)
1979
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10350
Work for Two Pianos and Harpsichord or Piano Four Hands and Harpsichord
Macaira (Der fantastische
Fischfang)
1977
Campinas
Tonos Verlag
10342
Works for Piano and Orchestra
Variações sobre um tema do Rio
Grande do Norte
1963
Not Available
Tonos Verlag
1969
Not Available
Exoflora
1974
Not Available
Tonos Verlag
10328
Tonos Verlag
10317
Aurora
1975
Not Available
Tonos Verlag
10331
Concerto n°1 for Piano and
Orchestra
Concerto Fribourgeois
for Piano and Chamber Orchestra
1983
Not Available
Tonos Verlag
10384
1985
Not Available
manuscript
Variations for Piano and Orchestra
128
Arrangements for Two Pianos
As 4 Estações20
I. Primavera
1987
Not Available
Tonos Verlag
10705/1
As 4 Estações
II. Verão
1987
Not Available
Tonos Verlag
10705/2
As 4 Estações
III. Outono
1987
Not Available
Tonos Verlag
10705/3
As 4 Estações
IV. Inverno
1987
Not Available
Tonos Verlag
10705/4
Arrangements for Piano Solo
Aria from Suite in D
Major by J. S. Bach21
1985
Campinas
manuscript
1985
Campinas
Manuscript
Allein Zu die, Herr Jesu Christ
Cadenzas
2 Cadenzas for piano Concerto in
D minor, K 466 by W. A. Mozart
1985
20
Campinas
manuscript
Free version arrangement of the Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi. Work commissioned by pianist João
Carlos Martins.
21
Work commissioned by pianist João Carlos Martins.
129
REFERENCES
I. Music History and Criticism
Almeida Prado, José Antonio Rezende de. "Cartas Celestes: Uma Uranografia Sonora
Geradora de Novos Processos Composicionais." Doctoral diss., Universidade
Estadual de Campinas, 1985.
______. "Almaida, Almida, ou melhor, Almeida Prado." Interview by Paulo Martinelli,
Correio Popular Caderno C, Campinas, Brasil, (9 August 1993): 1.
______. "Prado puise dans Bach des themes visionnaires du XXIe siècle," by Bernard
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______. Cartas Celestes Volume VI. Darmstadt: Tonos International, 1982.

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