Today we’ll be discussing Heiter Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), who was born in Rio de Janiero and grew up with a passion for Brazilian culture. His best-known works often reflect his country's history and culture. Villa-Lobos was a composer of the 20th century whose work combines elements of Western classical music with indigenous Brazilian rhythms. He was also interested in the country's native music. Nemerous transcriptions have been arranged for piano quartet and string ensembles.

Bachianas Brasileiras is a series of nine suites composed by Villa-Lobos from 1930 to 1945. In No. 5, the soprano sings, accompanied by the cellos. The soprano then sings a short poem by Ruth Corréa, describing the moon rising in the sky. They are divided into two sections, one for the Latin (non-western) and one for the classical. The soprano then presents a wordless melody, which is followed by a brief, declamatory set of poems by Ruth Corréa. A reprise of the vocalization brings the movement to a haunting close. Corréa's aria was originally arranged for solo soprano and guitar by Villa-Lobos.

Although Villa-Lobos studied the music of J.S Bach quite closely, he composed in a Brazilian style. In addition, he studied the music of Richard Wagner, and he was also aware of the Afro-Brazilian music in the country's northern and northeastern regions. The values of Western classical music simply cannot be applied to these composers, as some of Villa-Lobos' music was indeed raw, he used the rhythms from music of the tribes of the Amazon where he had travelled frequently as a young man and gained interest in the culture and traditions of Brazil. Villa-Lobos was among many composers influenced by The Rite of Spring composed by Igor Stravinsky. His Chôros 8 & 9 employ similar rhythms & harmonies to those of Stravinksy’s. However, we think that he was not merely making a copy of Stravinsky but trying to develop his own style.