Hyperion Records

The Trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon is considered by many Brazilian commentators to be the most important chamber work by the composer written to that date, consolidating as it did the chôros-like experimentation made in similarly scored works dating from 1916 onwards. Always fascinated by the raw sounds of wind instruments, Villa-Lobos here indulged in harmonic clashes, rhythmic dexterity, and dynamic extremes, all charged with a particularly Brazilian ethos. Contrapuntal ingenuity is more than evident, especially in the final movement, reminding the listener that the Bachianas Brasileiras were even now struggling for birth.

from notes by Simon Wright © 1989