From the many examples of the Brazilian
Modinha provided by Villa-Lobos, this one, for flute and guitar, is a transcription of a song from the set entitled
Serestas for voice and piano, and was written in Rio de Janeiro in 1926. The modinha was a sentimental type of love-song popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, characterised by melancholy, sequential, and syncopated melody usually in the minor mode, with simple accompaniment. The text of the original song speaks of unrequited but never-ending love, and is set with typically Brazilian anguish and longing.
from notes by Simon Wright © 1989
