La Cantata Criolla

"Florentino y el Diablo," the poem which inspired Maestro Estévez''s "Cantata Criolla," is a mythic tale and is deeply rooted in the Venezuelan popular spirit. It is through this spirit that the man of the llano (great plains) - the "llanero" or plainsman - draws upon all of his inner strength, and while remaining totally bound to his milieu, finds his own expressive voice, and thereby transcends it. The legend which serves as the basis of the peom, recounts a singing contest between the llanero Florentino, and the Devil. The "Chôros" are perhaps Heitor Villa-Lobos'' most interesting compositions: the fifteen works boast extraordinary variety while remaining faithful to an authentic nationalist idiom. Inspired by the music of Rio de Janeiro''s "botequins," the "Chôros" were composed between 1920 and 1929 without a pre-planned sequence.