The baby's family = (Próle do bébé) : series one for piano / H. Villa-Lobos

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) was a virtuosic pianist and Brazilian composer. In the first half of the twentieth century, he wrote twenty-six character pieces known as A próle do bébé – “ The Baby’s Family.” There are three books, each with its own unique theme or storyline, but they are not meant for children to play, unlike the composer’s inspiration, Schumann’s Album for the Young. They are remarkably complex piano pieces, stem from the composer’s childhood, and express the quizzical expressions of a child at play. The first series, As Bonecas (“The Dolls”), written in 1918, has eight songs each one describing a child playing with a particular doll made from a different material and matching the ethnic diversity of Brazil’s children.

• Branquinha (A boneca de louça, Little Light-skinned Girl): The Porcelain Doll
• Moreninha (A boneca de massa, Little Dark-skinned Girl: The Paper-mâché Doll
• Caboclinha (A boneca de barro, Little Brazilian Girl): The Clay Doll
• Mulatinha (A boneca de borracha, Little Mulatto Girl): The Rubber Doll
• Negrinha (A boneca de pau, Little Black Girl): The Wooden Doll
• A pobrezinha (A boneca de trapo, Little Poor Girl): The Rag Doll
• O polichinelo/Punch
• A bruxa (A boneca de pano, Witch): The Cloth Doll

Book two, Os Binchinhos (Little Animals) has nine movements, also representing a toy, but this time animal toys from stuffed cotton bears to wooden horses (and is more advanced than the first book!). Book three, which is based on children’s games and sports, is lost. It has yet to be recorded or rediscovered, but what remains A próle do bébé is a masterful addition to the world of children’s music because it is music created, not for a universal child, but a national diverse exploration of children in twentieth century Brazil.