Brasilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) composed his well-known Bachianas brasileiras no.5 in 1938, for soprano solo accompanied by an orchestra of 'celli. The first movement of the work, the Aria, is one of his most familiar and beloved works, admired for its transcendent, lyrical melody. This transcription makes the piece available for bass clarinet with piano accompaniment. This transcription provides the bass clarinetist with a lovely performance piece, offering the performer challenges of expression and phrasing. If performed as written, the solo part will sound one octave lower than the soprano original. The more advanced performer may wish to transpose some or all of the transcription up one octave, to the original soprano range. The piano accompaniment is a faithful reduction of the composer's original score, yet thoroughly playable.
