Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)Fantasia for Soprano Saxophone and Chamber Orchestra (1948)The Fantasia was composed in 1948 by the Brazilian composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos for Marcel Mule, the man largely responsible for the development of the saxophone as a classical instrument. At the time he was then Professor of Saxophone at the National Conservatory of Music in Paris. He was also a concert soloist, performing almost exclusively on the alto and soprano saxophones Villa-Lobos composed the work having been excited by hearing Mules sonority and use of vibrato in a chance meeting in Paris.In 1948 Villa-Lobos was admitted to a New York hospital due to a serious illness. This however didnt slow his compositional output during that time. He wrote four works for voice and piano, his Concerto No.2 for piano and orchestra as well as the Fantasia. It seems remarkable that in this year of writing music for traditional instruments, Villa-Lobos would create a work for the seldom-heard soprano saxophone. However, Marcel Mule didnt premiere the piece stating it didnt excite him at the time.Fantasia is written in three movements, all with a distinctly Latin flavour. The first movement Anime, shows real Brazilian carnival spirit. The second movement is a dark, broody piece, which allows the soloist to demonstrate sudden changes of colour and legato phrasing. The segues directly into the final Tres Anime. This is a bright, quick movement, again demonstrating the characteristics for which Brazilian music is known.