Written in 1956 by Brazilian composer Radamés Gnattali (1906-1988) for solo mandolin, choro ensemble and strings orchestra, Retratos (namely, Portraits in Portuguese) is a four movement suite that pays homage to some of the most significant personalities in the history of Brazilian popular music: Pixinguinha, Ernesto Nazareth, Anacleto de Medeiros and Chiquinha Gonzaga. What shapes and supports the suite's narrative is the idea that the movements represent musical portraits of these composers. As a result, each movement was structured after a model, that is, Gnattali has chosen a particular piece by each composer that would serve as a blueprint for the creative process of the portraits. The focus of this study is the suite's second movement, the waltz, observing how it is related to its respective model, the waltz Expansiva by Ernesto Nazareth (1863-1934). In order to illustrate this parallel, a more comparative than formal analysis will be provided, in an attempt to expand the view from the historical context to musical facts, drawing special attention to all cross-references present in the work.
Radamés Gnattali; Ernesto Nazareth; waltz; Retratos; Expansiva