Score and 8 parts
O Trenzinho do Caipira was one of the first pieces Villa-Lobos wrote in 1930 as part of a new project, the fusion of Brazilian folk music and culture with what the composer percieved as the universal language of Bach. As such he called this series of works Bachianas Brasilieras. Villa-Lobos famously wrote O Trenzinho while on a train and the original was cello and piano. A few months further on it became part of Bachianas Brasilieras no.2 which was subsequently scored for orchestra in 1934.
O Trenzinho do Caipira in its cello and piano format became a near standard part of the Rio International Cello Encounter from its inception in 1994. A year later this version for cello octet was made and has featured regularly in festivals ever since.
This arrangement can also be used with much larger groups of cellos, (16, 24, 32).