While Heitor Villa-Lobos was not the first Brazilian composer to make a big impact internationally (that was Carlos Gomes, with a string of successful operas for La Scala in the late 19^th century), he was the first whose works remain in the repertory. His career also coincided with the economic modernization of the country in the first three decades of the 20^th century, and with the cultural modernization which took place in the 1920s, particularly in Sao Paulo. This was a time in which Brazil began to view its racial heritage positively, as something to be proud of. Even today the logo of the Brazilian federal government incorporates colors representing the “three races” – white, black and red for Brazilians of European descent, of African descent and of indigenous descent.

Villa-Lobos’s own esthetic reflected the multicultural mix of Brazil, incorporating the composer’s experiences with popular Brazilian music, including its African influences, and his knowledge of European modernism, particularly that of Stravinsky and of
France. One of the composer’s masterpieces is certainly the Choros no. 10, a ten-minute work from 1926, which begins with an instrumental introduction (perhaps representing the vibrant nature of Brazilian forests), and concludes with an almost orgiastic choral combination of indigenous (Brazilian Indian) rhythms and music drawn from a popular song by composer Anacleto de Medeiros and poet Catulo da Paixao Cearense), full of percussive accents. It would be hard to find a piece which better expressed the aspirations of a tropical country, full of life.
The Music Library has this piece on three CDS (CD 5179, CD 3054 and CD 1361), and you can also listen to it on streaming audio via Classical Music Library.