Overture
Heitor Villa-Lobos Bidu Sayão & Simphony Of The Air and Chorus Lyrics


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[On a late night in the spring of 1827
The city of Vienna is experiencing the largest lightning storm in its long history.
Within a large disheveled room,
Ludwig Von Beethoven is slumped over his piano
And on the piano sits the just completed manuscript for his tenth symphony.
It is his final, and he is certain, his greatest work.]

Since the time when ra and isis
Raised the sphinx out of the sand
And apollo dreamed athena
And men began to understand

That when darkness folds on darkness
In the restless tides of night
And lightning raises shadows
And for moments gives them life

It's been said by those who ponder
That it surely is a sign
That a life touched by the stars
Is now running out of time

And that somewhere in that darkness
In the heart of that great storm
The world returns a soul
That the gods caused to be born

And this was such a storm
The kind one rarely sees in life
For in a room now filled with shadows
The great Beethoven was spending

His last night

[From the shadows a beautiful spirit, fate,
And her deformed dwarf son, twist,
Emerge to inform Beethoven of what he has already deeply suspected,




That this is to be his last night on earth.
They are accompanied by numerous spirits and ghosts from his past.]

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Heitor Villa-Lobos Bidu Sayão & Symphony of the Air and Chorus's song "Overture" capture a powerful and poignant moment in the life of Ludwig Van Beethoven, one of the greatest composers of all time. The song describes a stormy night in Vienna in the year 1827, where Beethoven finds himself in a disheveled room, slumped over his piano, with the manuscript for his tenth symphony sitting on top of it. The storm is described as the largest lightning storm in the history of the city, and it seems to echo the tumultuous emotions that Beethoven is feeling inside.


The lyrics suggest that this tenth symphony is his final work and that Beethoven is certain that it is his greatest composition. The imagery of the storm and the darkness folding over darkness creates a sense of foreboding and endings. The lyrics also allude to the belief that lightning storms are a sign that a life touched by the stars is about to end, and the storm on this particular night seems to confirm that belief.


The second part of the song introduces a beautiful spirit named Fate and her deformed dwarf son named Twist, who appear to inform Beethoven that this is to be his last night on earth. This moment is a powerful and emotional climax to the song, as ghosts and spirits from Beethoven's past emerge, adding to the sense of churning emotions and finality.


Overall, the lyrics to "Overture" are a poignant and insightful glimpse into one of the greatest moments in the history of Western classical music. They capture the fierce emotion and intellectual power that Beethoven embodied in his final days, and they remind us of the deep meaning and beauty that can be found in music.


Line by Line Meaning

Since the time when ra and isis
From the beginning of time, since the creation of Egyptian mythology and the rise of their gods


Raised the sphinx out of the sand
When ra and isis conjured the sphinx from the sands of Egypt


And apollo dreamed athena
And later on when the Greek gods and goddesses like Apollo and Athena came into existence


And men began to understand
And when humans first began to comprehend the powers of myths and their gods


That when darkness folds on darkness
It's a common belief that in the darkness of the night, there is always something greater hiding beneath it


In the restless tides of night
In the unquiet and constantly moving skies of the dark


And lightning raises shadows
The shadows and shapes that lightning reveals in its brief flashes are seen by many as signs of something supernatural


And for moments gives them life
And in those brief moments the shadows seem to come alive


It's been said by those who ponder
Many philosophers and thinkers believe


That it surely is a sign
That the phenomenon is a certain indication of some kind of event


That a life touched by the stars
That someone who has been born under or lived a life touched by the influence of stars and myths


Is now running out of time
Is nearing the end of their time on Earth


And that somewhere in that darkness
And that within the realm of the mysterious darkness


In the heart of that great storm
Within the center of the enormous thunderstorm


The world returns a soul
The universe returns the soul


That the gods caused to be born
That was created and given life by the gods


And this was such a storm
And this particular storm was one of those rare occasions


The kind one rarely sees in life
That we seldom witness in our lifetime


For in a room now filled with shadows
Because Beethoven, in his room filled with shadows


The great Beethoven was spending
Was spending his last moments alive




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JIMMY HOROWITZ, ROBIN MILLER, LEO ROST

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@philipgordon3873

A great masterpiece inexplicably ignored by today's audiences. The song "sails" is one of the greatest arias ever written. Thank you for posting this.

@backer.raphael

Simplesmente não consigo descrever o que sinto ao ouvir a abertura...Só sei que nunca senti tanto orgulho de ter nascido no Amazonas!!!

@domenicoaraujo9913

Imagina se isso fosse o hino nacional do Brasil. Meu Deus, esse tal cantico indígena iria ecoar nos 4 cantos do universo criando uma aura mística.

@wagbloom

Absurdamente linda! Orgulho de ser brasileiro ouvindo isso! Espero que a galera do comitê olímpico se ligue nisso e use nas cerimonias de abertura e encerramento das Olimpíadas do Rio

@delzamarciaabrahao1009

Concordo plenamente com cada palavra...adoro Villa Lobos.

@paulobenith9283

+Wagner Deczka Cara, se liga: Esse vídeo tem apenas 19k de acessos. Vai em qualquer vídeo do MC Guimê que vai ter mais de 500k de acessos, fácil. Não adianta: Considerando que vivemos em um país onde 58% da população não sabe cantar o hino nacional e o patriotismo vai sendo massacrado cada dia mais pelas contínuas decepções que sofremos, não acredito que iremos ouvir Villa em nenhum momento dos "grandes" eventos realizados no Brasil...

@JSDonega

Concordo lamentavelmente - Nosso povo é um povo pauperrimo.

@JoseAugusto-ov3ku

This masterpiece from Villa_lobos is very, very brazilian, like its soul ! The sounds, the lirics, instruments used, everything reminds Brazil and, moreover, The Amazon Forest.... And Bidu Sayão in her last work...absolutely unforgetable !!!

@cesarhernandez3005

siempre que escucho las obras orquestales de Villa lobos, imagino una orquesta inmensa como la misma selva!

@JSDonega

Em minha opinião essa é o obra maxima de Villa Lobos- Infelizmente é pouco divulgada nos meios de midia.
Quando ouvi pela primeira vêz, gravei na memória e jamais esquecí-
Essa versão tem um enorme significado para mim.
Foi contratado pela MGM para o filme GREEN MANSION -Essa orquestração é a melhor em performance, e o coral tambem. Que o valôr seja pela beleza e complexidade da obra. - Orchestra Symphony in The Air - Soprano Bidú Sayao
Infelizmente o brasileiro, pela incultura comum, não sabe dar valôr a isso !
Dá até a impressão que o nosso povo tem vergonha de mostrar isso, visto que é muito conhecido no exterior e por aqui NADA !!

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