At the age of ten José Vianna da Motta composed Victória!!, March op. 23 in D flat major which is classed with his childhood works written between 1873 and 1883. The analysis of the manuscript reveals that the opus number 23 was a correction made to the opus number 25.
Among the childhood works we can identify some common pianistic traits that reflect the technical research to which Vianna da Motta was dedicated and the musical trends that were influencing him. For example, the compositional material of the main theme (cf. b. 1) is present in the conclusion of the piece A Infância, Polka op. 24 composed at the same period. Furthermore, the harmonic progression of type I-♭VI present between subsections a' and e is perhaps the most characteristic element of Vianna da Motta's childhood works. There are several examples in works such as Amor Filial: Waltz op. 16; Purificação: Polka op. 18; Volúvel: Waltz op. 19; A Infância, Polka op. 24; O Acrobata, Fantasy op. 25; Polaca, op. 37; Meditação, op. 51 no. 1.
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1-8
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9-24
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25-40
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41-56
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57-72
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73-88
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89-97
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98-113
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114-149
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150-164
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165-187
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A
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B
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A
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|
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i
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a
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b, i
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a
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c
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d
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c'
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a'
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e
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a''
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(a, b)
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D♭: I
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V
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I
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IV
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ii
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IV
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I
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♭VI
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I
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Victória!!, March op. 23 is one of the few pieces where Vianna da Motta did not specify any tempo, a fact that is probably related to his desire of give the choice to the interpreter. Although this piece is a march, its pianistic writing – characterized mainly by a accompaniment in eighth notes and melodic themes rarely reinforced in chords – does not really suggest solemnity but determination above all. Therefore the tempo Allegro vivace seems to be the most appropriate.
João Costa Ferreira
