With this waltz I finish the 1-st half of my project dedicated to Domingos Semenzato. This part contains 12 original compositions (only 6 of them were published) and 16 beautiful arrangements. The second half of the project is music by Canhoto arranged by Maestro Domingos Semenzato. It is also almost ready – just three pieces left. This waltz was already recorded by me 12 years ago in the arrangement of my friend Zuza Rodrigues. It may be watched here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlxf2IhrLJ8&amppp=ygUXT3NjYXIgRmVycmVpcmEgQ0xVQkUgWFY%3D
The XV Club boasts a variety of music dedicated to it throughout its fruitful and venerable existence. From 1894, it&aposs &quotTango XV,&quot composed by Professor Serqueira. There also were the quadrille &quotAurora do Club XV,&quot composed in 1873 by maestro Pinto Tavares, and the polka &quotO 15º Aniversário,&quot by Avelino Braziliense, in 1884. By the excellent pianist D. Eulina Pacheco, there&aposs also a waltz composed in 1902, honoring Totó Carlos, named &quotClub XV.&quot
But the one that has endured, the one that is the Club&aposs true musical dream, is the infectious waltz by Oscar Ferreira, also called &quotClub XV.&quot The story of this waltz is gentle and loving.
Oscar Augusto Ferreira was born in São Paulo around 1881. Gifted with a strong musical talent, he attended the São Paulo Conservatory of Music as a boy, demonstrating a precocious talent and soon earning the admiration of his elder teachers.
On one of his Sunday walks with his fiancée Raquel, this time on an August afternoon, near the &quotmoringuinha,&quot a poetic fountain near Santo Amaro hill, he sketched a melody in his inseparable little lined notebook, a melody that kept ringing in his mind. And it was shortly thereafter, on Dona Raquel, that he presented her with the waltz, ready and rehearsed. Settling down at the piano, with quick movements, he played the score, saying: &quot- It has no name, Raquel. It is so yours and you must name it!&quot A moment of indecision. But Oscar remembered the chrysanthemum that smiled at him on his lapel. Chrysanthemum has no scent. But Dona Raquel, when offering it to him, had capriciously placed a few drops of intoxicating essence on the odorless petals. &quot- There it is, Raquel! You already did it without knowing it. It will be called Fragrant Chrysanthemum!&quot And the delight of the melody enveloped them again...
Around this time, in the XV&aposs ballroom, near the piano, a small group of music lovers would gather almost constantly, spending sublime and sonorous hours surrounded by waltzes, mazurkas, and xotes composed by Antenor Rocha Leite, Luís Carlos Silva, Quinquim Brandão, Zilda Pereira, and other local amateurs. It was on one of these occasions that the unknown young man, with a romantic expression and pale face, appeared. Oscar Ferreira appeared. He inquired about the names of the performers and waited, raptly, for the cascade of sounds to end. As they began to chat, he confessed to being a composer &quotin his spare time.&quot They insisted he sit at the piano. He did. He laid his agile hands on the keyboard, in insinuating variations. Suddenly, overcoming his shyness, he decided to play one of his own compositions. And he played &quotChrisântemo Perfumado,&quot as yet unreleased. With the first swirling chords, the hall was filled with the sweet melody. More people began to converge from the other rooms. Even the veterans, distracted by backgammon and voltete, left the mirrored game room. Afonso Teixeira de Carvalho, Totó Carlos, Gustavo Goetz, and Fernandes Pacheco arrived, all stunned and intrigued by such beauty. The waltz had won everyone over. Two, four, and as Oscar proudly recalled, he was forced to repeat it 16 times. It had pleased the talented pianist so much that he was commissioned to compose an anthem for the XV Club. But an anthem, however, was not suited to the delicacy of the XV. And the waltz was received so passionatel