A prole do bebe No. 1

Eight piano pieces composed in 1918, each depicting a different type of doll: Branquinha (celluloid), Moreninha (wooden), Caboclinha (rubber), Mulatinha (composition material), Negrinhas (bisque), Pobrezinha (papier-mache), O Polichinelo (Punchinello/Punch), and A Bruxa (witch doll). The series is one of Villa-Lobos's most immediately appealing works: imaginative, colourful, and technically accessible. O Polichinelo, with its percussive staccato writing and comic energy, is probably the single most frequently performed Villa-Lobos piano piece in recital programmes worldwide.

Each doll requires a distinctly different touch and colour: the celluloid Branquinha calls for a light, transparent sound; the rubber Caboclinha for a bouncing, elastic quality; the papier-mache Pobrezinha for something more fragile and tentative. O Polichinelo should be played with uninhibited comic energy — this is character music, not abstract form.