Assobio a játo (The Jet Whistle) (1950)

Assobio a játo, or “jet whistle”, is a term applied by Villa-Lobos to a favourite flute technique: instead of blowing across the mouthpiece of the instrument as normal, the flautist blows directly and forcefully into it to produce a penetratingly loud “woosh”, allegedly like that of a passing jet. Rather than deploying the device immediately, the composer holds it back until the end. Before that there are two movements which, though written for the rare duo combination of flute and cello, treat the instruments quite conventionally – a congenially melodious Allegro non troppo and an expressive Adagio. The “jet whistle” is heard after a climax of extended scale figurations just before the closing bars of the Vivo.