O Trenzinho [little train in Brazilian Portuguese] evokes the whimsical journey of a little train which, despite twists and turns and obstacles, takes us on a journey of discovery through the landscapes of the Brazilian countryside.

I had already borrowed the charming name Jacaré-mirim [little crocodile in the Gurani Indian language] from Darius Milhaud, composer of Danses de Jacaré-mirim Op. 256, to name my first Tango Brasileiro.
It was while searching for a third and final theme to complete Jacaré-mirim that the main theme of O Trenzinho [little train] came to me.
Too different to complement my first composition, I preferred to use it to create a new Tango Brasileiro, which does indeed feature three distinct themes.

It was therefore through one of those shortcuts of thought that the human mind is accustomed to that the title of this new choro came to me, remembering that incredible photograph showing Darius Milhaud and Paul Claudel sitting on the front step of a steam train during their stay in Brazil in 1917.

In my mind, these two Brazilian-inspired pieces are like fraternal twins, the first shorter with two themes framed by a short introduction and a coda, the second slightly more modern in its harmony and more regular in its structure with its three traditional themes.

Frédéric Cellier