The concerto-like work for piano and orchestra called Momoprecoce (sometimes spelled as separate words: Momo precoce) was written at the end of Villa-Lobos' extended residence in Paris from 1923 to 1929, where he had been sent on a grant raised by the government and by a group of wealthy patrons hoping that European exposure would establish his fame outside Brazil and also redound to the nation's credit. Momoprecoce is based on his earlier suite for solo piano called Carnaval das crianças brasileiras (1919-1920). The title could be translated "Carnival for Brazilian Kids." It comprises eight movements, all concerning the activities of children getting ready for or participating in the carnival—getting into costume, arranging puppets, acting out their roles, playing music.

The sources of the individual pieces are hard to trace. Villa-Lobos had wandered throughout his country from about 1905 for almost a decade, playing music, listening to music, and absorbing the various musical dialects of his vast country. These musics have tremendously diverse origins, more so even than that of the most similar country, the United States of America, for in addition to a basic European immigrant source, the country's music not only drew upon its own African ex-slave population but on Native ("Indian") cultures in a way the North Americans did not. Villa-Lobos even traveled up the chain of Caribbean islands to continue to seek out the various permutations of African music.

Then he returned to Rio and worked as a musician any way he could, including playing in popular music and dance bands, street bands, and the carnival, soaking up urban folk music and the popular music and dances of Rio and the other large cities.

All these influences find their place in this witty portrait of children busy with the great Carnival of Rio. Villa-Lobos reworked the Crianças into this "fantasy for orchestra and piano" in 1929, shortly before he returned to Rio after his seven-year Parisian stay. The new title plays upon "Momo" (or Momus) the King of Carnival and the word "precoce," or "precocious ones" and defies translation out of Portuguese. One fair attempt is "Child Carnival King," but this writer has always preferred an explanation that stresses a group of talented youngsters picked to be in the carnival: "Momo's precocious ones."

The concerto is a setting of the original eight piano pieces. It is likely that some of the melodies in the work are actual children's songs, and others are original with the composer. Villa-Lobos was evidently content to let the titles of the original eight Crianças suggest the scenes depicted in the piano fantasy:

1. O ginete do Pierrozinho (Pierrot's little horse)

2. O chicote do diabinho (The Little Devil's whip)

3. A manha de Pierrete (Pierrete's mood)

4. Os guizos do Dominozinho (Little Domino's bells)

5. As peripécias do trapeirozinho (Adventures of the little ragman)

6. As traquinices do mascarado Mignon (Practical jokes by a masked Mignon)

7. A gaita de um precoe fantasiado (The harmonica of a precocious costumed child)

8. A folia do bloco infantil (Tumult of the children's procession)

The work begins with the bustle of Carnival rhythms and then the light galloping rhythm of a kid with a hobby horse. A succession of delightful moods, some wistful, some bashful, some energetic, follow. The final movement, marked by that pounding samba drum that seems to take over all of Rio at the height of Carnival, seems to introduce a new delight practically every eight measures and builds to a powerful but light-hearted climax. The work was written for and premiered by the pianist Magda Tagliaferro.

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