Joly Braga Santos - Music for Strings

IF ever a composer was a big fish in a small pond it was Braga Santos.

He composed only six symphonies but that was more than enough to make him one of Portugal's greats.

It's not that they are stunning pieces of music. It's more because his homeland's output of symphonists in the 18th and 19th Centuries was so insignificant as not to count.

Perhaps I am not being fair. For, undoubtedly, Braga Santos had a natural sense of good orchestration and he based his musical language on strong architecture, drama and coherence.

Although not specially diverted by local national folklore, it wasn't easy to resist.

He spent a great deal of time in the rural areas to the south and had little choice but to accept the influences that prevailed.

This is why the four works for strings on this enchanting 67-minute disc are so enchanting.

They chart the composer's musical career and, thoughtfully, the producers have placed them in chronological order, the better to understand Braga Santos's development.

The composer liked to write instrumental solos and his Concerto in D (1951) gives space and scope for the solo violin, the viola and cello.

The last movement (allegro) is particularly lyrical and offers considerable entertainment.

The Sinfonietta (1963) is dedicated to Alvaro Cassuto, who conducts the Northern Sinfonia on this recording.

The piece has a slow introduction which entices the listener in to the second movement (adagio) and the pacey finale.

Variations Concertantes (1967) and the fine Concerto for Viola, Cello, Strings and Harp (1968) add to the feeling of wellbeing.

Soloists are Bradley Creswick, Alexander Somov, and Sue Blair.

Marco Polo, 8.225186