Braga Santos: Symphony nr. 4, Symphonic Variations

Joly Braga Santos (1924-1988) was the leading figure in mid-to-late 20th century Portuguese musical life. Surprisingly, I can't recall having any other work of a Portuguese composer in my collection. So this is a double first.

Braga Santos initially drew my attention through the many positive reviews on Amazon. This particular recording has garnered 13 five-star reviews on Amazon.com. Was I really missing out on a major 20th century composer?

After having listened to his big, muscular Symphony nr. 4 I must confess to being surprised that this music is not more widely known and recorded. Learning that this 53 minute work flowed out of the pen of 27 year old man was a genuine shock. The grandiosity of the conception and the almost casual surefootedness of the writing made me suspect a much older and more mature composer. Based on the Fourth, I would not hesitate to label Braga Santos as the 'Iberian Sibelius'. It is particularly the brash and warmhearted lyricism of the younger Sibelius (from the time of, say, the First and Second Symphony) that is such a distinctive feature of Braga Santos' idiom. It is music that immediately appeals, also, I suspect, to people who are less attuned to classical music. The noble, sweeping and distinctive melodies, the uncluttered harmonies, engaging rhythms and the conventional architecture do not pose a great challenge to the listener. One would almost think it's a Mediterranean brand of Socialist Realism (Portugal had indeed been under Salazarism's sway for decades when Braga Santos wrote this work). Anyway, despite the accessibility and the epic scope of the work there are no longueurs. It doesn't scale the heights of, say, a Sibelius Second or even a Rubbra Seventh. I'd put it in the same bracket as Guridi's Sinfonia Pyrenaica: a product of a sensitive and honest and occasionally even genuinely inspired craftsman. It certainly deserves to be more widely heard than it is now.

The other work on this disc is equally captivating. The Symphonic Variations on popular song from the Alentejo (1951) is an excellent, rousing piece, again featuring those typically Sibelian fingerprints.

The Marco Polo recording deserves full marks. The National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland led by an experienced Alvaro Cassuto delivers an committed and idiomatic performance. Altogether a great find. We'll certainly investigate this further.