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Lopes-Graça: Divertimento, Sinfonieta, & More Orchestral Works / Borralhinho, Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
Naxos

Lopes-Graça: Divertimento, Sinfonieta, & More Orchestral Works / Borralhinho, Portuguese Symphony Orchestra

$19.99

Details

Composer
Fernando Lopes-Graca
Artist
Orquestra Sinfonica Portuguesa, Bruno Borralhinho
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Jun 10, 2022
Catalog #
8574373
UPC
747313437375

About

Fernando Lopes-Graça was one of Portugal’s greatest composers of the 20th century, whose artistic credo was the binding together of the folk music of his native country with modern techniques to create an alternative and original national identity. With its constantly shifting tonal context the Divertimento perfectly captures Lopes-Graça’s inimitable style, which is further enriched in the concisely constructed Sinfonieta by his admiration for Haydn. The moving, even tragic Cinco Velhos Romances Portugueses are based on traditional ballads while the challenging Quatro Invenções, in the composer’s words, explore ‘essentially atonal dramatic expressionism’.

REVIEW:

Composer Fernando Lopes-Graça (1906-94) has been described as sort of a Portuguese Bartók, and with good reason. His music in strongly folk-influenced, but never merely “folksy.” He managed to reflect these nationalist origins in an uncompromisingly modernist style, including atonal expressionist elements (think Ginastera), while still giving listeners more than enough to make the effort worthwhile. This is very evident in considering the program at hand–ostensibly “light” music that still has plenty of meat on its bones.

The Divertimento (1957), scored mostly for winds, is a spiky, harmonically acerbic work in seven brief movements whose humor and verve go hand in hand with a harmonic density that makes the work sound more expensive than it really is. The Sinfonietta “Homage to Haydn” evokes its nominal inspiration without ever resorting to mere imitation–except for one movement of literal quotation that’s all the more shocking (and funny) in its context. I won’t give away the joke, but it’s delicious. Cinco Velhos Romances Portugueses offers sensitive instrumental settings of traditional songs passed down through the centuries among Portuguese women. The Four Inventions for Solo Cello (1961) allegedly belong to the composers atonal expressionist style, but they are quite easy to follow, intensely lyrical, and consistently ear-catching–and I’m not usually a fan of music for solo strings.

In the first three works conductor/cellist Bruno Borralhinho gets fresh and lively playing from the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, making an excellent case for the composer and these particular works. He also plays a mean cello in the Four Inventions, and Naxos provides the necessary clean and clear engineering. This is good stuff.

-- ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz)

Tracklist 20 tracks

  1. 1 I. Entrada 03:00
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Entrada
    Duration
    03:00
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  2. 2 II. Recreio campestre 03:08
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Recreio campestre
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  3. 3 III. Coral 03:14
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Coral
    Duration
    03:14
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  4. 4 IV. Intermezo 03:00
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Intermezo
    Duration
    03:00
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  5. 5 V. Fandango 02:17
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. Fandango
    Duration
    02:17
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  6. 6 VI. Écloga 03:14
    Track
    6
    Title
    VI. Écloga
    Duration
    03:14
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  7. 7 VII. Final 03:55
    Track
    7
    Title
    VII. Final
    Duration
    03:55
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  8. 8 I. Adagio - Allegro moderato 04:55
    Track
    8
    Title
    I. Adagio - Allegro moderato
    Duration
    04:55
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  9. 9 II. Andante - Più mosso - Lento 02:53
    Track
    9
    Title
    II. Andante - Più mosso - Lento
    Duration
    02:53
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  10. 10 III. Gaio 02:59
    Track
    10
    Title
    III. Gaio
    Duration
    02:59
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  11. 11 IV. Allegro con spirito 04:23
    Track
    11
    Title
    IV. Allegro con spirito
    Duration
    04:23
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  12. 12 I. Romance de Dona Silvana 04:12
    Track
    12
    Title
    I. Romance de Dona Silvana
    Duration
    04:12
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  13. 13 II. Romance de Santa Catarina 02:03
    Track
    13
    Title
    II. Romance de Santa Catarina
    Duration
    02:03
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  14. 14 III. Romance da Dona Infanta 01:19
    Track
    14
    Title
    III. Romance da Dona Infanta
    Duration
    01:19
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  15. 15 IV. Romance de Dona Ângela 01:48
    Track
    15
    Title
    IV. Romance de Dona Ângela
    Duration
    01:48
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  16. 16 V. Romance de Santa Iria 02:22
    Track
    16
    Title
    V. Romance de Santa Iria
    Duration
    02:22
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Ensemble
    Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Bruno Borralhinho
  17. 17 No. 1. Allegro 02:15
    Track
    17
    Title
    No. 1. Allegro
    Duration
    02:15
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Performer
    Bruno Borralhinho
  18. 18 No. 2. Andante 04:22
    Track
    18
    Title
    No. 2. Andante
    Duration
    04:22
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Performer
    Bruno Borralhinho
  19. 19 No. 3. Vivace 01:40
    Track
    19
    Title
    No. 3. Vivace
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Performer
    Bruno Borralhinho
  20. 20 No. 4. Lento 04:05
    Track
    20
    Title
    No. 4. Lento
    Duration
    04:05
    Composer
    Fernando Lopes-Graça
    Performer
    Bruno Borralhinho