Joly Braga Santos: Complete Chamber Music, Volume One
Joly Braga Santos (1924–88) was one of the most important composers in twentieth- century Portugal. In his early works his fondness for modal harmony, absorbed from the Portuguese masters of the Renaissance, and his busy counterpoint combine to make him sound surprisingly close to such particularly English composers as Vaughan Williams and Moeran. Although his harmonic language became more astringent with time, it retained a burly sense of humour and a powerful charge of energy.
Quarteto Lopes-Graça
Luís Pacheco Cunha, violin
Maria José Laginha, violin
Isabel Pimentel, viola
Catherine Strynckx, cello
Leonor Braga Santos, viola (Tracks 8–10)
Irene Lima, cello (Tracks 8–10)
Listen To This Recording:
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String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 4 (1945)
- I Allegro moderato
- II Allegro con fuoco
- III Andante tranquillo
- IV Allegro molto energico ed appassionato
- I Largo – Allegro moderato
- II Adagio molto – Andante con moto
- III Largo – Allegro molto vivace
- I Molto largo
- II Allegro ben marcato, ma non troppo
- III Andante – Allegro
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 27 (1957)
String Sextet, Op. 65 (1986)
FIRST COMPLETE RECORDINGS
MusicWeb International :
‘This is an excellent start to another series from this exploratory label. The performances are as idiomatic and generous as one could hope for and the notes finely argued. […]. In any case, I can’t really imagine anyone impervious to Braga-Santos’s warmth and wisdom.’
—Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International