Joly BRAGA SANTOS (1924-1988)
Complete Chamber Music - Volume 3
Aria a Tre con Variazione, Op. 62, for clarinet, viola and piano (1984) [9:07]
Improviso, Op. 70, for clarinet and piano (1988) [5:02]
Aria I, for bassoon and piano (1946) [3:48]
Piece for Flute and Piano [2:38]
Aria I, Op. 2, for cello and piano (1943) [4:23]
Tema e Variações, Op. 12, for cello and piano (1948) [7:45]
Canção (Song), for viola and piano (1971) [1:52]
Aria II, Op. 57, for cello and piano (1977) [5:52]
Melodia, for cello and piano (1987) [1:44]
Nocturno, Op. 1, for violin and piano (1942) [8:27]
António Saiote (clarinet): Leonor Braga Santos (viola): Carolino Carreira (bassoon): Nuno Ivo Cruz (flute): Catherine Strynckx (cello): Irene Lima (cello): Luís Pacheco Cunha (violin): Olga Prats (piano)
rec. April and June 2018, Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0588 [50:40]
This is the third and, unfortunately, the last in this complete chamber music series (see review ~ review). ‘Unfortunately’, because the standard of music-making has been consistently high and has served Joly Braga Santos exceptionally well. If he had lived longer doubtless there would have been more, but one must be grateful for what we have.
The spirit of exploration and reclamation is also alive and well as these are all first recordings with the exception of the two cello Arias and the Notturno. The works indeed span Braga Santos’ entire composing career in a satisfying arc, from his Op. 1 written as a precocious 17-year-old to the Improviso, Op. 70, a work he completed nine days before his death. Each is compact, particular to him, and revealing. The Aria a Tre con Variazone for clarinet, viola and piano (1984), for instance, even with the dual precedent of Mozart and Schumann, offers a very personal sound world, smoky and ardent, then a sequence of moods for the variations; a stalking March, brief soloistic passages, lyric cello, limpid piano and a sense of much ground covered in a nine-minute span.
The Improviso followed four years later and is cast for clarinet and piano, exuding those qualities of concision, compression and sinewy intensity that make his music so distinctive. The Aria I for bassoon and piano is a transcription of the Aria I for cello and piano, so they can be considered together. The music for the bassoon offers registral demands and much colour, that for cello is of necessity more legato and slightly longer. The music itself is brief but very evocative. Other small pieces show his reliable ability to generate characterisation; the Piece for flute and piano is modest in size but lovely, vaguely impressionistic but overwhelmingly lyrical and verdant. Canção (Song), for viola and piano is a charmer and the Melodia for cello and piano a beautiful song without words intended as a teaching piece.
The Tema e Variações, Op. 12, for cello and piano was written in 1948 when Braga Santos was 24. Its lovely modal theme sets the scene and the ensuing variations explore dance themes, a slow and measured contrast for the cello over the piano’s tread, and finally a return to the Renaissance feel of the Aria though it has now become mixed with a more contemporary folkloric element. This is a standout piece, well worth exploring. Aria II for cello and piano was written decades after the first Aria. It shows how Braga Santos embraced loose tonality in his later music but ensured that long-breathed but malleable themes invariably brought plenty of atmosphere. That Op. 1, referred to above, was his Notturno for violin and piano of 1942. It shows he already had a cool control of material, which doesn’t ramble, and the musical influence is largely French.
There is much varied chamber music to be savoured in this third and final, finely recorded chamber music volume. It’s played with ardour and eloquence by all eight performers, one of whom is Braga Santos’s viola-playing daughter, Leonor, who gave the world premiere of the Aria a Tre con Variazione. With the usual expert booklet notes, this release ends the three-disc series on a high.
Jonathan Woolf
Previous review: Hubert Culot
