Fernando LOPES-GRAÇA (1908 - 1993)
Suite Rústica No.1 (1950) [14:53]
December Poem (1961) [10:11]
Festival March (1954) [6:47]
Symphony for Orchestra (1944) [34:39]
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Álvaro Cassuto
rec. Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, 26-27 July 2011
NAXOS 8.572892 [66:30]
With his somewhat younger contemporary Joly Braga Santos, Fernando Lopes-Graça
is undoubtedly one of the most important Portuguese composers from the first
half of the 20th century. His output is literally enormous and
ranges from short didactic piano pieces to substantial works in various genres.
He also devoted much time and scholarship to editing and arranging Portuguese
folk music - a voice that is rarely absent in his own music.
The Suite Rústica No.1 dates from 1950 and its six movements
are arranged in a straight-forward way though spiced with mild dissonance
sometimes recalling Milhaud’s Suite Provençale. Four out
of the six movements are simple dance tunes deftly arranged and colourfully
scored but the two slower movements (No.3 - Andante and No.5 - Lento, non
troppo) are somewhat more serious. Just listen to the almost Mahlerian Andante.
Incidentally, Lopes-Graça did indeed compose three Rustic Suites but
for different instrumental forces. Suite Rústica No.2 of 1965
is for string quartet (once available on Portugalsom SP 4036 reviewed here
several years ago) and Suite Rústica No.3 is for wind ensemble;
I do not know whether it has been recorded or not.
On the other hand there is not a single hint of folk music in Poema de
Dezembre (“December Poem”). This is a meaty tone poem in which
a rather dark and at times troubled mood prevails. The “red thread”
running through the entire work is the oboe melody heard at the outset. It
keeps reappearing in one guise or another and providing the dreamy coda of
this very beautiful piece that definitely deserves wider exposure.
Festival March is by comparison slightly less satisfying, possibly
because one expects something brighter and more festive than what one actually
hears. Even so there are many felicitous touches of scoring in this short
piece - try the eerily dancing horns (at about 0.50 into the work) that may
remind one of Stravinsky's Petrushka. There is actually more than one
hint of Stravinsky's music in this very piece and in other works of Lopes-Graça.
This short work may not be among Lopes-Graça's greatest achievements
but there are fine things enough in it to make it worth more than the occasional
hearing.
Sinfonia per orquesta is Lopes-Graça's only symphony and one
of his more substantial achievements. This is a weighty, deeply serious and
sincere piece of music-making. It is in three sizeable movements of which
the outer ones are by far the weightiest, the concluding Passacaglia particularly
so. The very title of the first movement Allegro rapsodico is rather deceptive
in that it actually conceals a developed and tightly argued sonata movement
that builds to an imposing climax before reverting to the arresting gesture
of the opening. The second movement Intermezzo may be shorter but is certainly
not as easy-going as one might think. Its structure is more straightforward
than that of the outer movements but the thematic material is rather angular
and animated so that one might regard this movement as the symphony's Scherzo.
As Álvaro Cassuto rightly states in his detailed and well informed
insert notes, the third movement Passacaglia is the symphony's most complex
movement. It is also the most difficult to bring out successfully. This is
mainly because of the abruptness and capricious character of the variations
that do not unfold as seamlessly as in, say, the final Passacaglia in Vaughan
Williams' Fifth Symphony. The variations, however, proceed towards an imposing
climax, probably the most impressive one in the entire work. This quickly
dissipates and leads into the coda, in fact yet another variation on a fragment
of the Passacaglia's theme. It consists of a mighty sound wave receding into
softly sustained chords. Lopes-Graça's Symphony is unquestionably a
big work and it deserves to be fully appreciated. It’s also a rather
complex piece and a convincing performance calls for some considerable preparation
and commitment. This it clearly gets in this strongly committed and well prepared
reading - a feather in the cap of both Cassuto and the RSNO.
Álvaro Cassuto's association with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
has already yielded some rewarding results with their Braga Santos disc -
Naxos 8.572815 that I reviewed here some time ago. The release under review
clearly confirms that conductor and orchestra are obviously on the same wavelength.
I hope that this association will go on for there is still much worthwhile
music by Portuguese composers to travel outside Portugal. As far as Lopes-Graça's
music goes there are many works that cry out for brand new recordings. I would
welcome new recordings of História Trágica-Marítima,
Viagens na minha terra and the imposing and deeply moving Requiem
while not forgetting some of his concertos and miscellaneous orchestral works.
In short this is a magnificent release on all counts. The performances and
the recording are superb but - more importantly - it allows for a good appraisal
of some of this endearing composer's finest works. A bargain and no mistake.
Hubert Culot
A superb selection of some of Lopes-Graça's finest works.