F. Fernandes, São Paulo Symphony Choir, Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra and Neil Thomson

Edino Krieger was a leading figure in Brazilian music as both composer and arts director who influenced a generation of his compatriots during his long life. Krieger’s works can be divided into three phases: serial, neo-Classical, and a fascinating synthesis of traditionalism and the avant-garde. From the second category comes the transitional Variações Elementares whereas his final creative phase, his peak of artistic maturity, is represented by the remainder of the programme. Included is one of his most emblematic pieces, Canticum Naturale, an expansive Amazonian painting in sound, and the virtuosic and expressive Ludus Symphonicus.

 

Krieger, Edino

Fanfarra e Sequências

1.     Fanfarra e Sequências 04'53"

Variações Elementares

2.     Prólogo 00'58"

3.     Variação 1: Diálogos 01'10"

4.     Variação 2: Toccata 00'56"

5.     Variação 3: Móbiles 02'20"

6.     Variação 4: Ricercare 01'46"

7.     Variação 5: Choro 00'32"

8.     Variação 6: Pequeno Coral 00'32"

9.     Variação 7: Bossa-Nova 01'29"

10.     Variação 8: Quarteto 01'22"

11.     Variação 9: Densidade 01'55"

12.     Variação 10: Jogo 00'38"

13.     Epílogo 00'28"

Canticum Naturale

14.     I. Diálogo dos pássaros 05'35"

15.     II. Monólogo das águas 08'55"

Estro Armonico

16.     Estro Armonico 07'51"

3 Imagens de Nova Friburgo

17.     No. 1. Nevoeiros 03'14"

18.     No. 2. Corredeiras 02'13"

19.     No. 3. Montanhas 04'07"

Ludus Symphonicus

20.     I. Intrata armonica 06'28"

21.     II. Candenza alla corda 06'18"

22.     III. Toccata metalica 05'38"

ORF Vienna Radio Symphony, P. Sheppard Skaerved and Neil Thomson

The Brussels-based British composer Nigel Clarke is renowned for his virtuosic style, and an uncompromising contemporary musical language that speaks with an authentic voice to today’s audiences. This world premiere recording of his symphony for violin and orchestra The Prophecies of Merlin is inspired by the 12th-century text De gestis Britonum by Geoffrey of Monmouth, and it casts the soloist as the maddened Merlin, either raging alone or caught up in the wild tumult of the orchestra. This score brims with rhythmic drive and bravura orchestration, juxtaposing savage musical outbursts with moments of sheer transcendental beauty.

 

Clarke, Nigel

The Prophecies of Merlin

1.     Tapestry I: Calidon Wood 16'38"

2.     Tapestry II: Calaterium Forest 12'44"

3.     Tapestry III: Severn Sea 05'34"

4.     Tapestry IV: Canute's Wood 19'35"

5.     Tapestry V: Daneian Forest 10'19"

 

ORF Vienna Radio Symphony and Neil Thomson

 The Brussels-based British composer Nigel Clarke is renowned for his virtuosic style and an uncompromising contemporary musical language that speaks with an authentic voice to today’s audiences. Earthrise refers to one of the most iconic photographs in history – an image of the Earth rising above the Moon taken by the crew of Apollo 8. This symphonic poem captures the excitement and expectation that the Apollo 8 mission brought to the world. Clarke’s symphony for violin and orchestra The Prophecies of Merlin can be heard on Naxos 8.579127.

 

Clarke, Nigel

Earthrise (version for orchestra)

1.     Earthrise (version for orchestra) 19'05"

 

Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra, Denise de Freitas, Marina Martins and Neil Thomson

The 1960s proved to be a significant decade in Claudio Santoro’s ever-eventful life. The charged atmosphere of the Cello Concerto can be attributed to his experiences in East Berlin at the moment construction started on the Berlin Wall. Despite its challenging solo writing, the concerto is the most symphonically proportioned of all his concertante works. Exceptionally for Santoro, the dramatic Eighth Symphony combines serial techniques with an openly Expressionist idiom. Três Abstrações explores timbres and dynamic contrasts with string orchestra, while Interações Assintóticas is Santoro’s only work to use quarter-tone tuning for some remarkable effects.

 

Santoro, Claudio

Cello Concerto

1.     I. Moderato (improvisando) -  Cadência - Allegro 19'27"

2.     II. Lento 04'41"

3.     III. Allegro deciso ma molto espressivo 07'17"

Symphony No. 8

4.     I. Allegro 05'25"

5.     II. Andante 05'37"

6.     III. Final 03'38"

3 Abstrações

7.     ---- 02'02"

8.     ---- 02'18"

9.     ---- 03'22"

Interações Assintóticas

10.     Interações Assintóticas 10'38"

One Minute Play

11.     One Minute Play 01'15"

São Paulo Symphony Choir and Orchestra, Neil Thomson

 

José Antônio de Almeida Prado was one of the most admired Brazilian composers of his time. The two stylistically diverse works featured on this album exemplify different creative periods in the composer’s life. The prize-winning Pequeno funerais cantantes, which was Almeida Prado’s breakthrough as a composer, is a lament full of unique soundworlds forged from different combinations of choral and orchestral writing. The superbly orchestrated Sinfonia dos Orixás takes as its subject the Orishas (deities in the Yoruba religion) – and is a personal tribute to the rich Afro-Brazilian religious traditions, a sumptuous melodic and rhythmic feast celebrating the forces of nature.

 

 

Rezende de Almeida Prado, José Antônio

Pequenos funerais cantantes ao poeta Carlos Maria de Araújo (Small Sung Obsequies for the Poet Carlos Maria de Araújo)

1.     Corpo de fogo (Body of Fire) 01'48"

2.     Corpo de Terra I (Body of Earth I) 01'11"

3.     Corpo de Terra II (Body of Earth II) 03'50"

4.     Corpo de Terra III (Body of Earth III) 02'01"

5.     Corpo de Terra IV (Body of Earth IV) 02'35"

6.     Corpo de Terra V (Body of Earth V) 03'37"

7.     Corpo de Terra VI (Body of Earth VI) 02'12"

8.     Corpo de silêncio (Body of Silence) 01'53"

Sinfonia dos orixás (Symphony of the Orishas)

9.     Saudação a Exu (Salutation to Eshu) 01'39"

10.     I. Chamado aos orixás: Ritual inicial (Call to the Orishas: Initial Ritual) 02'38"

11.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 1. Obatola: Song of the Universer 01'03"

12.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 2. Ifa: Song of Worship 00'26"

13.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: Interlude I: The Waters of the Niger River 01'37"

14.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 3. Oxala I: Song of the Light 01'36"

15.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 4. Shango I: Song of the Peaks and Chasms 00'42"

16.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 5. Oxala II: Play of the Conch Shells 02'46"

17.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 6. Oshum: Song of the Lakes and Rivers 04'06"

18.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: Interlude II: The Waters of the Niger River 00'49"

19.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 7. Ogun-Oba: Dance of the Sword and Fire 02'56"

20.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 8. Ibeji: Song for Cosmas and Damian 04'58"

21.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 9. Omolu: Song of Night and Mystery 01'55"

22.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 10. Oxala III: Song of Love and Joy 03'01"

23.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 11. Oshosi-Osanyin: Song of the Woods and Florests 07'50"

24.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 12. Yemoja: Song of the Seven Seas 04'58"

25.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 13. Oya: Song of Passion 01'59"

26.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 14. Shango II: Song of Storms, Lightning and Thunderbolts 02'39"

27.    II. Manifestation of the Orishas: No. 15. Oshunmare: Song of the Rainbow 00'46"

28.    II. Ritual final (Final Ritual) 01'27"

 

English Chamber Orchestra and Neil Thomson

 

Brazilian composers in the 19th century often sought state scholarships to enable them to study in Europe where they were to become influenced by the German, Italian and French compositional schools. They also became involved in the vogue for writing suites based on ancient dances, such as Nepomuceno’s delightful Ancient Suite, premiered at Grieg’s home, or Braga’s Madrigal-Pavana which evokes the belle époque ballrooms of Rio de Janeiro. Miguéz’s Suite in the Old Style is polyphonic and lively, while Gomes’ Sonata for Strings is his finest non-operatic work.

 

Gomes, Carlos

Sonata for Strings in D Majos (version for string orchestra)

1.     I. Allegro Animato 05'42"

2.     II. Allegro scherzoso 04'20"

3.     III. Largo 08'08"

4.     IV. Vivace, "O Burrico de Pau" (The Wooden Donkey) 03'39"

Braga, Fransisco

5.     Madrigal-Pavana 04'36"

Nepomuceno, Alberto

Suíte Antiga (Suite antique), Op 11 (version for string orchestra)

6.     I. Minuet - Trio 03'32"

7.     II. Aria 04'18"

8.     III. Rigaudon 04'46"

9.     IV. Serenata 04'30"

Miguéz, Leopoldo

Suíte à Antiga, Op 25

10.     I. Prelúdio 03'55"

11.     II. Sarabanda 05'03"

12.     III. Gavota 01'48"

13.     IV. Ária e Double 08'59"

14.     V. Giga 04'21"

Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra and Neil Thomson

 

Claudio Santoro’s prolific output includes a cycle of 14 symphonies that is widely recognised as the most significant of its kind from Brazil. All of the works in this programme come from Santoro’s remarkable final decade, in which he allied more traditional and eclectic styles to his earlier experiments. Both the Concerto Grosso and the Three Fragments on BACH were written for student orchestras, but are nonetheless substantial pieces which show his command of writing for strings. The Eleventh Symphony is one of the densest and most dramatic of the cycle, its finale exploding into an evocation of the opening of Brahms’ First Symphony, while the Twelfth Symphony is an unusual ‘sinfonia concertante’ for nine soloists and orchestra.

 

Santoro, Claudio

Concerto Grosso

1.     I. Andante 07'05"

2.     II. Lento Molto 03'59"

3.     III. Finale: Allegro vivo 03'02"

Symphony No. 11

4.     I. Andante - Allegro 07'33"

5.     II. Allegro 03'12"

6.     III. Lento - Allegro vivo 06'02"

Fragmentos sobre B-A-C-H (3 Fragments on B-A-C-H)

7.     No. 1. Adagio - Allegro moderato 04'03"

8.     No. 2. Lento 04'57"

9.     No. 3. Allegro vivo (ma non troppo) 03'05"

Symphony No. 12, "Concertante Symphony for 9 Soloists"

10.     I. Andante 12'48"

11.     II. Allegro 02'43"

12.     III. Allegro - Moderato 09'37"

Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra and Neil Thomson

 

César Guerra-Peixe was one of the most versatile Brazilian musicians of the 20th century, gaining a particular mastery of orchestration and creating his own inimitable sound through extensive work in radio, television and cinema. The toe-tapping dance rhythms and lyrical expressiveness in his two Symphonic Suites were inspired by research into Brazilian folk traditions, further enhanced by a broad range of vibrantly eloquent global influences. The lighthearted Roda de Amigos mischievously caricatures Guerra-Peixe’s musical circle of friends and their various woodwind instruments.

 

Symphonic Suite No. 1, "Paulista"

1.     I. Cateretê 05'01"

2.     II. Jongo 06'29"

3.     III. Recomenda de almas 06'44"

4.     IV. Tambu 06'48"

Roda de amigos (Circle of Friends)

5.     I. O rabugento 02'43"

6.     II. O teimoso 02'34"

7.     III. O melancólico 03'48"

8.     IV. O travesso 04'47"

Symphonic Suite No. 2, "Pernambucana"

9.     I. Maracatu 04'09"

10.     II. Dança de cabocolinhos 03'55"

11.     III. Aboiado 07'22"

12.     IV. Frevo 03'04"

 

 

Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra and Neil Thomson

 

Claudio Santoro was one of Brazil’s most eminent and influential composers. Over a 50-year period, he wrote a cycle of 14 symphonies that is widely acclaimed as the most significant cycle of its kind ever written in Brazil. The two selected works in this inaugural volume of the first complete recording of his symphonies focus on the 1950s, a period when Santoro sought a more direct and communicative idiom using Brazilian elements. His use of folk-based material is nonetheless highly creative, sometimes indeed abstract, as in key moments of Symphony No. 5. Symphony No. 7 is one of his most complex and intense works, a celebration of his country’s new capital Brasília in music of striking modernity.

 

 

Santoro, Claudio

Symphony No. 5

1.     I. Andante mosso - Allegro moderato 12'53"

2.     II. Allegro molto assai 05'31"

3.     III. Lento. Tema con variazioni 06'08"

4.     IV. Moderato - Allegro vivo 08'23"

Symphony No. 7, "Brasília"

5.     I. Andante - Allegro 13'58"

6.     II. Adagio (quasi recitativo) 07'36"

7.     III. Vivo (Scherzo) 05'10"

8.     IV. Allegro molto 10'36"

São Paulo Symphony Choir and Orchestra, Manuela Freua, Érika Muniz, Raquel Gaboardi, Silvana Romani, Jabez Lima, Jocelyn Maroccolo, Sabah Teixeira, Israel Mascarenhas and Neil Thomson

 

Lara, Felipe

1.   Ó (Sobre livro homônimo de Nuno Ramos) 30'00"

 

São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Fabio Martino and Neil Thomson

 

Mignone, Francisco (1897-86)

Festa das Igrejas

I. São Francisco da Bahia 06'10"

II. Rosário de Ouro Preto 05'27"

III. O Outeirinho da Glória 07'28"

IV. Nossa Senhora do Brasil - Aparecida 04'45"

 

Fantasia Brasileira (1936) | Fabio Martino, piano

Fantasia Brasileira No. 4. 13'08"

 

Campos do Jordão Festival Orchestra 2017 and Neil Thomson

 

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai (1844-1908)

Sheherazade, Op.35 (1888)

I. O mar e o navio de Simbad 11'04"

II. A história do Príncipe Kalender 12'43"

III. O jovem príncipe e a jovem princesa 10'36"

IV. Festa em Bagdá. O Mar. Naufrágio do navio no rochedo encimado pleo cavaleiro de bronze 12'58"

 

São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and Neil Thomson

Guarnieri, M. Carmargo (1907-93)

Abertura Concertante 11'27"

 

Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra and Neil Thomson

Orquestral Suíte No. 1 Paulistana;

Roda de Amigos;

Orchestral Suite No. 2 Pernambuco;

 

Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra and Neil Thomson

A Retirada de Laguna; 

O Museu de Inconfidência;

 

Cambridge University Orchestra, Peter Sheppard Skaerved and Neil Thomson

Holographic Universe;

I. Dark Energy (live) 7’08”

II. Mirror Manifolds (live) 5’26”

III. Holographic Universe (live) 8’04”

 

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, London Serenata, Krysztof Chorzelski and Neil Thomson

I, II, III. The Old Man and The Sea;

IV, V, VI. Concierto Latino;

VII. Caprice Habañera

 

Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Ittai Shapira, Thomas Sanderling and Neil Thomson

Wiprud; Violin Concerto 'Katrina';

IV. Violin Concerto - “Katrina”: Les Bons Temps 11’34”

V. Violin Concerto - “Katrina”: Acadiana 5’13”

VI. Violin Concerto - “Katrina”: Fly Away 7’45”

 

Malmö Symphony Orchestra and Neil Thomson

Stenhammar, Wilherlm

Symphony No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 34

1.     I. Allegro energico 11'39"

2.     II. Andante 09'23"

3.     III. Scherzo 06'56"

4.     IV. Finale 14'45"

Kõrvits, Tõnu

5.     Passacaglia for Orchestra 13'44"

 

 

 

City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Ballet Sinfonia

Festival Dances, for orchestra, Op. 64, C. Martelli; R. Addinsell:

XII. Aubade, for orchestra 5’25”

XIII. Harmony for false lovers, for piano 2’44”

 

City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, New Philharmonia Orchestra and Royal Ballet Sinfonia

The Pallisers, television series score; C. Martelli: 

XI. Jubilee March 9’59”

XII. Cock Linnett, for string quartet 3’22”

 

City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Allen, Alan MacLean, Robert Gibbs, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Gavin Sutherland and Neil Thomson