Braga Santos: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 5

Hearty thanks to Marco Polo for finding another lost gem. Braga Santos (1924-1988) was born in Portugal and, through his teacher, Luis de Freitas Branco, inherited a fondness for music that mixed elements of Modernism with Portuguese Renaissance polyphony. Yet Vaughan Williams is the greatest influence in Braga Santos's music. Braga Santos, like Vaughan Williams, hunted down and extensively used folk melodies, folk songs, and anonymous sacred compositions for church services. Both symphonies contained here have those elements, with Symphony 5 (1965-66) being a bit more strident and melancholy than Symphony 1 (1946) which is a peaceful post-war work. Let's hope Marco Polo gives us more of this man's music. --Paul Cook