This fascinating symphony shows Joly Braga Santos leaving behind the modal lyricism of his earlier works in favor of a more chromatic, exotic idiom that recalls some of the wilder worlds explored by Ginastera and Villa Lobos. The second movement scherzo features more than 12 percussionists evoking the marimba players of the Zavala region of Mozambique, and the whole piece revels in primitive sonorities and lush, tropical sounds. Though clearly a work of the avant-garde (in its day), the music has such color and dynamism that the relatively high dissonance level, as with such pieces as The Rite of Spring, never sounds gratuitous or confrontational, merely adding to the exciting impression of the symphony as a whole. This excellent performance makes rather short measure at only 33 minutes, and faces strong competition from Marco Polo’s better-recorded version that comes coupled with the very different First Symphony. Still, you can order this disc directly from [email protected] at a very reasonable price, and if you like the composers mentioned above and can’t find the Marco Polo edition, you’ll love this too.
