FERNANDO LOPES-GRAÇA (1906-1994): 2 Romances Viejos, Em Louvor do Sol, Para As Raparigas de Coimbra, 4 Redondilhas de Camões, 3 Líricas Castelhanas de Camões, 3 Esconjuros, Canções de Marinheiros.
Catalogue Number: 01L057
Label: Portugalsom
Reference: PS 5011
Format: CD
Price: $14.98
Description: These works display Lopes-Graça's very original use of choral textures and word-setting (making use of the natural cadences and emphases of the Portuguese language, which immediately sets its stamp on the metrical structure of the vocal lines). Harmonic traces of early Portuguese folk music are apparent, whether or not the melodies are based on traditional ones. Tonal, plus or minus folk-inflections, and altogether avoiding any kind of modernism, these pieces are nonetheless highly individual in style, quite unlike anything from the choral traditions of other parts of Europe. Some of the melodies are exquisitely beautiful, and the unexpected dissonances and resolutions that Lopes-Graça employs in his part-writing give the music an exotic flavor which adds to its appeal. Portuguese-English texts. Gulbenkian Choir; Jorge Matta.