Unexpectedly vivid BASIL RAMSEY experiences the music of Portuguese composer Joly Braga Santos Marco Polo    8.225186

I am led by this music to recall that of Frank Martin, always a composer of substance. Braga Santos weaves his musical thoughts in a language unexpectedly vivid yet of basically straightforward content. There's a spirit of profundity permeating feeling, and there's no hint of dreariness.

The performances from England's Northern Sinfonia meet the challenges by dint of their skilful presentation and their enthusiasm for lively musicmaking. Braga Santos' textures do not need weight so much as luminosity, and this is keenly felt. From the 1968 Concerto for violin, cello, strings and harp, the latest on this disc, is a passage which gives a taste of this music [listen -- track 9, 0:00-1:01].

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Record Box is Music & Vision's regular Saturday series of shorter CD reviews