There has not been much of a symphonic tradition in Portugal, but this century has thrown up two symphonists of some significance – Luis de Freitas Branco (brother of the conductor Pedro), who is absent from the catalogues, and, more importantly, his pupil Joly Braga Santos, whose own protege Alvaro Cassuto is opening our eyes and ears to his stature. His First and Fifth Symphonies (Marco Polo, 7/98) came as something of a revelation: here again we have one work from each of his two contrasting compositional periods.

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.

Talk about forgotten composers! Marcos Portugal (1762-1830) composed some 50 operas, all of which have disappeared. This present one was premiered in 1797 in Venice but the version recorded is one that was reassembled for Lisbon in 1804. Shorn of what I can only assume were the quasi-endless recitatives that were in style at that time in farces, what we get is 69 minutes of delightful music that makes you want to hear more of this Portuguese composer. Rossini might've been pleased with the plot about two women, one a Countess and the other a peddler, who have their identities switched by a playful magician/pilgrim and who wind up better for it (and their husbands) when all is set right.

Baron von Dittersdorf’s attractive personality and inventiveness as a composer shines through in every movement of the three charming symphonies featured on this world première recording. Composed in the 1780s around the time of his famous ‘Ovid’ Symphonies, the three symphonies included here abound in brilliant orchestral writing and quirky, infectious melodies.

If you have got this far, you will already have an idea of what awaits you in the music of Braga Santos. So I would just give a brief summary about the composer. He lived from 1924 to 1988 where he died as a result of a stroke. Although he was composing through the middle of the 20th century, for much of the time he avoided the musical trends of the period, obviously thinking there was still more that could be said within a tonal framework. Around 1960 he changed his style of composition, exploring the musical trends that had been occurring during his life. He wrote his first four symphonies in a short period between the ages of 22 and 27. These are all a product of his tonal period, and to any lover of the Romantic Symphony, all four are deserving of being in their collection.

Joly Braga Santos (1924-1988) was Portugal's best-known composer of the twentieth century. His work displayed little national flavor; it incorporated various foreign influences and changed according to prevailing trends, yet displayed a consistent melodic inclination and rhythmic verve that are recognizable across stylistic lines. His six symphonies are his best-known works, but the Naxos label's Marco Polo imprint, dedicated to the exploration of unfamiliar repertories, has issued a series of discs devoted to other music by Braga Santos in recent years. This set of orchestral pieces spans his entire career, from the 20-year-old composer's Nocturno for strings to the Concerto for cello and orchestra and Staccato brilhante, written in the last year of his life.