Oscar Lorenzo Fernandez - Symphonies Nos.1 and 2; Reisado do Pastoreio

Oscar LORENZO FERNANDEZ (1897-1948)

Reisado do Pastoreio (A Pastoral Epiphany)(1930)

Symphony No.1 (1945)

Symphony No.2 'O Caçador De Esmeraldas' ('The Emerald Hunter') (1946-47)

Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra

Fabio Mechetti

Recorded 24, 26-30 September 2023 at the Sala Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Symphony No. 1 (tracks 4-7) is a world premiere recording. 

Recording sponsored by the Foreign Ministry of Brazil.

Until now, I only knew Batuque by Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (1897-1948), a piece that Arturo Toscanini made famous. But this excellent album shows that this Brazilian composer has much more to offer.

According to the Brazilian musicologist Vasco Mariz, the works of Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (1897-1948) can be divided into three periods. The first period (1918-1922) was the time in which he was influenced by the European music of Romanticism and Impressionism. In the second period (1923-1938), he created representative works of Brazilian nationalism. Reisado do Pastoreio, an orchestral suite composed in 1941 on themes from the opera Malazarte, falls into this period. The suite consists of a pastoral Pastoreio, the dance-like Toada and the very rhythmic and percussive Batuque, which Toscanini brought to worldwide attention. Incidentally, the name comes from the religion practiced by former slaves of African origin, Batuque, which spread from the Rio Grande do Sul region to Argentina and Uruguay in the middle of the 19th century.

In the third creative period (1939-1948), the composer turned away from nationalism and became a universalist.

The First Symphony was composed in 1945 and although it formally departs from nationalism, Lorenzo Fernandez cannot deny his origins. Moreover, one always has the impression that his music has a program and tells a story. The second movement, Allegro vivo, scherzoso, is rhythmic and clearly based on Brazilian folklore

The third movement is somber and dramatic, the fourth is rich in contrast between passionately dramatic and lyrically calm passages. The narrative and the wealth of ideas of this extremely imaginative composer never cease to surprise.

Symphony No. 2 in E major (O Caçador de Esmeraldas) was composed between 1946 and 1947 and is clearly a programmatic symphony inspired by the text of the epic poem of the same name by the poet Olavo Bilac (1865-1918), about men who penetrated the jungle to find emeralds and richness. The music is a tonal depiction of this struggle against the dangers of the jungle and is correspondingly dramatic. It is gripping due to the abundance of musical material and catchy rhythms, but ends quietly: the hero dies of yellow fever and cannot enjoy the richness he has won.

The interpretations by the orchestra from Minas Gerais are committed and of a good standard, so that the composer’s music is impressively rendered and this album can be unequivocally recommended.

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