Guerra-Peixe: A retirada da laguna, Violin Concertino & Museu da inconfidência

Abner Landim, Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra and Neil Thomson

Released on 22/03/2024 by Naxos
Main artists: Abner Landim Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra Neil Thomson
Genre: Classical

Digital booklet

Available in

24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo

Unlimited Streaming

Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps

Start my trial period and start listening to this album

Enjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription

Digital Download

Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.

On sale -50%

The Naxos label's Music of Brazil series has done yeoman's work in exposing Brazilian music that is all but unknown outside the country and may be unfamiliar even to Brazilians. A lot of the music has been just plain fun. This collection of 1970s works by César Guerra-Peixe offers an excellent example. Like other composers in the series, Guerra-Peixe does not attempt to extend the one-of-a-kind discoveries of Villa-Lobos, and his music might be called conservative, but it is not derivative, and his treatment of Brazilian folk material is unique. Two of the three works here are programmatic, and the third is political, in a way. The most substantial piece is the opening A Retirada da Laguna ("The Retreat from Laguna"), based on an episode from the Paraguayan War of 1860 (what Guerra-Peixe depicts is described in a book by Viscount Taunay) in which Brazilian forces were made to retreat. The listener may have thought that the genre of military program music was over and done with, but the work shows that as of the '70s at least, this was not true, and there is nothing heavy or retrospectively heroic about the work. It is sharp, even acidic, and wonderfully colorful. U.S. listeners are invited to hear the fourth movement, "Laguna," and to see whether they are reminded of a certain television program of Guerra-Peixe's day. The middle Concertino for violin and chamber orchestra is the most abstract of the three works, but even this one was motivated by an external idea, namely the composer's adherence to the Armorial Movement; this sought to find a middle ground between folk/popular and classical traditions, and its treatment of northeastern Brazilian rhythms in the finale remains fresh. The final work, Museu da Inconfidência (this word means "conspiracy," not "lack of confidence"), draws on another historical episode, a failed rebellion against the Portuguese in what is now the state of Minas Gerais in 1780. It, too, uses traditional rhythms. Conductor Neil Thomson has done wonders with the Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra, which can play at the level of any orchestra in Brazil right now, but beyond this, these works could fit well on any orchestral program of 20th century music.

© James Manheim /TiVo

More info

Guerra-Peixe: A retirada da laguna, Violin Concertino & Museu da inconfidência

Abner Landim

You are currently listening to samples.

Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.

Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.

From £10.83/month

A retirada da laguna: I. Partida para os campos

Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra