CARLOS GOMES (1836-1896): Music from the Operas Il Guarany (Overture),Maria Tudor (Prelude to Act 1), Condor (Prelude to Act I and Nocturne from Act III), Fosca (Overture), Joana de Flandres (Prelude to Act I), Salvator Rosa (Overture), A noite do castelo (Prelude to Act I), Lo schiavo (Prelude to Act I and Prelude to Act IV Alvorada).

Description: Carlos Gomes was not only Brazil's leading operatic composer, but he also helped pave the way for Italian verismo during the latter part of the 19th century. The preludes and overtures from his operas chart a course from early experimentation with orchestral sonority to a new conception of atmosphere and tension in his historically based dramas. In Alvorada (‘Dawn’) from Lo schiavo his descriptive writing comes close to the status of a symphonic poem. The music from his greatest artistic triumph, Il Guarany, weaves themes into an organic whole, while his final opera, Condor, is reminiscent of French orchestral music in its employment of whole-tone scales. Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra; Fabio Mechetti.