The Four Churches (Festa das Igrejas)

Francisco Paulo Mignone was one of the most significant figures in Brazilian classical music, and one of the most significant Brazilian composers after Heitor Villa-Lobos. In 1968 he was chosen as Brazilian composer of the year. The Four Churches (Festa das Igrejas) is a symphonic poem written in 1940. From the program notes: “In this symphonic poem, the author, without any descriptive tendencies, expresses through music the ideas and emotions which the festivities of the Catholic Church in Brazil evoke. In these fiestas, there is always a mixture of the religious and the profane, the sacred with the exterior enthusiasms. The graceful and sentimental song of the countryman mixing with the superstitious song of the Candomblé, an (African) fetichist ceremony. For this reason, the piece cannot be considered religious music, although the source of its inspiration is in the Church Festivals.” Movements: I. Saint Francis of Bahia; II. The Rosario of Ouro Preto; III. The Gloria Church of Rio de Janeiro; IV. Apparecida. Our Lady of Brazil.