Performance: North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Charles-Olivieri Munroe

Vasco Martins is the first Cape Verdean to ever compose symphonies, writing a total of nine in his career. His sixth symphony, written at an unspecified date in the 2000s, is named after Monte Verde, the tallest mountain on Martins’ home island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. Much of his music is inspired by the landscapes and nature of Cape Verde. Vasco Martins is especially connected to the Atlantic Ocean and the Pandion haliaetus, or osprey.

According to Brainvoyager Music, “In the Cape Verdean musical panorama, Vasco Martins may be considered unique. As a composer who refuses to be labeled, he may be considered a classical musician because of his incursions into symphonic orchestra music. Also, he may also be considered as a new age musician because of his instrumental compositions, mostly using synthesizers. But in both cases, Vasco Martins always finds his inspiration in traditional Cape Verdean music” (https://www.brainvoyagermusic.com/vasco-martins/).

About Vasco Martins:

“Vasco Martins is a composer and instrumentalist whose musical creation encompasses the ‘rose of the world’ and Cape Verdean musical culture. His work is diverse, including symphonies for orchestra, electronic music, mornas, and other styles. This creative freedom underpins his music.

Vasco Martins was born in Queluz, Portugal, in 1956, to a Cape Verdean father and a Portuguese mother. At the age of nine, he joined his father’s family on the island of Vicente, Cape Verde. Beginning in 1976, after playing in fusion and dance groups, he began self-taught music studies. In 1979, he recorded his first LP, ‘Vibrações,’ for solo piano, in Lisbon. In 1980, on his own, he traveled to Portugal to study with composer Fernando Lopes Graça. The following year, with a scholarship, he studied in France, notably with composer and orchestra leader Henri-Claude Fantapié.

With the works ‘Quinto Mundo’ and ‘Os Elementos’, he participated in the ‘UNESCO International Composers’ Tribune’ in 1984 and 1988. In 1985, he began researching and collecting traditional music. In 1991, he composed the symphonic suite ‘Danças de Câncer’, considered the first symphonic work with Cape Verdean roots, and recorded his first electronic music album, ‘Memórias Atlânticas’.

In 1998, the album ‘Coraçon Leve’, performed by Hermínia, was released. This album is considered a landmark in traditional Cape Verdean music. In the same year he began composing the series of nine symphonies that constitute the essence of his musical work.”

– Vasco Martins