Palm Sunday Festival

(Para ler em Português, clique aqui.)

The Palm Sunday Festival, held by the Vox Laci institution in Portugal, is under the artistic direction of Myguel Santos e Castro. The event, which this year has reached its thirteenth edition and is dedicated to sacred music for a cappella choir, always takes place on the weekend before Easter. The idea is to promote the Catholic repertoire, including consecrated works and new compositions.

Every year, a conductor and a guest ensemble participate in the initiative. This year was my turn and, along with me, I brought the Campina Grande Chamber Choir and Danilo Guanais, who composed Domingo de Ramos, a collection of five motets (Pueri hebraeorum; Omnes gentes, plaudite manibus, iubilate Deo in voce exsultationis; Cum angelis; Lauda, Jerusalem; and Ingrediente Domino). In this set of interdependent works, he combines tradition and modernity, uniting the Latin sacred texts and Gregorian melodies with the décimas (tenths), a type of metric poem very popular in northeastern Brazil, which he wrote from his own hand. In the program notes, the composer says that the work is part of the realization of an ancient project to create a set of choral pieces alluding to the Passion of Christ. In his words, “as a starting point, this cycle joins Membra Jesu Nostri (2015) in a sense that it expresses my admiration for the faith that packs, nourishes and inspires people about this passage of Christian history. The work was not thought of as an element of a liturgy per se, functioning as a kind of artistic-musical metaphor of the dramatic tensions that are part of this liturgy. Still, its ideal space for realization is the church, given the acoustic realities that are often found in churches.”

Domingo de Ramos  enchants and at the same time challenges the performers, both conductors and singers, because of its expressive elements and its structure, which is rich in divisi and textures and with intense rhythmic, melodic and harmonic activity. This sweeping fascination, that is accentuated by such elements and the alternation between the lyrical and dramatic sections, was present throughout the preparation process, specially when we rehersed the grand chorale, as well as when we performed in Obidos, Beja, Lisbon and Cascais, moments in which the composer's voice echoed through the centuries-old walls of the temples, while he recited his verses. The select and attentive audience warmly welcomed us in every concert.

The Palm Sunday Festival is simple and sophisticated, is an unforgettable experience, is the meeting between music and mysticism, thanks to the care and love of Myguel Santos and Castro who, besides being conductor, is an entrepreneur, a dear friend, whose heart is huge, like the ocean that separates and connects us.

Vladimir Silva (silvladimir@gmail.com) 

Get prepared, folks!

The first edition of EuroFIMUS was held from 4 to 6 April. The event, created to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Festival Internacional de Música de Campina Grande, featured musicians from Brazil and Europe, who performed at different places of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.

The Coro de Câmara de Campina Grande opened the meeting interpreting the Mass of Alcaçus, by Danilo Guanais, in the famous Palácio Foz. With a crowded house, the group spread through the Praça dos Restauradores, a square in the heart of the village, the unique flavor of Danilo Guanais’ music, connecting the heritage from Northeast Brazil to its Iberian roots. This dialogue between local and universal elements is intriguing, charming.

In the Museu Nacional da Música, Andrea Teixeira (Flute) and Ivan Vilela (Viola Caipira) performed a very delicate program, including original compositions and arrangements. This rich, simple and sophisticated recital was, in fact, a show/lesson conducted by Professor Ivan Vilela. He is an expert and has been developing researches about the transit of the viola caipira and all its variants, focusing on the route between Portugal and Brazil from the time of the colonization until nowadays. The Swiss choir Gesang ohne Grenzen, directed by composer and conductor Matthias Heep, sang secular and sacred music. Both Swiss and Brazilian ensembles performed unitedly the premiere of Matthias Heep’s motet In Monte Oliveti. The work, a cappella and in Portuguese, has floating rhythms and harmonies, which translate the stressed environment that preceded the arrest of Christ in Gethsemane. Accompanied by Olivia Steimel, the Swiss choir also performed other contemporary pieces exploring the combination between voices and the accordion, an unusual fact in the choral literature. Often, this instrument is used only as harmonic and rhythmic support for popular and traditional music, especially those in a dancing style. In this case, particularly, it was a fundamental part of the polyphonic construction, reiterating the different aspects of the musical narrative, employing both traditional as well as modern, expanded techniques. Undoubtedly, it was a memorable performance.

On the last day, Danilo Guanais lectured about his newest work, A Cachoeira de Paulo Afonso, written for soprano and bass soloists, SATB, string quintet and piano, and based on a poem written by Castro Alves. Following his speech, Swiss, Brazilian, and Portuguese musicians jointly performed it.

The accomplishment of this pioneering Festival was full of joy, grace, beauty, and friendship. Due to the support of several Brazilian and European institutions, we will continue to carry out this type of enterprise, which ignores limits and connects people, cultures, and nations through music. Would you like to join us? For the next EuroFIMUS edition, we are considering Switzerland, in 2021. From now on, it's time to get prepared, folks.

Vladimir Silva (silvladimir@gmail.com)
Artistic Director - EuroFIMUS

Cantemos, amemos e ressuscitemos

Quando viajo, costumo trazer objetos simples na mala, que guardam as recordações dos tempos e espaços que visito. Agora, em Portugal, não foi diferente. Em Covilhã, aos pés da Serra da Estrela, comprei o livro Musicofilia, de Oliver Sacks. A obra explora “o lugar que a música ocupa no cérebro e como é que ela afeta a condição humana.” Estou a degustá-lo lentamente, à semelhança de quem saboreia um Pastel de Belém com uma chávena de café, no entardecer alaranjado, às margens do Tejo.

A cada capítulo, sucessivos convites à reflexão, tal qual aquele dedicado à Música no cérebro: imagética e imaginação, em que o autor cita o depoimento de um dos seus correspondentes, que diz que todas as memórias da infância dele eram acompanhadas por uma banda sonora. Creio que todos nós, se calhar, temos uma trilha musical que nos acompanha, sublinhando, ou até mesmo sublimando, os vários instantes da nossa existência. Ponderando, e ao mesmo tempo envolto nesse ambiente Pascal, recordei-me das várias experiências musicais, afetivas e místicas que já vivi nessa época.

Lembrei-me de Irmã Aldete cantando Prova de amor, de José Weber, na Capela da Rua Dr. João Moura. Revivi o momento no qual aprendi a tocar Tomai, comei, um clássico de Waldeci Farias frequentemente interpretado na cerimônia do Lava-pés, uma das pérolas do hinário popular católico brasileiro. Essa foi a primeira melodia que toquei sem precisar anotar nada no papel, sem recorrer às bolinhas brancas e pretas que acompanhavam o manual de instruções da minha flauta doce. Para executá-la, seguia o som interno que se movia dentro de mim, entre a mente e o coração, seduzido pelo desafio técnico e o desejo de mostrar para Maria Ferreira, a amada tia-avó que me adotou como o filho que nunca tivera, que a partir de então eu poderia tocar-viver meu destino, baseado no tripé instinto-fé-conhecimento. Vários outros cânticos vieram à tona, todos carregados com a emoção do instante em que os ouvi pela primeira vez. Sozinho, na sala mental de concertos, conforme define o conceituado pesquisador, atuei como performer e ouvinte, transitei entre o altar e a congregação, o palco e a plateia, banhando-me nos ecos das reminiscências plenas de sentidos e verdades, dando graças àqueles que ressoam por entre as minhas reentrâncias, àqueles que me ensinaram a cultivar essa paixão pela vida, o belo, o sagrado, a música.

Oliver Sacks mudou a rotina deste sábado, que não é um dia qualquer, pois foi num Sábado Santo que selei a minha união amorosa com Jane Cely, essa mulher que exala beleza, encanto, bondade. Ao todo, já se passaram 31 anos de partilha, dos quais 26 em matrimônio. Por tudo o que sonhamos, vivemos e construímos, aleluias! Pela luz que ilumina incessantemente nossas memórias, cantemos, amemos e ressuscitemos, hoje, amanhã, sempre.

Vladimir Silva (silvladimir@gmail.com)