The Cathedral of Beja was small, this Saturday night, to welcome all the public who wanted to attend the final concert of the 2016 edition of the Festival Lands without Shadow.
The vocal and instrumental ensemble of old music The Great Chapel, directed by maestro Albert Recasens, performed ten and a half pieces by three Portuguese composers who, at the time of the union of Portugal and Spain in the so-called “Hispanic Monarchy” or “Catholic Monarchy” (1580-1640), settled in Madrid or in Seville, in the XNUMXth century – Manuel Machado, Br. Manuel Correa and Br. Filipe da Madre de Deus .
The music of this trio of Portuguese composers in Spain was compared with that of the Spanish Juan Hidalgo, harpist at the time of the Capela Real, who had become famous for being the creator, with Calderón de la Barca, of the first two Spanish operas .
The concert was staged at the cathedral of Beja, recently restored, in a partnership within the scope of the development association Portas do Território, which brings together the Municipality of Beja, the Diocese of Pacense and the local Santa Casa da Misericórdia.
Before the start of the concert itself, councilor Manuel Oliveira stressed the importance of the partnership between Portas do Território, to recover the rich heritage of the county, and explained that the recent works in the Cathedral were aimed at recovering the structure of the building, but also « introduced subtle renovations with a contemporary architectural record». The new benches, which were debuted at the concert, are an example of this, as is the organ.
José António Falcão, director-general of the festival, added that the requalification works, directed by the architects Augusto Costa and Miguel Malheiro, with the collaboration of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, took place in 2015 and 2016, having cost less than 360 thousand euros than initially budgeted, an unusual situation in the country.
The works, he stressed, allowed "to equip the cathedral for the new pastoral challenges that arise, at the door of the third millennium."
During the weekend, dedicated to cultural and natural heritage, as is the custom of Terras sem Sombra, his friends and colleagues recalled Armando Sevinate Pinto [1946-2015], who was the first chairman of the Council of Festival Curators. Another friend of the FTSS, Manuel de Castro e Brito, born in 1950, in Beja, and who died last March, was also remembered. The relatives of both, incidentally, were guests of honor at the concert.
On Sunday morning, with the sun already high and under a scorching heat, around fifty people, including musicians, spectators, members of local communities and the festival's organization, families of the honorees and journalists, participated in an action to give to discover the biodiversity of the Terges and Cobres streams, in the heart of the Vale do Guadiana Natural Park.
The hosts of this initiative, which consisted of a walk of about five kilometers, were Pedro Rocha, biologist and director of the Alentejo Nature and Forest Conservation Department, and Paula Conduto Mira, architect and one of the owners of agritourism unit, called Schistes, located on the Monte da Ponte estate, where there is great respect for nature and biodiversity.
having by motto Entre Ribeiras: At the Confluence of the Ribeiras de Terges and Cobres – Nature and Sustainability Tourism, the group of brave hikers braved a 35-degree sun to discover the beauty of the riparian gallery, consisting of flowering oleanders, myrtles, wild olive trees and other plants, from the ravine where, at this time, at least visibly, it no longer runs or Cobres or Terges.
Along the banks of the now almost dry stream, reduced to bogs and water running below the surface, large holes indicated the presence of badgers. On the slopes, centenary holm oaks, with the mariolas underneath and a few tufts of white rosemary, caught the attention of hikers, always attentive to the explanations of Pedro Rocha and Paula Mira.
The high temperature and the yellow tone of the cornfields, contrasting with the relative freshness of the valleys and ravines where the Terges and Cobres streams flow, remind us that these places are true “oases”, even in terms of biodiversity.
With a high-quality concert and an initiative showing how nature tourism can contribute to sustainability, another edition of the Festival Terras sem Sombra has ended. But is it really over?
On the 2nd of July, at 18 pm, at the Centro das Artes, in Sines, the Terras sem Sombra International Award will take place, in the promotion categories of Music, valorization of the Cultural heritage and safeguarding the Biodiversity. The entities or people awarded will be announced in due course. The program also includes a musical interpretation.
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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