The Festival Terras sem Sombra ends with a “golden key” a season of concerts that made history in Baixo Alentejo. In an initiative carried out in partnership with the Municipality of Beja, the cathedral of this city, which has been restored and recently opened to the public, will host the last show, on June 18, at 21 pm, with the vocal and instrumental ensemble of old music The Great Chapel, directed by conductor Albert Recasens.
Born in Cambrils (Tarragona), Albert Recasens started, in 2005, an ambitious project to recover the peninsular musical heritage, with the foundation of The Great Chapel and the label Lauda, whose artistic direction he has been working since 2007.
Devoting special attention to the repertoire of the XNUMXth to XNUMXth centuries, it has made known unpublished works by the great masters of this period, with premieres or first worldwide recordings.
Due to their artistic excellence, the records of The Great Chapel received national and international awards and prizes of recognized prestige in the field of early music, such as two Orphees d'Or (Paris Academy of the Lyric Disc, in 2007 and 2009), “4 stars” by BBC Magazine or “Critic's Choice” by Gramophone, etc.
Rediscover a forgotten period of Iberian music
The union of Portugal and Spain in the so-called “Hispanic Monarchy” or “Catholic Monarchy” (1580-1640), with the consequent loss of Portuguese autonomy, as well as the economic crisis caused the exodus of Portuguese artists and musicians to the neighboring kingdom.
The Great Chapel has been revealing three Portuguese composers who settled in Madrid or Seville in the XNUMXth century – Manuel Machado, Br. Manuel Correa and Br. Filipe da Madre de Deus –, comparing their music with that of the Spaniard 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The program that will be performed in Beja, largely unpublished, delights us with a selection of the magnificent repertoire of some of the main Iberian musicians of the XNUMXth century that reveal common stylistic characteristics, including the use of the genres in vogue (tones, villains and novels), harmonic boldness or emphasis on the rhetoric and expression of the text.
It is, without a doubt, a unique collection, worthy of rescue, all the more so as the beauty of the music of these singular pieces is joined by the beauty of the lyrics, authored by some of the best poets who wrote in Spanish at the time, whether they were Spanish or Portuguese. The translation into our language, also unprecedented, is due to the Alentejo poet Ruy Ventura (Portalegre, 1973).
Between the streams of Terges and Cobres: nature tourism and sustainability
In parallel to the concerts, the Festival Terras sem Sombra promotes knowledge of the region's biodiversity, through routes that raise awareness of the preservation of nature and the recognition of good environmental practices.
So, on the morning of June 19, musicians, spectators, members of local communities, unite for a volunteer initiative, whose motto Entre Ribeiras: At the Confluence of the Ribeiras de Terges and Cobres – Nature and Sustainability Tourism.
This action takes place on an itinerary between river courses and a tributary ravine, whose vegetation has been safeguarded for generations by the owners of the estate.
In the end, around an agritourism unit, called Xistos, a set of discoveries awaits the participants: the natural potential and the know-how.
This action has the collaboration of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (Vale do Guadiana Natural Park) and the Municipality of Beja.
At the end of the day, his friends and colleagues will recall Armando Sevinate Pinto [1946-2015]. Another friend of the FTSS, Manuel de Castro e Brito, born in 1950, in Beja, and who died last March, will also be remembered.
Closing Concert | beja
June 18 [21:30]
Cathedral (Church of Santiago Maior)
Unexpected Rescue: Portuguese Composers in Spain from Siglo de Oro
The Great Chapel
Albert Recasens musical direction
June 19 [10:00]
Entre Ribeiras: At the Confluence of the Ribeiras de Terges and Cobres – Nature and Sustainability Tourism
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