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