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Patrycja Gabrel
soprano

Laura Silva Mendes
organ

Orquestra Clássica da Madeira

Norberto Gomes
direction

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FIRST VIOLINS 

Norberto Gomes
concertmaster

Olena Soldatkina
ass. concertmaster

Valeriy Perzhan, Marcelo Caldeira 

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SECOND VIOLINS

Yuriy Kyrychenko
section leader

Natacha Guimarães, Andrei Vizir, Anahit Dalakyan

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VIOLAS

Volodymyr Petryakov
section leader

Rostyslav Kuts, Francisco Caldeira 

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CELLOS

Marina Gyumishyan
section leader

Iryna Bandura 

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DOUBLE BASS

Gábor Bolba
section leader

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OCT 24^th
9:30 p.m.
Funchal, Sé

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Programme:

João Santos (1979)
¬ I – Revelação
(Primeiro descobrimento: amores trágicos de Robert Machim e Ana de Harfet)

João Caldeira (1986)
¬ II – Sonho
(Descobrimento oficial: a Ilha fala ao Capitão Zarco em sonhos)

Sérgio Silva (1981)
¬ III – In dedicatione
(Projetos dos povoadores: o açúcar, a Sé e a diocese)

Daniel Davis (1990)
¬ IV – Campos Elíseos
(Abundância da Madeira)

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Marking the fiftieth anniversary of Madeira's autonomy, the Regional Directorate of Culture commissioned four composers to create a work (actually consisting of four movements to be performed successively) based on Manuel Tomás's poem Insulana. The work (also titled Insulana) is being premiered today, as part of the 15th edition of the Madeira International Organ Festival. Four short texts, selected by Marta Marecos Duarte, were given to four Portuguese composers (two of them born in Madeira): João Santos, João Caldeira, Sérgio Silva, and Daniel Davis. The four texts allude to four key moments in Manuel Tomás's epic poem. The composers were given complete freedom, except for the obligation to adhere to the text and to limit themselves to the indicated musical forces (soprano, organ, and strings). Insulana assumes therefore a variety that reflects the nature of the four texts and also the choices and personalities of the four authors. In the first section, Revelação, by João Santos, "the tragic story of Robert Machim and Ana de Harfet unfolds between the discovery of the island, the wonder and the loss. The music begins in a deliberately epic, hymn-like and marching atmosphere, with the organ in toccata-like figurations and a theme that returns throughout the piece from different perspectives. More recitative moments alternate with others of a more descriptive nature. Between delight and tragedy, nature is simultaneously a place of welcome and fullness, but also the setting for ephemeral happiness, making the island simultaneously paradisiacal and funereal. In the end, everything is transformed into memory and longing." The second section, Sonho, by João Caldeira, recounts the discovery and "presents the personification of the Island through a dream, and while dreaming we let ourselves be lulled by the beautiful words of this Island that reveals itself and surrenders to Captain Zarco. Each nuance and each word hovers and echoes through the space of a revealing unconsciousness." Sérgio Silva, author of the third section, In dedicatione, opts for the reference to liturgical melodies: “In a chapter essentially dedicated to the theme of the Church, it seems pertinent to resort to Gregorian chant – the chant being proper to the Roman liturgy – and, more specifically, to the repertoire of the liturgy for the Dedication of a Church, as basic material [...]. In this context, the antiphon of the Introitus of the Mass, “Terribilis est locus iste”, constitutes the reference material for the first stanza; the Graduale, “Locus iste”, serves as the basis for the second; the antiphon for the Communio, «Domus mea», for the third; and, finally, the Vespers hymn of the same liturgy, “Cælestis urbs Jerusalem”, for the last stanza of the section. Finally, by Daniel Davis, «Campos Elísios, which originates from the fourth part of the poem. Insulana, entitled «Abundance of Madeira», proposes a journey through the landscapes of Madeira Island. Fields, seas, and mountains become starting points for a reflection on how the island is seen. Through the eyes of those who live there, those who once became accustomed to it and had to leave, or those who, never having lived there, contemplate it from afar. Musically, the work develops from a motif that repeats, fragments, transforms, and evolves until its exhaustion. This motif establishes a connection between music and text, functioning as a guiding thread throughout the entire journey. The work culminates in an affirmative, major ending, whose dimension also finds its origin in the text itself». These quotes from the four composers clearly show the different stances they took towards the challenge presented to them. However, the final result, more than a collection of isolated compositions, presents itself as a tetralogy: four chapters, four different visions of a single idea: the celebration of the discovery of Madeira, on the fiftieth anniversary of its autonomy.

João Vaz