October 15, Sunday, 11.00 am; 
Sé do Funchal · Funchal; 

SUNDAY MASS 
Cónego Marcos Gonçalves, celebrant; 
João Vaz, organ; 
Beatriz Resendes, choir organ; 
Capella de S. Vicente: 
Joana Timóteo, Rita Carvão, Salomé Monteiro, sopranos; 
Catarina Baptista, Rita Meireles, altos; 
João Borges, João Coutinho, Pedro Rodrigues, tenores; 
Martim Líbano Monteiro, Mateus Líbano Monteiro, baixos;  
Pedro Rodrigues, direcção direction; 

The greater part of music involving the organ was conceived for liturgical purposes. As other artists at the Madeira Organ Festival have done in preceding years, the Capella de S. Vicente will collaborate at the Sunday Mass at Funchal Cathedral, following its regular practice at the church of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon. Religious music from Portugal and England (specifically that of Edward Elgar, himself a Catholic) can be heard in the context for which it was written.

João Vaz

Born in Lisbon, João Vaz graduated in organ from the Higher School of Music in Lisbon, under Antoine Sibertein-Blanc, and from the Higher Conservatoire of Music of Aragon in Zaragoza, where he studied with José Luis González Uriol, on a grant from the Gulbenkian Foundation. He also holds a doctorate in music and musicology from the University of Évora, with a thesis, supervised by Rui Vieira Nery, on Portuguese organ music at the end of the Ancien Regime. He has been highly active internationally, both as a performer and as a teacher on courses or member of the jury of performance competitions. He has made over ten solo recordings, significant among them being those made on Portuguese organs. He currently teaches organ at the Higher School of Music in Lisbon and is artistic director of the Madeira Organ Festival and the series of concerts which are given on the six organs of the National Palace of Mafra (to whose restoration he was a permanent consultant) and of the historical organ of the Church of S. Vicente de Fora, in Lisbon (of which he became titular organist in 1997.) in 2017 he was awarded the Medal of Honour of the Municipality of Mafra.

Beatriz Resendes

Born in Lisbon, she began his musical studies at the Instituto Gregoriano de Lisboa, studying organ with António Esteireiro, where she completed his secondary education in Music. During her musical academic career she had the opportunity to participate in several masterclasses with personalities such as François Espinasse, Jean Ferrard, Hans-Ola Ericsson, Jan Willem Jansen, Roberto Antonello and José Luis González Uriol. Her participation, as Young Talent, at the Haarlem Organ Festival in 2012, where he played in the masterclasses of Margaret Phillips and Olivier Latry, stands out. As a soloist, she performed in recitals at Lisbon Cathedral, Nossa Senhora do Cabo Church, in the Jerónimos Monastery concert cycles (2012 and 2013) and at the Algarve Organ Festival (2020). In 2013 he won the first prize in the organ competition of the Conservatory of Music of Ourém and Fátima. In 2017, she finished her degree in Organ at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa, with the highest grade, in the class of João Vaz.

Capella de S. Vicente

Created in 2021, the Capella de S. Vicente is a development of the Capella Patriarchal (a group principally devoted to the dissemination of the treasures of Portuguese sacred music) and has as its main objective choral practice as an integral part of individual training. With a basis of eight university student singers, who frequent or frequented advanced studies in music, the Capella de S. Vicente has sought to acquire experience, whether in terms of historical musical sources, or of the high quality of performance, concentrating intensely on the observation of performance practices of different eras. This experience is mainly transmitted to the singers in two ways: personal collaboration with the musical team of Capella Patriarchal and musical and stylistic work obtained through the experience of its directors João Vaz and Pedro Rodrigues. With a wide repertoire, from Gegorian chant to contemporary music, the Capella de S. Vicente also has as its mission contributing to the reactivation of the excellence of musical practice in the service of the liturgy. From its foundation, in partnership with the Patriarchate of Lisbon and the Rectory of the Church of São Vicente de Fora, its musical work has been organized in three cycles: masses with choir, visits to the Museum of the Patriarchate of Lisbon with music and concerts in churches.

Pedro Rodrigues

He initially trained at the Instituto Gregoriano de Lisboa. He graduated in choral conducting and musical training at the Higher School of Music of Lisbon, was a student in orchestra conducting at the Higher National Orchestra Academy (Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa) under the guidance of conductor Jean-Marc Burfin. He was principal conductor of the Schola Cantorum of the Basilica da Estrela, teacher at the Lisbon Metropolitan Conservatory and at the Luís António Maldonado Rodrigues Music School (Torres Vedras), in the disciplines of orchestra and choir. He was a member of the Coordinating Centre of the Historic Organs of Santarém. He is a founding member and music director of Capella de S. Vicente. He is a member of the Gulbenkian Choir and the Lisbon Gregorian Choir.