Concerts and Soundscapes
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Concerts and Soundscapes Music has always been an integral part of Foundation OBRAS' programme. Over the years, the foundation organised concerts in prestigious venues such as the Cathedral of Évora and the Igreja dos Loios, both in Évora, where audiences of around 250 people attended. Smaller concerts frequently accompanied exhibition openings and typically attracted about 50 visitors. In addition, intimate performances were regularly held at the Herdade da Marmeleira, the home of Foundation OBRAS, for audiences of approximately 25 people.
Soundscapes were usually presented as part of exhibitions. In many cases they provided a subtle auditory layer that enriched the visual experience; in others, the soundscape itself constituted the principal artistic intervention within the exhibition space. The following selection offers an impression of the concerts and soundscape projects presented by Foundation OBRAS. Additional information, including recordings available on CD, can be consulted in the OBRAS archive. |
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concerts
Sophie Tassignon (Belgium; singer and composer) performed a programme of songs partly composed during her residency at OBRAS. One piece set to music a poem by the Israeli poet Rachel Back (also an OBRAS resident), which Tassignon performed in Hebrew. The poem expresses Back's compassion for the Palestinian people. She also performed a traditional Palestinian folk song in Arabic from the period of the British Mandate (1920–1948), conveying the message that imprisonment is never permanent.
Venue: Herdade da Marmeleira, Evoramonte, Portugal. Date: 25 May 2024. Sophy had also a collaboration with Ingrid Simons (visual Artist; The Netherlands: see the YouTube video below. 
Andreia Vaz (Portugal; violin) gave a recital during the opening of The Mirror Between Us, an exhibition by Sherry Wiggins (USA) and Luís Branco (Portugal).
Venue: Igreja de São Vicente, Évora, Portugal. Date: 16 April 2022. Music at Marmeleira was an intimate evening featuring two concerts. Trio Vadis performed works by Schubert and Astor Piazzolla. The ensemble consisted of Andreia Vaz (Portugal; violin), Mauro Dilema (Italy; piano) and Beate Schnaithmann (Switzerland; cello). Following the interval, Vintani Nafassi (Mozambique) presented contemporary interpretations of traditional African music on the mbira and a series of self-built string instruments.
Venue: Herdade da Marmeleira, Evoramonte, Portugal. Date: 16 February 2020. Trio Vadis gave a concert a year earlier with a programme featuring works by Peter Ludwig and Astor Piazzolla. Venue: Herdade da Marmeleira, Evoramonte, Portugal. Date: 8 October 2019. Marina Ferreira (Portugal) gave a short solo concert on saxophone on the occasion of the opening of Reencontrando-a (Meeting Her Again), an exhibition by Sherry Wiggins and Luis Branco.
Venue: Palácio dos Marqueses da Praia e Monforte, Estremoz, Portugal. Date: 28 January 2017. |
At the opening of Canções Silenciosas, an exhibition by Erdmute Blach (Germany), Mara (Portugal; singer), based in Évora, gave a concert using a wide variety of percussion instruments, several of which she had built herself.
Venue: Palácio de Dom Manuel, Évora, Portugal. Date: 4 April 2015. In July 2013, Foundation OBRAS organised a concert tour in the Netherlands for Lina Uinskyte (Lithuania, based in Italy; violin) and Mauro Dilema (Italy, based in Portugal; piano). The duo performed at Kasteel Heyendael (Nijmegen), Het Jagthuis (Hilversum) and Thor (Zwolle). Their programme included works by Beethoven, Astor Piazzolla, Nikolai Kapustin and Rolph Straver. All three concerts were sold out and concluded with standing ovations. A video recording is preserved in the OBRAS archive.
Between 2002 and 2009, Foundation OBRAS organised seven masterclasses in medieval polyphonic singing, initiated by Erik Dijckhoff (The Netherlands). The courses were led by renowned conductors including Erik Van Nevel and Marcel Pérès. Each masterclass concluded with two public concerts in prestigious venues, including the Cathedral of Évora, the Igreja dos Loios (Évora) and the Convento de São Paulo (Redondo). Recordings of these concerts are preserved on CD in the OBRAS archive, and musical scores have also been retained for several editions. A spin-off of these medieval polyphonic singing masterclasses was a performance by Marsja Mudde (The Netherlands; singer). She guided the audience on a short walk through the Herdade da Marmeleira while singing works by Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179) and her contemporaries.
Venue: Herdade da Marmeleira, Evoramonte, Portugal. Date: 31 May 2024. |
Soundscape events
Alëna Koroleva (Russia; sound artist) created a soundscape using recordings made in an abandoned marble quarry. An excerpt formed part of Moving Marble, an exhibition by Robert Monaghan (Ireland).
Venue: Castelo de Evoramonte, Evoramonte, Portugal. Exhibition: 2 September – 1 November 2023. The complete 53-minute composition was later broadcast on Canadian national radio. 
Aurélie Ferrière (France; composer) presented MUSICOMEXP, an electroacoustic composition accompanied by a laser show. The work was based on underwater recordings made in the ocean.
Venue: Herdade da Marmeleira, Evoramonte, Portugal. Date: 10 September 2019. 
Miguel Noya (Venezuela; composer and sound artist) created several soundscapes between 2017 and 2019 in collaboration with Ingrid Simons (The Netherlands), Stella Whalley (United Kingdom) and Robert Monaghan (Ireland). These works were presented in conjunction with OBRAS exhibitions.
Matthew Manowsky (USA; composer) created a sound installation for Áureas (Reflexões duma Cegonha), an exhibition by Gaëlle Pelachaud (France).
Venue: INATEL Gallery, Évora, Portugal Date: 19 April – 30 May 2018. A year before he did a light and sound show on the occasion of the opening of Diaspora, an Exhibition of Kevin Morrow. Venue: Castelo de Evoramonte, Evoramonte, Portugal. Date: 23 September 2017. 
Scott Sherk (USA; sound artist) created a soundscape by manipulating recordings of sheep bells, wind and everyday street sounds into a layered composition. The work formed part of Som + Cor, an exhibition with Pat Bath (USA).
Venue: Castelo de Evoramonte, Evoramonte, Portugal. Date: 12 August – 25 September 2016. |