IN MEMORIAM SONORUM
Soundscapes of Porto Renaissance

IN THE MEMORY OF SOUNDS - Soundscapes of Porto Renaissance - is a cycle of 12 performances of polyphonic works from the Renaissance, most of them never or rarely heard today, selected from manuscripts from the Monastery of São Bento da Vitória (P-Pm MM 40 and P-Pm MM 76-79). The events will be held at this location by the group Arte Minima, directed by Pedro Sousa Silva, during the first half of 2024.

The presentations will not be concerts per se, but rather creative workshops around this almost unknown repertoire, which will allow observation by the public, local or tourists alike. The proposed model is closer to the concept of a “guided tour” than a “concert-lecture”, allowing the public to follow the group's work in a mediated way and to observe the transformation from the graphic representation of a centuries-old document into a sonic discourse with current meaning, while being able to contemplate the architectural-historical space from a sound-historical perspective. Whereas a concert presents the result of a creative process, here it is the creative process itself that is on permanent display.

Throughout each session, the musicians will provide information about the works, the composers, the instruments, the socio-cultural context or the liturgical framework of the music. They will also explain the process of interpreting these works, in particular the challenges presented to a 21st-century musician when confronting music from four centuries ago, and there will be room for the public to ask questions and to interact with the musicians.

All interpretive work will be carried out using copies of the manuscripts displayed on a large format screen, emulating a lectern, and the eight musicians (a number that reflects an average size of Portuguese musical chapels in the 16th century) will sing and play around it. This is intended to add new elements of interest, both for musicians (due to the paleographic and philological approach that this method provides) and for the public (who will have a more realistic experience of the soundscapes of Renaissance Porto).

IN THE MEMORY OF SOUNDS was one of the winners of the Criatório program promoted by Ágora - Cultura e Desporto do Porto E.M., and has the support of Património Cultural I.P. and Antenna 2.

January 20, 2024, 8pm-midnight

January 21, 2024, 3pm-7pm

February 24, 2024, 8pm-midnight

February 25, 2024, 3pm-7pm

April 13, 2024, 8pm-midnight

April 14, 024, 3pm-7pm

July 13, 2024, 8pm-midnight

July 14th 024, 3pm-7pm

July 20, 2024, 8pm-midnight

July 21, 2024, 3pm-7pm

July 27, 2024, 8pm-midnight

July 28, 2024, 3pm-7pm

FREE ADMISSION AT ANY TIME DURING THE PERFORMANCES