The ecomusicalis is a symbiosis between music and nature. A musical concept that aims to create a sensory experience for listeners and musicians. One of the areas chosen was the caves of São Vicente where it was hear the first chords of an unforgettable concert that merged with the sounds of the deep Earth.
How you came up with the concept of ecomusicalis?
Rui Nelson: The concept originates with adventure activities and music. We felt that there should be a link between the two. The way to achieve it would be bringing music to nature. When we hear music in the wild, we have a balance, and for about five months we chose several spaces to perform concerts.
How are the locations chosen for the concerts? What is needed for a site to be suitable for a concert of ecomusicalis?
RN: We assume that mankind has a great need to get back to nature; we talked about sustainability, ecology, but do nothing. This is a weapon we used to get people to nature, be on practicing activities in nature, that can be heard as a concert and we decided to bring people to the natural environment for listening to music.
The grottos of Saint Vincent were a "natural" choice?
RN: Yes, but we've done concerts in the creeks, beside the sea, mountains and then we remember the caves.
Such concerts are going to have what kind of frequency in the future?
RN: Every month we do a concert in a specific zone. There is a contest of ideas and then we selected the best. Must be a time of the contact with nature, of pleasure.
The concerts are designed and thought to a small audience, right?
Filipe Teixeira: It's not that we do not want more public, the idea is that they are shows with few people and those can appreciate this moment. We ended up being able to appreciate the music and everything that was in their surroundings. Sometimes, in the event of large masses we loss a bit the concept, in this case, as there is a greater contact with nature is something to be appreciated, too contemplated. We thought in our first concert had to be very few people, we perform concerts with five people. In the background are private, but we do not want to cut too much, nor have many people to maintain the quality of the experience.
The choice of the music also took into consideration the space.
FT: Exactly. The concept is to do concerts in nature in its purity. We took the song to its natural habitat, because we thought that's how the song was born, so makes sense go back. We hear the birds singing, water flowing and listen to the silence that is also music. Everything we learn in the midst of society, we bring back to nature. This is the musical concept.
Some of the scores played had the word water in the title, but there were others who looked like they had nothing to do with the concept.
FT: I'm glad you noticed this issue, to have that assessment, because the idea is to let the taste of the listener intervene, in fact, that people create their own images. At the time of musical romanticism they had something called the symphonic poem, in which composers through music, tried to create images, which is not to say that people just can't enjoy the same sensory experience. We wanted to do this, although the scores are not ours, Professor Ignatius of tuna of mandolins stressed this issue, i.e., he brought the repertoire that he thought suited to this space. If we see the titles of the compositions seems to have little to do with it, but in terms of sound makes sense. The concert was very well balanced and has had its peaks and managed to keep the quality from beginning to end and thus hold the audience's attention.
The repertoire also had a limited number of compositions, was deliberate?
FT: I'm as music teacher has attended many concerts and many activities and started to realize that the maximum time in which people enjoy a concert is around forty, fifty minutes. It is not a proven theory, is more or less what I think. When it exceeds this limit, people tend to disperse, although they are enjoying. Soon the concept of having a concert reduced benefits both parties, the musicians who have a repertoire with quality and listeners who can maintain interest until the end.
Os concertos são concebidos e pensados para uma plateia muito reduzida é isso?
Filipe Teixeira: Não é que não queremos ter muito público, a ideia é que sejam espectáculos com poucas pessoas e as que estão possam apreciar esse momento. Acabámos por poder apreciar a música e tudo que estava no seu entorno. Por vezes, nos eventos de grandes massas perde-se um pouco o conceito, neste caso, como há um contacto maior com a natureza tem de ser algo muito apreciado, muito contemplado. Achámos que os nossos primeiros concertos tinham de ter muito pouca gente, chegámos a realizar concertos com cinco pessoas. No fundo são privados, mas não queremos reduzir demasiado, nem ter muita gente de forma a manter a qualidade da experiência.
A escolha das partituras também teve em consideração o espaço.
FT: Exactamente. O conceito é fazer concertos na natureza na sua pureza. Levámos a música ao seu habitat natural, porque achámos que foi dessa forma que a música nasceu, logo, tem todo o sentido voltarmos. Ouvimos os pássaros a cantar, a água a correr e o escutar o silêncio que também é música. Tudo o que aprendemos, no meio da sociedade, trazemos de volta para a natureza. Esse é o conceito musical.
Alguns dos temas que foram tocados tinham no título a palavra água, mas havia outros que pareciam que nada tinham a ver com o conceito.
FT: Fico satisfeito que tenha tocado nessa questão, por ter essa apreciação, porque a ideia é deixarmos ao gosto do ouvinte, aliás, que as pessoas criem as suas próprias imagens. Na época do romantismo musical havia o chamado poema sinfónico, em que os compositores, através da música, tentavam criar imagens, o que não quer dizer que as pessoas usufruíssem da mesma experiencia sensitiva. Quisemos fazer isso, embora as partituras não sejam nossas, o professor Inácio da tuna de bandolins frisou essa questão, ou seja, trouxe o repertório que achava que se adequava a este espaço. Se formos ver os títulos dos temas parece que tem pouco a ver, mas ao nível da sonoridade faz sentido. O concerto foi muito equilibrado e teve os seus picos e conseguimos manter a qualidade do princípio até o fim e dessa forma prender a atenção do público.
O repertório também teve um número limitado de composições, foi propositado?
FT: Eu como sou professor de música já assisti a diversos concertos e muitas actividades do género e comecei a aperceber que o tempo máximo em que as pessoas apreciam um concerto anda por volta dos quarenta, cinquenta minutos. Não é uma teoria comprovada, é mais ou menos o que acho. Quando se ultrapassa este limite, as pessoas tendem a dispersar, embora estejam a apreciar. Logo o conceito de ter um concerto reduzido beneficia ambas as partes, tantos os músicos que apresentam um repertório com qualidade e os ouvintes que conseguem manter o interesse até o fim.
