APRIL 4 (tuesday), 9:30pm
PASTORAL CENTER, Torres Vedras
APRIL 5 (wednesday ), 21h30
MARIA MATOS THEATER, Lisboa
Fados, traditional Afghan music, and two songs by Miguel Amaral (b. 1982) and Nuno Côrte-Real (b. 1971)
Marco Oliveira
voice
Miguel Amaral
portuguese guitar
Nuno Côrte-Real
musical direction and presentation
ENSEMBLE DARCOS
ANIMP – National Music Institute of Afghanistan
Süse Ribeiro
sound design
Founded in 2008, the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIMP) has been noted for its continuous work in safeguarding and transmitting the Afghan musical heritage, as well as promoting gender equality, of which the Zohra orchestra, composed of 35 women, stands out. When, on 15 August 2021, Kabul fell, music was banned by the Taliban regime. It fell to Portugal to welcome 273 refugees, including students and teachers from ANIMP. This act, of transcendental relevance, which did not receive due attention from the Portuguese civil society, made it possible to save not only human lives (especially of young girls) but also a threatened musical tradition. The cultural identity of a people is based, among other nuances, on the way it expresses itself musically. Although marked by its proximity to India and its centuries-old musical traditions, Afghan music has managed to develop its own idiom, dazzling in its distinctive nuances, which has attracted the attention of many across borders. Moreover, its impact on the younger Afghan generations has been decisive in facilitating intergenerational dialogue and the integration of women into a deeply oppressive and traditionally patriarchal society. In this intersection between musical traditions, between different languages, an intercultural dialogue is born, an itinerary that starting from music as a language common to all peoples, ends in the wonder of this encounter between many hands. Among the tinkling of rubabs, domburas and ghijaks (Afghan string instruments), we will listen to two premiere works: a fado by Miguel Amaral (b. 1982), young soloist of the Portuguese guitar and a song by Nuno Côrte-Real (b. 1971), written at the age of 19, in a “punk troubadour moment”, according to punk troubadour”, according to his own words.