The event unfolds over four days in various locations across Évora, offering the public an “expanded listening experience about the relationship between music, territory, and sound landscape, with a particular focus on its connection to Alentejo,” explained the Associação Évora 2027, which manages the CEC.
‘Sentir a Terra’ is the inaugural initiative of a broader project within the European Capital of Culture program, titled ‘Lá nas Árvores’. This will include two other segments: ‘Levantar Voo’ in 2026 and ‘Coexistir, Construindo Futuro’ in 2027.
The organization stated that the artistic program of the CEC and the event ‘Sentir a Terra’ kicks off with ‘O Canto das Sementes’, featuring two concerts by Ensemble DME, one today and another on Friday, at 21:00, at the auditorium of Colégio Mateus d’Aranda.
The first concert will showcase works such as ‘Hematite’ by Jaime Reis, ‘Sobre a areia o tempo poisa’ by Sara Carvalho, ‘Melancholia’ by Miguel Azguime, and, in a world premiere, ‘Iconographiae’ by Valerio Sannicandro.
The second show will present works by young composers Luana Ambrósio, João Ricardo, Yanis Lel-Masri, and Cristóvão Almeida, who “worked inspired by themes such as deforestation or pollution in digital networks,” according to the organization.
The auditorium of Colégio Mateus d’Aranda will again serve as the ‘stage’ for another activity of ‘Sentir a Terra’ on Saturday at 18:00, namely the concert-conference “Natural Soundscape and Intangible Heritage of Alentejo,” featuring composer Carlos Marecos and pianist Ana Telles.
The final day of the initiative takes place on Sunday, beginning at 10:00 at Palácio D. Manuel, with a workshop led by composer Jaime Reis.
In the same venue, at 18:00, a concert “dedicated to acousmatic music” will feature the performance of ‘Viola Sylvestris’ by Austrian composer Thomas Gorbach.
Within the concert, a piece by composer Mariana Vieira inspired by the sound of cowbells will be premiered, alongside works selected through an open call for music, launched in September, added Associação Évora 2027.
On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, the Coreto do Jardim Público will also host a sound installation with acousmatic pieces selected through the same international call, offering the public “a more attentive listening experience to the different soundscapes represented in the works.”
The ‘Lá nas Árvores’ project, part of the Évora_27 initiative, is a co-production by the University of Évora, Projecto DME, and Associação Lisboa Incomum, with artistic direction by Ana Telles.
