music
Beneath our feet, the constantly changing soil echoes a time in which extraction has become the dominant relationship. Yet the planet resists control, announcing other forces and outcomes. Rooted in the eruptive geology of the Azores, Joana Sá’s new work listens to the Earth as an unsettled body, exploring this unrest as a planetary condition.
Developed through residencies on Faial, São Miguel and at Fundação de Serralves, this piece is also deeply marked by the experience of the 2025 fire in the village of Frádigas, in the Serra da Estrela Natural Park — the largest ever recorded in Portugal in terms of burned area. As in all solo works by the Portuguese pianist, improviser and composer, the piano is transmuted into another instrumental apparatus, tuned to subterranean geological movements and connected to a bass drum and a snare drum. Sound exciters are attached to the instruments and, through them, sound compositions resonate, created from field recordings captured during the fire in Frádigas, on the islands of Faial, São Miguel and Pico, and at demonstrations in Lisbon and Ponta Delgada.
creation and performance joana sá
co-creation — support for musical creation and stage lutherie structures luís j martins
co-creation — support for movement/performance teresa silva
co-creation — visual concept of the project and lighting design consultancy daniel costa neves
lighting design and operation tela negra
sound design and operation suse ribeiro
photos daniel costa neves
design ana viana
production menos muito mais crl
project supported by dgartes and república portuguesa
co-production gnration, culturgest, walk & talk, fundação de serralves, avista vulcão
supported by portuguese republic – culture, youth and sports / general direction of the arts / network of portuguese theaters and cinemas (rtcp). portuguese contemporary art network (rpac).
