To mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of Luís de Camões, the Consulate General of Portugal in Goa and the Camões – Portuguese Language Centre in Goa, in collaboration with Opus Gala and Communicare Trust, organised a string concert by the Chiado Quartet. Titled ‘Voice and Strings’, the concert featured the special participation of Portuguese soprano Camila Mandillo and was held at the Menezes Braganza Institute, Panaji.
The concert programme opened with a series of themes of Azorean composer Francisco de Lacerda (1869-1934), written for four cellos, followed by an arrangement of Sérgio Azevedo (1968) with his cabaret songs. Also featured were the Redondilhas of Camões composed by Jorge Croner de Vasconcellos (1910-1974). The evening closed with an evocative tribute to collective memory through Filipe Raposo’s arrangements of themes of José Afonso (1927-1987) and Amélia Muge (1952) with other poems of Camões such as the ‘Endechas a Bárbara’, ‘Verdes são os campos’, and ‘Aos Olhos de Helena’.
Camila Mandillo also sung the popular fado theme ‘Foi Deus’ of Amália Rodrigues and the Konkani hymn to St. Francis Xavier. The concert was preceded by a workshop for young Goan musicians which took place at the Kala Academy Goa.
