After the huge success of "An Austrian Christmas in Lisbon", the Choir Amigos do Conservat´ório wants to bring you a new program, with four choral-symphonic music concerts that will make Christmas 2025 the best ever!
Last year, "An Austrian Christmas in Lisbon" brought over 2,500 people to our four free concerts; it brought us new friends (some of whom even started singing with us!), and memories we'll never forget. For the first time, CACN made headlines, and we managed to make your Christmas (and ours) a whole lot more beautiful.
And, for all these reasons, we want to repeat the experience with a new program featuring Johann Sebastian Bach as our guiding figure, with whom we will embark on this new journey. We will once again partner with the Ensemble Efémero and a group of talented soloists to present works from the great Western musical tradition, in a return to the Baroque.
The program begins with Bach's cantata for the Feast of the Annunciation of the Angel to Mary (BWW 1), which marks the moment of the Incarnation—a piece of exuberant choral fantasy. Next, Antonio Caldara and a Magnificat in C major follow; to conclude, we will sing Jan Dismas Zelenka's Te Deum. Bach was not only an admirer of Zelenka's music, but also a student of the ancient masters, and he had Caldara's works in his "drawer," copied in his own hand and even reworked by him. In the works we will present, choir and solo singers alternate and succeed each other, accompanied by the Baroque ensemble in various configurations.
Why is your help essential?
The Choir Amigos do Conservatório (CACN) needs partial funding to hire instrumentalists and soloists so we can present these works to the city of Lisbon next Christmas. Our choir is entirely supported by the choristers' monthly fees, and without this contribution, we will not be able to stage these four concerts.
The motivation that brings amateur singers together around a project is the desire and pleasure of singing works they would otherwise never be able to sing individually. We want to provide the public with close, neighborhood contact, and free access to works only accessible through paid concerts in major concert halls.
The goal of CACN and its Maestro Luís Lopes Cardoso is to bring to the public the result of many months of work by approximately 65 choristers—and, later, the work with orchestras and soloists—so that classical music lovers can also enjoy concerts in their parishes and churches. The meticulously prepared and rehearsed works are offered to the city, helping to foster a spirit of community and conviviality during one of the most festive times of the year.
This is where your small contribution comes in. To bring these three pieces to the stage in four majestic concerts, we need to hire instrumentalists for a twenty-three-piece orchestra and five soloists. Your help is essential for us to create this program and bring it to you.
It's going to be a wonderful Christmas with Bach & Friends, opening our doors free of charge to anyone who wants to hear us, giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy this experience.
About the author
Since 2014, the Choir Amigos do Conservatório (CACN), conducted by maestro Luís Lopes Cardoso, has offered its choral and symphonic repertoire to the city of Lisbon, performing during celebrations in the various churches that host us—including (but not limited to) the Church of Our Lady of the Conception of Rato, the Basilica of Estrela, the Church of Saint Catherine, Santo Condestável, the Church of Campolide, the Church of Saint Dominic, the Chapel of Rato, the Church of Saint Francis Xavier, Lisbon Cathedral, and the Jerónimos Monastery. Our concerts are free to the public, who fill the venues where we perform, rewarding us with their presence, attention, and applause.
Over the years, we've performed Byrd, Buxtehude, Schütz, Michael Haydn, Rheinberger, Vivaldi, Brahms, Handel, Mozart, and others. The CACN includes choristers of various nationalities and boasts an eclectic repertoire spanning classical, religious, traditional, popular, and modern works.
Last year, we "invented" an Austrian Christmas in Lisbon with Mozart and Haydn, filling four concert halls with over 2,500 people in total—free admission!—offering concerts to the city of Lisbon. This year, we want to do it again and bring you Bach, Caldara, and Zelenka in a unique celebration and four concerts that, to take place, require your small contribution.
All the choristers—approximately sixty-five singers, distributed across four sections—contribute their monthly dues to keep the choir running year-round. However, hiring 23 musicians and five soloists, as well as renting instruments, entails costs that we can only cover with your contribution. Help us bring music to you and make everyone's Christmas more beautiful, friendly, and supportive.
Our conductor: Luís Lopes Cardoso holds a degree in Composition from the Lisbon School of Music (ESML), where he studied with Professors Luís Tinoco, Christopher Bochmann, and António Pinho Vargas, and a Master's degree in Choral Conducting from the ESML, under the guidance of Professor Paulo Vassalo Lourenço. He studied with Professor João Lourenço and Eurico Carrapatoso. He also attended the Choral Conducting Course at the Aveiro International Vocal Music Course and the Choral Conducting Course in Évora, all directed by Maestro Paulo Lourenço. He was a conductor in the re:canto choral group, and since 2014 has directed the Friends of the National Conservatory Choir, of which he is musical director and principal conductor. He regularly performs in concert conducting a cappella repertoire, with small instrumental groups, and with orchestras.
Budget and due dates
The concerts will be free of charge, as are all CACN concerts, as our goal is to promote classical music to a wide audience.
The concerts will take place on the 6th, 7th, 13th and 14th of December in four churches in Lisbon.
We need 4620 euros of partial financing , which will be used to pay for an Orchestra of twenty-three musicians and five Soloists, which includes:
Bassoon; 2 trumpets; timpani; 2 oboes; 2 horns; 8 violins; 3 violas; 2 cellos; double bass; organ
And five more soloists:
2 Soprano / 1 Contralto / 1 Tenor / 1 Bass
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