Balcony-listener

Portuguese Madalena Rato started playing cello when she was seven but switched to percussion after a few years. 2023 she established Duo Umbra with her friend and former study companion, Carolina Duarte. On September 29, they will perform their third concert, this time at NMH.

It can be challenging to find a repertoire that is originally written for their combination. After some searching, Madalena discovered the piece "Without" by Spanish composer Clara de Asís. Soon, she contacted her to ask if the duo could perform it, and the sheet music landed in her mailbox shortly after.

The work consists of a timetable and is based on improvisation - not entirely unusual for a percussionist, but potentially outside the comfort zone of a violinist.

According to Madalena, Carolina Duarte is a trained musicologist and has always been interested in contemporary music and improvisation.

- It's exciting to work with a violinist, and the violin works very well in contemporary music, says the percussionist. - So I said: Let's explore and see what we can get from this.

In the piece "Without", the violinist has to, for example, hold one bow for 50 seconds. The first time they tried it out, 30 seconds was the maximum, but with some practice, Carolina set a new record at the concert with 52 seconds.

What is the musical conversation between you like?

- The first time we rehearsed together, we tried to play through. When we finished, we looked at each other and said: This was terrible!

She laughs and points out how comfortable it is to have such high trust in each other in an ensemble.

– We are not afraid to be honest with each other, and then it's very easy to work together.

Last year, Madalena fell on the ice and broke her arm. This led to two months without playing and influenced her master's project.

- It's about exploring sounds we usually don't see as musical.

She sat on her balcony and began recording the sounds around her. She discovered how they changed depending on, for example, the season and time of day.

- I started to open my ears and discovered that the environment around me had exciting sounds.

Next year, she plans to use the recordings in a sound installation called "Music from the Balcony". A musician's nightmare has led to something new and positive after all. However, she is clear that it was a terrible experience.

- I couldn't even cut vegetables. Use crampons!

Now, she is exploring sounds in collaboration with three composers: NMH student Ferdinand Schwarz and alumni Elena Perales Andreu and Luis Fernando Amaya, who will all write new works for her.

New ways of listening

Even though percussion and violin can make a lot of noise, Madalena prepares the audience for a meditative concert experience. Both instruments have to adapt to the other, and Madalena naturally also depends on which percussion she uses.

In this piece, she will play tam-tam, cymbal, and everyday objects like glass and pots. She promises a calm and relaxing atmosphere.

– This piece is about listening, and I find it fascinating that the more we hear, the more we can discover new details and different ways of listening.