Scherzo com Graca, Op. 54

Program Note: This work was commissioned by the Orquestra Nacional de Sopros dos Templários for its return to activity in 2021. When the commission was made, I was told that it would share the program with Fernando Lopes-Graça’s Suíte Rústica No. 3, which immediately sparked many ideas: should I write a new suite? A prelude or an epilogue to his piece? Later, I learned that the work would also appear in other concerts including more of Lopes-Graça’s music — and everything became clearer. The composition process flowed naturally. The inclusion of the chorale “Acordai!”, from Canções Heróicas, soon became inevitable. It stands as one of the most powerful and enduring works of Lopes-Graça, set to the words of José Gomes Ferreira, whose message remains strikingly relevant today. Lopes-Graça drew deeply from Portuguese folk music, and this Acordai! captures his artistic and social ideals. In my own piece, I wanted the colors and energy of the band — the people’s orchestra — to awaken this sleeping nation, just as the composer himself once called us to rise.