PASSACAGLIA was a commission by Fundação Casa da Música.
(Young Composer in Residence 2015 Casa da Música)

premiere
20th October 2015

nota de programa:
Tenho uma fixação pela "Missa em Si menor" de Bach. Penso que todos os músicos a têm. Sempre que chega ao momento do "Crucifixus" a minha alma percebe que não estamos sozinhos. Aliás, creio que seja o único momento em que sou de todas as religiões. O único momento em que sou de alguma. Em que acredito em tudo. Em todos os livros e em todas as estórias.
O "Crucifixus" é uma passacaglia. Sempre quis fazer uma passacaglia. O baixo repete e repete e a música é sempre diferente.
Dito assim, parece uma metáfora da nossa democracia.
Mas não é. Na minha PASSACAGLIA o baixo é sempre forte. Não há que esconder.
A metáfora é essa.

PASSACAGLIA (REMIX Ensemble - Casa da Música)

Nuno da Rocha studied Composition with Vasco Mendonça, Carlos Marecos, Luís Tinoco, Carlos Caires and António Pinho Vargas.

During the summer of 2009 he participated in the ‘19th internationale sommerakademie09’ in Austria, where he worked with the composer Nigel Osborne, the maestro Michael Wendeberg and the widely recognized contemporary musical group ‘klangforum wien’.

In February 2010, he took part of the ‘16th young composers meeting’ in Apeldoorn (Netherlands) with the ‘de ereprijs’ orchestra. This meeting was directed by Louis Andriessen, Richard Ayres, Martijn Padding, Jan van de Putte, Micheal Smetanin and Helena Tulve.

By commission of Antena 2/RTP, he wrote ”Quatro Últimas Canções, quatro personagens a partir do romance de Vasco Graça Moura” as the mandatory piece for the contest ‘Prémio Jovens Músicos 2012′ in the category of Vocal performance.

He won the 3rd prize of the Antena2/RTP Composition Contest 2012 with the piece “O que será do rio without John Cage?” for baroque orchestra.

He was one of the selected composers to the TENSO Young Composers Workshop 2014 – Mechelen (Belgium). Afterward he was one of the three finalists of the TENSO Young Composers Award in Copenhagen (Denmark).

He was selected to the ENOA Workshop "Composing for Voice" with Magnus Lindberg and Barbara Hannigan where he premiere his work "I could not think of thee as piecèd rot" for Soprano and Orchestra.

In June-July 2015, he took part of the ENOA Workshop “Opera Creation - Reflection” with Fabio Vacchi (Aix-en-Provence, France). Later (September 15), he joined into another ENOA Workshop with Martin Crimp (Ghent, Belgium).

In October 2015, he premiere his last score for orchestra. "RESTART", commission by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon, Portugal). This work was inserted in the opening concert of the new Gulbenkian season 15-16.

Nuno da Rocha was the Young Composer in Residence 2015 at Casa da Música (Porto, Portugal). As a result, he premiere three new works in the season.

In July 2016, he was one of the composers in residence “Song and Creation Residency” - Académie du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (France).

In November 2016, his first album was released - “Mesmo que faça frio” - works for children choir.

Nuno da Rocha is one of the nominated composers for the TOTEM (Théâtre Opéra Texte et Écriture musicale) 2017-18, La Chartreuse - Villeneuve lez Avignon - Festival d’Avignon (France).

PASSACAGLIA (REMIX Ensemble - Casa da Música)

Nuno da Rocha - composer