Margarida Gonçalves opus 10
Seven Deadly sins for Violin and Piano

Performed in David Josefowitz Recital Hall, Royal Academy of Music

The Seven Deadly Sins are fateful transgressions, which preclude people from spiritual development and mental sanity. This piece consists in the combination of seven miniatures, represented by seven melodies that define each sin.

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10/2019

MG10- Seven Deadly sins

Margarida Gonçalves opus 12 Chaconne for Viola Solo
Commissioned and dedicated to Miguel Sobrinho (viola player)


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05/2020

MG 12- Chaconne for Viola Solo

Margarida Gonçalves opus 16- Não sei quantas almas tenho (I do not know how many Souls I have)
For harp, clarinet in Bb and soprano
Poem by: Fernando Pessoa

Performed in David Josefowitz Recital Hall at Royal Academy of Music

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03/2021

MG16- Não sei quantas almas tenho (I do not know how many Souls I have)

Margarida Gonçalves opus 21- Five preludes for cello and piano

As the title suggests, this piece is a set of preludes for cello and piano. These preludes reflect the traditional idea of a prelude in the classical era. Each movement is a short piece that sets or explores a key or pitch centre.

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05/2021

MG21- Five preludes for cello and piano

Margarida Gonçalves opus 23- O Magnum Mysterium
For SATB Choir
Dedicated and commissioned by Gonçalo Lourenço.
Performed by the choir of Jacobs School of Music
Indiana University, with the conductor Matt Lee.

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11/2021

MG23- O Magnum Mysterium

Margarida Gonçalves opus 24 "O Virtuo Sapieniae"
Inspired by the original melody from "O Virou Sapientiae" by Hildegard Von Bigen

Part of the incredible piano collection "Her Story", written by Karen Marshall, published by Farber Music.

Her Story

MG24 - O Virtuo Sapientiae

This piece contemplates the idea of a mirage caused by a mirror illusion.
It sets different images that reflect upon each other, but it also brings the idea of mirror to a more literal level. 
The first three images slowly develop into a rhythmic section, more agitated and livelier. This section symbolises the idea of entering a mirror, but once we are on the other side, we experience the inverted version of reality.
The following three section are the inverted version of the previous ones. However, the inversion is not on the notes themselves but the twisted mood and darker atmosphere that emerges by the end of the piece.

This piece was part of the Concert Mirrors and Candlelight
Full concert in the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/WIO01kCPUbI

MG26- Mirages

MG26- Mirages for Piano Trio and Dancer

MG27- Three Songs for Soprano and Guitar

Each song in this work explores a different relationship between the voice and the guitar. What is more, each poem sets a different mood and character that I tried to capture by using various techniques and registers.

Three Songs

MG27- Three Songs

“Spirits of the Dead” is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe that inspired me to write this piece. The soprano narrates through each verse and the electronic plays phantasmagoric sounds that were all sampled from the human voice.
This work is my first ever electronic piece, so it is very different from everything I have ever done before. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy and recommend hearing it with headphones.

MG 29- Spirits of the Dead

Silent Night arrangement for mixed ensemble

Performed on 02/12/22 in ABRH, Royal Academy of Music
Conducted by: Thomas Marples

Silent Night arr.

This piece is a symphonic poem in memory of the Portuguese Wildfires in the summer of 2022.
This summer was one of the hottest summers in history. Due to climate change and heat waves, we witnessed some of the worse wildfires ever registered in Portugal.
This piece is a reflection on a wildfire that occurred near my house in Setúbal. It all started with a vast cloud of smoke that began spreading over the skies, but soon enough the fire expanded, and I could clearly see the burning flames extending over the wide mountains of Palmela.

The piece is not an exact description of the fire itself. It is more of a depiction of my feelings and emotions as I watched the natural disaster spreading in front of my eyes. Nevertheless, there are a lot of evocative sounds, mainly in the second section of the piece that resemble some of the real-life noises of that moment. For example, the strings play through a “siren like” motive, whilst winds and brass have a short-articulated phrasing, similar to the frantic bird cries, that tried to fly away from the flames. The work finishes with a gradual decay, as the flames slowly burn out. Finally, all we are left with is the soft sound of burned wood creaking.

MG30- Portugal in Flames

Portuguese composer 🇵🇹
Based in London 🇬🇧 
Royal Academy of Music graduate 2023 🎓
MMus Composition at Royal College of Music 🎶

Margarida Gonçalves

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