ELEMENTOS is a song-cycle inspired by the four elements: earth, fire, water and air, and was the first collaboration between myself and the poet/lyricist Daniel Basilio. Originally written for piano and operatic voice, the piece was never properly premiered, so it was put to rest in a drawer and forgotten for the longest time.  It never occurred to me to ever play and sing this piece myself,  because I had it stuck in my mind that this piece should never be done by someone with my vocal type.   In the past few years, however, the lines between genres and styles have become much thinner for me, and as I looked for a piece to arrange for SOLI and myself, ELEMENTOS came to mind.  

I am really excited about working with SOLI on this piece.  Bringing it to a chamber music setting and pairing it with a more popular vocal type such as mine, I hope, will culminate on something unique, different than the regular song cycles audiences expect to hear when going to a concert house, or a jazz festival.  

The piece draws from many influences.  The first movement Flor De Lã   is set to a gorgeous poem by Basilio, exploring the earth element. Fogaréu, inspired by the fire element is a fiery and rhythmic movement while the ballad Maré de Água Viva  aims to  portray the comings and goings of a tide of living water.  The element Air closes the song cycle with a lively dance in 6/8, called Esconderijo.