Arvo Pärt - Nunc Dimittis by Moços do Coro ensemble

NUNC DIMITTIS” is an initiative promoted by the Moços do Coro ensemble during the period in which the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we look at life. Performed by 28 of the ensemble’s collaborating singers, this project will showcase the music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (1935), whose title gives this work its name. Then, under the gaze of the painter and sculptor João Sarmento sj. (1987), we can contemplate the process of creating an engraving, full of symbolism.

The various folds moulded into the paper were based on the little notes found in Renaissance Flemish paintings, specifically the work “Salvator Mundi” by Antonello da Messina (1430-1479), giving a new dimension to the text present in the musical work. In turn, the careful preparation of the material, as if it were a contemplative ritual, gives it a new texture, making you experience these words of true joy and hope.

Finally, with the audio editing of musician and ensemble member Carlos Meireles, and the image capture and editing by myself, it has become possible to bring together all those who are necessarily far away in these times when we all wish to finally materialise the words of Simeon, which we see and hear here: “(...) because my eyes have seen the salvation that you have offered to all peoples, a light to be revealed to the nations and the glory of Israel your people”.

With artistic conception by conductor Nuno Miguel de Almeida, artistic moderation by Fr João Norton sj. and composer Prof Alfredo Teixeira, this work bears witness to a living, healthy and united national culture.