As part of the Music Azores’26 festival, the Núcleo de Arte Sacra (Igreja do Colégio) welcomes the Austrian vocal ensemble Cantando Admont, directed by conductor Cordula Bürgi, for two concerts: on 7 November at 5 p.m., with the programme Six Voices, entirely devoted to female voices, and on 13 November at 4 p.m., in a concert open to the public.

At the heart of the 7 November programme is «A sei voci» (2017) by Beat Furrer, inspired by the «Coro delle Baccanti» from the libretto of L’Orfeo — a text that Claudio Monteverdi never set to music and that Furrer transforms into a work of remarkable sonic intensity. It is joined by Monteverdi’s «Canzonette» for three voices, Georges Aperghis’s «Récitations», Luigi Nono’s …donde estás hermano? and Where Did I Wake Up (2026) by Anna Sowa, a new work for six voices commissioned by Cantando Admont itself.

Founded in 2016 under the artistic direction of Cordula Bürgi, Cantando Admont brings together leading soloists and has established itself on the European musical scene, appearing at festivals such as Salzburg, Bayreuth and Lucerne, Wien Modern and the Wiener Festwochen, and in venues including the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Zurich Opera and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. It maintains a long-standing collaboration with Beat Furrer, which has given rise to several premieres.

On 13 November at 4 p.m., the same venue hosts a concert open to the public. That day also features a composers’ masterclass led by Beat Furrer — one of the most influential and acclaimed composers of our time — with conductor Cordula Bürgi and the ensemble’s singers.

The image for this edition of Music Azores is Hino de Amor (1929) by Ernesto Canto da Maia, a sculpture from the collection of the Museu Carlos Machado.

The festival is part of the programme of Ponta Delgada 2026 – Portuguese Capital of Culture.