A Dor de todas as ruas vazias

The composition methodology, explored and developed in my master’s final project in Musical Arts,¹ tests possible associations between textual components and musical elements; it can be regarded as a transcription of textual characteristics into musical parameters.

To this end, text is treated as raw data — according to individual characters and combinations of letters, syllables, words, or phrases — resulting in numerical sequences and pitch values, which are then used in the creation of motifs, chords, structures, etc. From these transcriptions arise a series of musical notes, with specific pitches and durations, treated as the available musical material for the composer. This is not merely a direct transcription or encoding of text into music, but rather an exploration of how cryptographic processes can be applied artistically and creatively.

The libretto is based on the poem “Notas para o Diário” by Al Berto,² and the cryptographic component was derived from fragments taken from the book As Flores do Mal by Fernando Pessoa. In each of the five scenes, a different textual fragment by Pessoa serves as the cryptographic basis:

• Scene I: “Morreu em mim mais do que o meu passado”;³
• Scene II: “Absolutamente doido só por sentir, absolutamente roto por me roçar contra as coisas”;⁴
• Scene III: “Julga-te sempre mais triste e mais infeliz do que és”;⁵
• Scene IV: “Dê-me de beber, que não tenho sede”;⁶

• Scene V: “Nunca fiz mais do que fumar a vida”.⁷