Brazilian instruments intrigue local audience

Some local residents who arrived early at Nanshan Culture and Sports Center Grand Theater for a concert Friday night were attracted to some strange-looking musical instruments placed on the stage. They approached the stage to take a closer look and snap some photos of them before the concert started.

The instruments were recorders that were brought by the Brazilian ensemble Quinta Essentia Quartet for the concert for the Shenzhen Belt & Road International Music Festival. The group consists of four members, namely Gustavo de Francisco, Renata Pereira, Pedro Ribeirao and Francielle Paixao.

"All the instruments are recorders. We use recorders in different sizes and different shapes. We have baroque recorders and modern recorders. The baroque recorders are more known but the modern ones are more exquisite. These are perfect for making the Brazilian music that we will show you," said de Francisco.

The ensemble, with the two female performers dressed alternately in a bright red suit and a malachite green suit, led the audience to embark on an exotic musical journey to Brazil with the bright bird-song-tone of the recorders.

The artists complemented each other by performing on different sized recorders. With just a look, they could tell exactly the right moment to start a new melody.

The Quinta Essentia Quartet is the main Brazilian recorder ensemble and one of the most important chamber music groups at the moment.

Besides baroque recorders, the group uses a Renaissance consort made by luthier Adrian Brown, and modern recorders like "square recorders," as they are affectionately known by the Brazilian public, Helder and Tarasov harmonic recorders, "dream recorders," and the newest addition: the Eagle recorder.