Azorean musician Rafael Carvalho presents his latest original for Viola da Terra, “A Teia da Viola.” This single will be part of his next album, to be presented in the summer. It will feature 10 originals for Viola da Terra and celebrate 30 years since he began learning the instrument.

“A Teia da Viola” features the special participation of the musician Chico Lobo, from Minas Gerais, with Viola Caipira and Voice, in a duet with Viola da Terra. It’s the first original with music and lyrics that Rafael Carvalho has presented on his albums, with lyrics by Sílvia Silveira. The lyrics portray the journey of someone who is bewitched by the sound, smell, and mystique of the Viola and who, from then on, dedicates his life to it.

The invitation to the Brazilian musician Chico Lobo comes from a long-standing friendship, with Chico Lobo having taken part in two editions of the Violas do Atlântico Festival with his Viola Caipira and also in the II International Festival of Violas de Arame in 2010, which took place in São Miguel. Given the content and essence of the lyrics, it called for this interpretation and combination of sounds linked to the musical universe of Viola in Brazil.

Viola Caipira e Voz was recorded at Estúdio RG, Belo Horizonte, by Ricardo Gomes and Viola da Terra at CuboX by Luís Xavier, who also mixed and mastered. The song is now available on digital platforms such as Spotify, YouTube, and iTunes, among others, for anyone to listen to, as well as on the musician’s social networks.

The year 2025 will thus bring the 10th solo album by the Azorean musician and teacher, born in Ribeira Quente, who has spent three decades dedicated to Viola da Terra, both in teaching and training, as well as publishing books and CDS and producing events to promote our Viola.

Rafael Carvalho has published nine solo albums, two duo albums, and two trio albums, as well as more than two dozen guest appearances on various albums and singles. He has also published three books of his “Method for Viola da Terra,” the result of his work teaching and structuring the Viola da Terra course at the Ponta Delgada Regional Conservatory. In 2021, he published the book Viola da Terra—Crónicas.”

In February 2025, the Rotary Club of Ponta Delgada honored musician and luthier Hugo Raposo as Professional of the Year 2024.

In Diário dos Açores-Osvaldo Cabral, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks the Luso-American Education Foundation for their support.