Brothers César and Rafael Carvalho celebrate the traditional sounds of the Viola da Terra while exploring new musical paths for one of the Azores’ most distinctive instruments

The Duo Toadas, formed by brothers César Carvalho on classical guitar and Rafael Carvalho on Viola da Terra, is marking the closing days of August with two summer concerts on the island of São Miguel. The first was held yesterday, August 21, as part of Ribeira Grande’s Noites de Verão program, while the second takes place today, August 22, during the Povoação A’gosto festival.

Yesterday’s performance took place at Largo Hintze Ribeiro in Ribeira Grande, where Duo Toadas appeared at 9 p.m. as part of the summer program organized by the Ribeira Grande Municipal Council. Today, the musicians travel to Povoação for an 8:30 p.m. concert at the Municipal Garden, opening an evening dedicated to Azorean traditions.

The Povoação program continues at 9:30 p.m. with the 10th Povoação Folklore Festival, organized by the Povoação Parish Council. Both the Ribeira Grande and Povoação events are free and open to the public.

At the heart of Duo Toadas is a commitment to the Viola da Terra, an instrument inseparable from the musical heritage of the Azores. An important part of the brothers’ work has been devoted to recovering and presenting traditional instrumental repertoire that is now performed less frequently, bringing melodies from earlier generations before contemporary audiences and helping ensure that they remain part of the islands’ living musical memory.

Their work, however, is not confined to preservation. César and Rafael Carvalho also perform original compositions and arrangements of works by other composers, exploring different sounds and expanding the repertoire available to the Viola da Terra and to the duo itself. In this way, tradition becomes not simply something inherited from the past, but material from which new musical possibilities can emerge.

That dialogue between memory and creation was particularly evident in their first album, Toadas, da Lobeira ao Agrião, released in 2022. The recording traces part of their musical journey through eight traditional pieces before concluding with two original compositions by Rafael Carvalho, “No Prédio” and “Toadas,” both written specifically for the album.

The latter composition would eventually give the duo its name, turning Toadas into both a musical work and an expression of the artistic identity the two brothers have continued to develop.

Their two summer appearances this week therefore represent more than another pair of concerts. From yesterday evening in Ribeira Grande to tonight in Povoação, Duo Toadas carries forward a musical conversation between generations: the familiar voice of the Viola da Terra alongside the possibilities of what the instrument can still become.

Tonight’s concert begins at 8:30 p.m. at the Municipal Garden in Povoação, followed by the 10th Povoação Folklore Festival at 9:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Based on press release–Photo from the Duo.