Where the Earth Ends

The title work of the album, Pereira’s own suite “Where the Earth Ends,” forms its emotional and conceptual centerpiece. Composed in 2021, the four-movement suite is both a tribute and a confession—blending Portugal’s folkloric soul with a modern, introspective language. Inspired by his childhood memories and landscapes, the piece traces a heterobiographical path: one that is rooted in personal history yet speaks universally to the idea of “home,” departure, and belonging. From the contemplative “Praeludium” to the rhythmically vivid “Malhão Dance,” the suite unfolds like a cinematic narrative. Polytonal harmonies, modal inflections, and echoing fragments of Portuguese song traditions interact with silence, space, and texture. The result is a work that feels both ancient and immediate—a musical exploration of memory, place, and identity. Premiered at a solo recital in Moscow, the suite has since captured audiences with its quiet emotional power and technical inventiveness.

The album’s journey begins with Bach’s Partita No. 6, one of the Baroque master’s most expressive keyboard works. It moves through the vivid, personal writing of Victorino d’Almeida, who composed his Preludes and Fugues op. 25 for Pereira. This is followed by Paul Hindemith’s Sonata No. 3, a bold and structurally intricate work that resonates with the suite’s modernist undercurrents. Together, the pieces create a conversation across time, where each composer brings a unique voice, yet all share a sense of inner intensity and formal brilliance.