‘Dream of the Waters’: Brazilian pianist and composer Heloísa Fernandes’ ode to the Amazon

Heloísa Fernandes, Brazilian pianist and composer, gave a solo piano concert Feb. 21 entitled “Dream of the Waters” at the Kerrytown Concert House after the first leg of her quartet’s United States tour. While the original program name was “Amazonas,” this placeholder was swapped after deeper reflection.

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Fernandes discussed her inspirations, her line of work as a multi-faceted musician and her special relationship with music. “Dream of the Waters” began when Fernandes went to Manaus, the capital of Amazonas in Brazil, to play a concert.  After looking at that “tremendous beauty,” something inside of her changed, Fernandes said. Soon after, her subconscious manifested a dream to hint at the compositions that were to follow.

“I threw myself into the waters and I felt everything, I really was there. I felt the temperature of the water and everything, the environment, the river taking me,” Fernandes said. “So I was completely alone and being carried by the river, I didn’t have any control. … I woke up so happy after that, I thought: this is the river, I am the river.”

Fernandes begged her mother to teach her piano at just 4 years old. When it comes to the process of composing, she explained that the steps are the same, only with different sources.

“When something touches me, it can be anything. It can be nature, literature or my children,” Fernandes said. “I just need to be touched by that thing so I start thinking about the feelings I have.”

She highlighted the influence of the beauty of Brazilian culture on her American tour. Touring America for the first time in years, then, this performance couldn’t have come sooner.

“It’s important because (I take) Brazilian music to other countries so people (there) can have a chance to know about (the) music,” Fernandes said.

The Kerrytown Concert House maintains an intimate setting illuminated by the colorful art on the walls. A supporter of other Brazilian artists, Fernandes began the night with “Palhaço” by Egberto Gismonti and “Bebê” by Hermeto Pascoal.

The passion in Fernandes’ playing immediately grabs your attention. Even while playing another composer’s work, she embodies it like her own. She played her arrangement of a piece by Caetano Veloso afterward, a segue into her own compositions.

To map out the audience experience, the program notes included biographies of a couple of composers. However, the content and order of the pieces were a mystery.

Without initially knowing what was to come, Fernandes’ own personal interludes — in which she would converse directly with the audience in between the pieces — were welcoming and guiding. Sometimes performances can make audience members feel apprehensive or frightened because any noise they make can be distracting or disruptive, but this was not the case for Fernandes’ affectionate atmosphere.

The bulk of the program included Fernandes’ compositions: “Oferenda ao Rio Amazonas,” “Tempo dos sonhos,” “Dança na Floresta” and “Depois da chuva.”

Fernandes was deliberate in her musicality; she tickled and stabbed at the piano. She swayed and danced along to her melodies, occasionally humming to foster a cozy aura. At one point, she reached into the piano, held the string and simultaneously played the keys, a practice that likely couldn’t have been captured to the same success in a larger venue.

She pedaled with a heartbeat rhythm and breathed with each phrase. Like a locomotive, the flow between each piece was exquisite. At some points, Fernandes encouraged audience participation. We were told to pat our hands on our laps and make noises to emulate the Amazon rainforest. The performance provided a fresh flair of cultural enrichment.

Fernandes’ encore of Pascoal’s “Chorinho pra Ele” ended the night on a high. Her flexibility with genres like classical and jazz lit up the stage and illuminated the entire room. Her concert demonstrated how audiences can actively engage with music. Without people to share a melody with, it is just not the same.

“Music talks,” Fernandes said of her own performance. “I am just an instrument.”

Upon being asked whether she had any expectations, takeaways or ideas to share with the audience before her performance, Fernandes shared her desire for her music to transcend language and nation.

“I hope this music can touch their hearts, that’s all I want.”

Daily Arts Writer Tara Wasik can be reached at tarawas@umich.edu.

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