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The Church of Cabeça Santa dates back to the first half of the 13th century and is an excellent example of Portuguese Romanesque architecture.
The constant displacement of artisans [masons, sculptures, carpenters] in medieval times promoted the repetition of constructive and ornamental models in several territories.
The portals and sculptures in the capitals of Cabeça Santa are very similar to those in the Church of Saint Martin of Cedofeita in Porto, which is decorated in a very similar way to the Romanesque Cathedral of Porto and other examples of the Romanesque style in the region of Coimbra.
The main portal presents a tympanum with heads of cows, built to symbolically protect the entrance to the Church.
A representation of a street performer [acrobat] stands out in the south portal for its originality.
The artistic set of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, from the Modern Era [17th-18th centuries], deserves special attention.
From: Rota do Românico
The Space
Small sized space with a single nave. It was recently refurbished and is well kempt. The vestry was used as control room and, although small, it has the advantage of having a door with access to the outside. Access to the space was easy, and we were even able to keep the key to use at our convenience. The sound insulation is insufficient, the doors have cracks and you can even hear the roosters and hens from the neighbouring field.
Dressing room and toilets were available in an adjoining parish building, but it was necessary to arrange with the caretaker so that we could be given a key to be able to use these spaces.
Strong points
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Car access for loading and unloading.
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Ample room for parking.
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Sufficient and noiseless lighting.
Weak points
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WC in separate building owned by the parish.
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Bell tower outside but very audible.
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Insufficient sound insulation.
Score from 0 to 10
2
The Sound
The recordings were all made using the same methodology, keeping the same distances between performers and using the same recording technique (AB Omni 40cm spacing)
A small space with a response time that is in line with what we observe. Given its size, it would be a better space for small ensembles or solo instruments.
The space is mostly built in granite with a vaulted wooden ceiling. A peculiarity is that it has a side chapel in the nave with a tiled interior. This is audible in the space, but not at all limiting.
The fact that the nave has few carved wooden altars gives the overall recording a good image of the musicians' layout.
The fact that the road is cobbled and has some traffic, combined with the poor insulation, makes the space suffer from outside noise.
Strong points
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Adequate response to the voices.
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Musicians’ layout is well perceptible in the recordings.
Weak points
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Insufficient sound isolation.
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Asymmetrical volumes.
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Short reverb.
Score from 0 to 10
3
The Surroundings
Small church situated in a small village. The road adjacent to the church has some traffic which causes a disturbance.
There are services nearby and larger towns not far away.
As it is part of tourist routes, we had quite a good turnout at the concert, mostly consisting of tourists.
Strong points
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Quiet area despite some traffic.
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Restaurants and accommodation less than 5 kilometres away
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Close to medium-sized towns.
Weak points
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Nearby cobbled road.
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Parish church with some activity.
Score from 0 to 10
4
Important Information and Documents
Complete Documents
The Space
The Sound
The Surroundings
Contacts
For more information about this space or the project:
E-mail: projectocardo@gmail.com
Telf.: +351 912 332 530
Parceiros:
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