CordaSonora
We write, play, design, produce and do many other things. It is difficult to label our work.
They are enjoyed by thousands though.
And this is just the beginning.
Event NEWS
Oud, voz, narração
The Troubadour – Musical Legacy of D. Dinis marks the 700th anniversary of the death of Portugal’s Poet-King with a special concert series led by medievalist and performer Ricardo Alves Pereira. In these intimate solo events, Pereira unveils a rarely heard repertoire: the Cantigas de Amor of D. Dinis, offering audiences a unique opportunity to rediscover the music of one of the most fascinating figures of the Iberian Middle Ages.
Taking place in June 2025 across historic and cultural venues in northern and central Portugal, each concert blends performance with storytelling, inviting listeners into the poetic world of medieval courtly love. After each event, audiences are welcome to join a meet & greet with the artist.
The music featured in this series comes from the Sharrer Parchment, one of only two surviving Iberian secular manuscripts with musical notation—unearthed just 35 years ago in the Torre do Tombo archives. The melodies have been carefully brought to life through Ricardo Alves Pereira’s ongoing research with the TWB Ensemble, staying true to the medieval source.
Event NEWS
PREMIUM CONTENT OF THE MONTH
Transcribed and Translated by Esin Yardimli Alves Pereira & Ricardo Alves Pereira
Enjoy a handpicked broad collection of Cantigas de Amigo focusing on the multi façaded universe of the Medieval woman. With introductions, all poetry selected are presented in three different languages, with translations that prioritize loyalty to shine the beauty, simplicity and depth of this largest collection of women’s songs of Medieval Europe.
CONCERT NEWS
Fernando Ribeiro recita Cantigas de Escárnio e Maldizer
/ Fernando Ribeiro recites Songs of Scorn and Mockery
Latest Release
RETROQUEST is an album that pairs up modern and ambiental harmonies of Ricardo Alves Pereira’s electric guitar with vintage and modern tones of synthesizers. Getting back to his roots in experimental music, in the constant company of an old vinyl, Ricardo Alves Pereira builds a musical story along the tracks that serves as a fine session of imagination for the audience to live their own RETROQUEST.
While Ricardo Alves Pereira is mainly known today for his various classical and early music works, his musical journey on stage had started out with experimental live electronic music performances. RETROQUEST brings together his past and present, blending his early influences with a fresh and mature sound.
Event NEWS
A psaltery is a medieval stringed instrument, typically featuring a flat, rectangular or trapezoidal wooden body with strings stretched across it. It was commonly used across Iberia and Europe. The psaltery played an important role in the cultural convivencia of medieval Iberia, where communities of each people and belief shared and influenced each other’s knowledge and art. It was used in both secular and sacred settings, accompanying vocals or performing in instrumental context in courtly and liturgical contexts. The instrument’s resonant sound made it integral to the rich, diverse musical traditions of medieval Iberia.
The psalteries of the Medieval Luthiery workshop will be constructed based on the depictions of the musician angel from the portal of the Batalha Monastery.
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The first Medieval Luthiery workshop took place during The Medieval Music Days of Batalha – 2025, hosted by the Batalha Monastery with artistic direction by Esin Yardimli Alves Pereira and Ricardo Alves Pereira, and production by CordaSonora, consisting of seven consecutive Saturdays dedicated to medieval music at the Batalha Monastery, where participants learned as well to read medieval musical manuscripts, types of secular medieval poetry, and they also sang medieval cantigas from the Iberian Peninsula as part of the Community Choir of DMMB2025. DMMB2025 featured community rehearsals, concerts, poetry recitals, lectures, workshops, and more. All activities besides the Medieval Luthiery were open to the general public, regardless of age or musical experience.
CONCERT NEWS
CordaSonora Productions and Quimeras & Gárgulas – Associação Cultural are proud to present the full program for the new Leiria Medieval Music Cycle 2025 (CMML2025)!
This year promises to be filled with medieval secular music and poetry from the Iberian Peninsula, with Esin Yardimli Alves Pereira and Ricardo Alves Pereira, CMML directors, inviting prominent figures in music: medievalist Eduardo Paniagua, lutenist Orlando Trindade, percussionist Paul Johnson, singers Jorge Luis Castro, Maria Bayley, Joana Godinho, and the singer, writer, and poet Fernando Ribeiro from MOONSPELL.
CMML2025 kicked off its second edition on January 7, 2025, with the opening concert, commemorating 700 years since the death of King Dinis, which occurred on the same day in 1325. The audience had the privilege of hearing music transcribed by The Wandering Bard directly from the Sharrer Parchment, a precious document containing medieval musical notation for songs by King Dinis, discovered in 1990 in the Torre do Tombo. This manuscript provides a unique glimpse into the sound of secular music from that time and region.
On March 22, the Leiria Medieval Music Cycle 2025 showcased “Da Esteyra Vermelha Cantarey”; a one-of-a-kind performance, where medieval music merged with the voice of Portugal’s greatest heavy metal icon, Fernando Ribeiro. In unison, the metal titan and the two medievalists lead a satirical and provocative spectacle, blending the troubadour tradition with the boldness of the 21st century, celebrating freedom of expression.
Esin Yardimli Alves Pereira and Ricardo Alves Pereira, founders of the CMML and the hosting ensemble, The Wandering Bard (TWB Ensemble), are committed to exploring this heritage with precision and reverence, bringing to life the music and words of the Poet-King for the audience.
CMML2025 is promoted by the Municipality of Leiria and the Castle of Leiria.
Come join us on March 31st!
Notícias de concerto/Concert news
O ensemble The Wandering Bard leva ao palco um repertório muito especial das Cantigas de Santa Maria, acentuando a ligação que o rei Alfonso X, o Sábio tinha com as canções, a música, os músicos, a santa e o próprio livro das Cantigas de Santa Maria.
The Wandering Bard brings to the stage a very special repertoire of the Cantigas de Santa Maria, accentuating the connection that King Alfonso X, the Wise had with the songs, the music, the musicians, the saint, and the book of Cantigas de Santa Maria itself.
Previous Albums
Contemporary music, early music, world music and classical music works. Click here to see all previous releases.
Tailored for D&D and RPG enthusiasts, this release packs a bunch: “Survivor’s Dance” kicks off with a fierce tune that’ll make the scariest monsters dance to their death, while “Bright is the Ring of Words”, a reflective ballad, captures the essence of heroic yet lament-like adventures, with a misty and nostalgic string section.
OUD is the lightest, most peaceful, and most hopeful album coming out of CordaSonora. It is the perfect introduction to Medieval music, presented as a solo collection of songs arranged for the oud.
The sixth album by the TWB Ensemble (The Wandering Bard) is an exhilarating journey through sound, a musical marvel that breathes new life into the medieval Cantigas de Santa Maria, attributed to Alfonso X, the Wise, a visionary Iberian king of the 13th century embellished by a legend from Leyriath.
Read the story related to the album here
CordaSonora's Journey
CordaSonora, found by Esin Yardimli Alves Pereira and Ricardo Alves Pereira, began with the purpose of providing artistic and promotional material for ensembles the two musicians were participating in, extending from early music to jazz. In years, the content creation grew into a record label and photography/video production tailored for each formation.
CordaSonora team believes in artistic independence. Ricardo reflected this on his solo classical guitar career through Musical Narratives, a technique to redefine the concept of concert repertoire and storytelling; and Esin expanded her career as a violinist from metal to jazz to world music and composing, aside from her international classical training. Their search for independence merged together in the first ensemble they became founding members of; the TWB ensemble (The Wandering Bard) recorded their first LP with the recording gear Esin obtained through winning the Outstanding Talent Award from the Keep An Eye Foundation for her participation as the concert-master of the Jong Metropole 2017 project that lead to her investment in music production and sound engineering. This became the beginning of a journey that is getting better by the minute.
The CordaSonora philosophy is about presenting the product from a 100% authentic and autonomous channel; which is why not only the audio production but the visual content presented in this page are provided by the musicians themselves.