Sete Lágrimas
Founded in Lisbon in 1999 by Filipe Faria and Sérgio Peixoto, Sete Lágrimas takes inspiration from the collection of dances by John Dowland (Lachrimæ, or Seaven Teares, 1604). Focused on dialogues between early and contemporary music, Sete Lágrimas brings together musicians from different musical backgrounds around conceptual projects fuelled both by original musicological research and innovative and creative processes centred on sounds, instrumentation and memories of early music.
Since its foundation, the consort has performed hundreds of concerts in Europe, Asia and Africa, with notable performances at the Centro Cultural de Belém (Lisbon), Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), Casa da Música (Porto), Laeiszhalle (Hamburg), Opéra de Lille, Flemish Opera (Ghent), BOZAR (Brussels), Music Center DeBijloke (Ghent) and Philharmonie Luxembourg, as well as at festivals such as Stockholm Early Music Festival, Festival de Sablé, Festival de Música Antigua de Gijón, Festival de Música Antigua de Úbeda y Baeza, Macao International Music Festival, Festival van Vlaanderen in Gent, Stavanger Konserthus, Summer Festivities of Early Music (Prague), Varaždin Baroque Evenings (Varaždin and Ludbreg), etc. Sete Lágrimas has premiered works written especially for their consort by composers Ivan Moody (Great Britain), João Madureira (Portugal), Andrew Smith (Great Britain/Norway), Christopher Bochmann (Great Britain), and by members of the ensemble themselves – Filipe Faria and Sérgio Peixoto.
With a discography of 16 titles – from “Lachrimæ #1” (2007) to “BACH” (2024) – the consort has gained international renown in early music. The “Diáspora” trilogy (2008–2012), which topped the FNAC sales chart, remains a milestone in its career. Between 2018 and 2022, it developed the Les Explorateurs trilogy at the Philharmonie Luxembourg, with a total of sixty-seven sold-out performances.
In parallel, the consort explores cross-disciplinary projects such as Se chovesse um oceano (2021), receiving awards at international screendance festivals. In 2024, it premiered L3 Leipzig Lisboa Luanda, a dialogue between Bach, contemporary sounds and dance, at the GREC de Barcelona and Bachcelona Festivals. Between 2025 and 2027, the consort plans to release the complete songbook of Portuguese Renaissance music Cancioneiro de Elvas (16th century).
Since 2003, Sete Lágrimas has been supported by the Portuguese Ministry of Culture and DGArtes, and since 2012, by the Municipality of Idanha-a-Nova. It is represented by Arte das Musas.
