The art of Duo Siqueira Lima

Cecilia Siqueira (Uruguay) and Fernando de Lima (Brazil) first met at the 2nd Pró-Música International Guitar Competition, held by SESC in Caxias do Sul in 2001 — where they shared first prize. From this encounter emerged not only a personal partnership, but also the Duo Siqueira Lima, internationally acclaimed for their technical brilliance, artistic depth, and their ability to dissolve the boundaries between classical and popular traditions.

In their GuitarCoop debut, the duo presents a program centered on musical nationalism, a movement that emerged in the mid-19th century, incorporating folk elements, rhythms, and symbolic aspects of national identity into the framework of European art music. The repertoire travels through Spain, Brazil, and Argentina, revealing diverse expressions of this aesthetic.

From Enrique Granados, a leading figure of Spanish nationalism, the duo performs Valsas Poéticas, originally for piano, in a transcription for two guitars by Sérgio Abreu. By Henrique Oswald — praised by Heitor Villa-Lobos as the “most admirable” Brazilian composer of the early 20th century — they present Il Neige (1902), transcribed for two guitars by Fernando de Lima.

The presence of Heitor Villa-Lobos reaffirms the central role of the guitar in shaping a distinctively Brazilian musical voice. The duo performs Lenda do Caboclo (1920), in João Luiz’s arrangement, and offers the first recording of Fernando de Lima’s transcription of Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 for two guitars.

The dialogue with popular music expands through Bebê by Hermeto Pascoal, arranged by Sérgio Assad, and through two of Astor Piazzolla’s Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (1970) — Invierno Porteño (arr. Sérgio Assad) and Primavera Porteña (transcribed by Fernando de Lima).

Plural in aesthetics and identity, The Art of Duo Siqueira Lima stands as a celebration of expressiveness and cultural dialogue. Beyond virtuosity, the album reveals a profound musical and human connection — two guitars, two countries, and two souls united in a shared language, seeking its ultimate resonance in the listener.

Tracklist

01 — ENRIQUE GRANADOS (Arr. Sérgio Abreu), Valses Poéticos 14’16”
02 — HENRIQUE OSWALD (Arr. Fernando de Lima), Il Neige 3’28”
03 — HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS (Arr. João Luiz), Lenda do Caboclo 3’34”
04 — ASTOR PIAZZOLLA (Arr. Fernando de Lima), Primavera Porteña 5’16”
05 — ASTOR PIAZZOLLA (Arr. Sérgio Assad), Invierno Porteño 6’02”
06 — HERMETO PASCOAL (Arr. Sérgio Assad / Duo Siqueira Lima), Bebê 4’20”
07 — HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS (Arr. Fernando de Lima), Bachianas Brasileiras No.4: I. Prelúdio (Introdução) 3’34”
08 — HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS (Arr. Fernando de Lima), Bachianas Brasileiras No.4: II. Coral (Canto do Sertão) 4’16”
09 — HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS (Arr. Fernando de Lima), Bachianas Brasileiras No.4: III. Ária (Cantiga) 4’18”
10 — HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS (Arr. Fernando de Lima), Bachianas Brasileiras No.4: IV. Dança (Miudinho) 3’09”