Founded in 2011 by Pedro Sousa Silva, Arte Minima is a Portuguese ensemble devoted to the music of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, focused on the rediscovery of the Portuguese musical heritage. It works directly from primary sources — manuscripts and prints — without the mediation of modernised editions, in a philological approach that brings together music theory, instruments and historical tuning practices, seeking to understand and recreate the languages of the past.
After a decade on the main Portuguese stages, Arte Minima established an international presence with débuts in Madrid (Festival Internacional de Arte Sacro, 2024) and Helsinki (Aurore Festivaali, 2025), and a performance in Naples (Fondazione Turchini, June 2025; Tengo Genio). Its programmes cross Portuguese and Iberian repertoire with European threads that illuminate context, circulation and practice, keeping an artistic research profile anchored in the direct reading of the sources.
The discography includes In Splendoribus (2021), with unpublished works from Braga Cathedral and the Monastery of São Bento da Vitória (Porto), and Francisco de Santa Maria — Missa O Beata Maria (2023), released by Pan Classics. In 2025 the ensemble began the phased recording of the complete motets of Vicente Lusitano (Liber Primus Epigramatum, 1551), also for Pan Classics, a project due to be completed in 2026.
The critical reception of the concerts and recordings has been wide. In Público, Diana Ferreira gave ★★★★½ and singled out the curatorial gesture of «serving the sublime in small doses», calling the concert «a beautiful moment of enjoyment». In France, France Musique noted: «Un très beau disque qui m'a passionné.» In the specialist press, Diapason wrote: «Ici la sagesse domine, dessinant des entrelacs somptueux dans un esprit musica secreta», and Johan van Veen (MusicWeb International) stressed: «The performances are admirable. The ensemble is outstanding.»
Arte Minima's albums have been featured on radio stations, podcasts and international sites, including Presto Music, BBC Radio 3, Radio France and dedicated programmes on Antena 2 — Musica Aeterna, SWR2 Kultur (Germany), ERT Trito Programma — Ars Nova (Greece), Concertzender — Nuove Musiche (Netherlands), LRT Klasika — Ars musica (Lithuania), WTJU 91.1 FM (USA) and César Viana's Semibreve podcast.
Beyond its concert activity, Arte Minima has developed projects — notably Na Memória dos Sons and Temp(l)o Revisitado — which give first performances of new repertoire and explore alternative ways of communicating with audiences, in a format closer to a guided visit than to a concert.
Arte Minima has received continued support from institutions such as Direcção-Geral das Artes, Fundação GDA, Câmara Municipal do Porto, Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Prémio Caixa Cultura), CCDRN / Direcção Regional de Cultura do Norte, CESEM, ESMAE-IPP, Polytechnic of Porto, PORTIC and Antena 2.
