Lisbon · Church of Saint Paul
One guitarist plays for no more than 25 listeners in a private part of Saint Paul's Church.
The guitarist shapes each programme and talks you through the music, so every night is a little different.
Why this concert
Lisbon Classical Nights caps each audience at 25 guests, and the guitarist on the night shapes the programme and speaks between pieces. The organiser says its musicians share stories and insights that bring the music to life. In a room this small the instrument is heard without amplification, and the player is close enough to watch.
Lisbon is known for fado, a sung genre accompanied by the Portuguese guitar, which has twelve steel strings. This concert is for the classical guitar, with nylon strings, and nobody sings. Guests mention Spanish classics, modern pieces and fado transcriptions, but the instrument and the format stay the same.
Much of Saint Paul's Church was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake, and the church was rebuilt in the Pombaline style of the new Lisbon, with two bell towers and a triangular pediment. The concert takes place in a private part of the building that the organiser calls the sacristy, and the ticket also lists a visit of the church.
The repertoire
The organiser describes a blend of original guitar compositions, classical arrangements and iconic classical guitar pieces. These four entries show the families of music that such a programme can include.
Spanish romanticFrancisco Tárrega · 1852–1909
Tárrega was a Spanish composer and classical guitarist of the late Romantic period, known for Capricho Árabe, Recuerdos de la Alhambra and Gran Vals. Recuerdos de la Alhambra dates from 1899 and uses a tremolo that sounds like one long note. A guest from Germany named Tárrega among the composers heard at the concert.
ModernLeo Brouwer · born 1939
Brouwer is a Cuban composer, conductor and classical guitarist. His guitar pieces include Canticum from 1968, La espiral eterna from 1971, Parábola from 1973 and Tarantos from 1974. A guest from Germany named Brouwer among the composers played at Saint Paul's.
Portuguese songFado transcriptions
Fado is a sung genre that UNESCO inscribed in 2011. A transcription adapts a fado melody for the classical guitar, so the tune is played without a voice. A guest wrote that the programme included Portuguese fado transcriptions.
The guitaristOriginal compositions
The organiser's artists page describes guitarists who compose and arrange, blending Brazilian, flamenco, fado and tango influences with classical and jazz, or weaving together music from Portugal, Spain and South America. Part of an evening may be music you cannot find on a recording.
The guitarist and the programme change from night to night. Treat each entry as a sample of the music, not a guarantee.
The church
Four points in time explain how a 16th-century church became a quiet concert room.
The parish says the church's origins date to the 16th century. For centuries it was the only church in Portugal dedicated to Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, and Lisbon people call it São Paulo da Cidade.
The Great Lisbon earthquake struck on All Saints' Day. Portuguese Wikipedia says the earthquake and the fire that followed destroyed much of the church, and a 1757 print shows its ruins among the rubble.
The present building dates from the rebuild of 1768, to a project by the architect Francisco Remígio de Abreu, according to Portuguese Wikipedia. The parish describes its architecture as sober and Pombaline.
The organiser says the square served as a bustling market and that it later received a limestone fountain. The church's two towers still mark the square today.
Two guitars and a song
| What | How to tell it | At Saint Paul's |
|---|---|---|
| Classical guitar | Nylon strings and a solo concert repertoire, from Spanish romantic works to modern pieces. | The instrument you hear at this concert. |
| Portuguese guitar | Twelve steel strings in six pairs and watch-key tuners, closely tied to fado. | Not the instrument at this concert. |
| Fado | A Portuguese song form traced to 1820s Lisbon and added to UNESCO's intangible heritage lists in 2011. | Not sung here, though fado melodies can appear as guitar transcriptions. |
Church, guitars and streets
Saint Paul's Church from the square, the roofs of the Pombaline Baixa and a street in Cais do Sodré, with the 1755 print and the two guitars shown above.
The concert
One concert, one ticket. Pick a date in the calendar below it to see the seats and the start time.
A classical-guitar concert of about 50 minutes in a private part of Saint Paul's Church, limited to 25 guests. The ticket lists an entry ticket and a visit of the church, and the host speaks English, Portuguese or Spanish.
See dates and seats ↗More evenings to book in Lisbon
Before you go
The concert, the church and the music: guides
Booking, who plays, what is included How to book the Lisbon Classical Nights guitar concert at Saint Paul's Church: what the ticket covers, who plays, which dates and who it suits.
Read this guide → Arriving, the room, dress, children, getting there What to expect at the Lisbon Classical Nights guitar concert in Saint Paul's Church: arriving, the private room, the music, children, dress and getting there.
Read this guide →FAQ
No. It is a concert for classical guitar, an instrument with nylon strings, and nobody sings. Fado is a separate sung genre with its own evenings in Lisbon.
The GetYourGuide ticket lists about 50 minutes. Start times are set night by night, so read the one on your chosen date.
The organiser limits each concert to 25 guests, which is why the room feels close and why a popular date can fill.
It depends on the date. The organiser's artists page presents several Portuguese classical guitarists, and each performance is shaped by the guitarist on stage.
The organiser describes a blend of original guitar compositions, classical arrangements and well-known classical guitar pieces. No piece is promised for any night.
In a private part of Saint Paul's Church on Praça São Paulo in Lisbon, which the organiser calls the sacristy. The ticket also lists a visit of the church.
The ticket rules out children under 8. For older ones, 50 minutes of quiet solo guitar is the test.
Through GetYourGuide, a cancellation made 24 hours ahead brings a full refund. The organiser's own tickets are non-exchangeable and non-refundable.
No. This is an independent guide, and its booking links go to GetYourGuide. The concert belongs to Lisbon Classical Nights and has no connection with this site.
Fares on this page are in US dollars, per person. The calendar shows the same fare in your own currency.