Guitar concert or folklore evening in Madeira?

The short answer

Choose by what you want to do with the evening. A classical guitar concert is for listening: you sit in a small church for an hour while four guitarists play and explain what they play. A folklore evening is for watching and taking in colour: regional costume, dance and song from the island's tradition. If you are tired, travelling with someone who prefers calm or simply love guitar music, the concert wins. If you want the sound and look of Madeira's folk culture, choose folklore. The sections below compare the two evenings on music, atmosphere, food, access and who each suits, and they say plainly what the guitar concert cannot give you. Both are fair ways to spend one night.

What a folklore evening is

Visit Madeira describes folklore as the expression of the island's cultural traditions, kept alive by regional groups whose performances reflect pastoral life, farming and love. It calls the bailinho the emblem of Madeiran folklore, a dance accompanied by singing and traditional instruments, and says the regional dress blends Moorish, African, Flemish and Minho influences, with distinctive colours, hats and boots. Folk groups are linked to each municipality's Casas do Povo, the community houses, and often perform at cultural events and traditional festivals. Visit Madeira adds that groups often perform on festival days along the avenues of Funchal, and that international folklore events feature Madeiran groups alongside groups from other countries. It is a living tradition and not only a show.

What the guitar concert is

The concert is by the Funchal Guitar Quartet, a chamber group based in Funchal that specialises in classical guitar, according to the booking page. It promises styles from traditional classical pieces to contemporary compositions, commentary on the pieces, a welcome drink in the garden and a small gift. Visitors mention classical, fado, tango and original pieces. The music is written or arranged for four guitars, so it is intimate and fine-grained, and it is heard in a neo-Gothic church dedicated to St Andrew. Wikipedia describes the classical guitar's repertoire as running from baroque works to contemporary music, so a quartet can move between centuries inside a single hour, and a visitor's review mentions original compositions as well.

The instruments you hear

Visit Madeira lists the folk instruments as the machete, the braguinha, the viola de arame, the triangle and the brinquinho, a locally made instrument. Wikipedia says the machete has four metal strings and may be a predecessor of the ukulele, and that the viola de arame has steel strings in five courses. A classical guitar quartet plays something else: six nylon strings per guitar, plucked with the fingernails. Folk music is bright and rhythmic, and the guitars are softer and more detailed. The brinquinho, which Visit Madeira calls a locally made instrument, belongs to the island's folk tradition and has no place in the classical guitar world. That contrast, nylon against steel and quiet against bright, is the clearest difference between the two evenings.

Atmosphere and pace

The two evenings feel different. The concert is quiet and seated, and concert etiquette applies: Wikipedia says applause between movements is a minor faux pas and that latecomers are held back until a pause. A folklore evening is a showcase of dance and song, and you should read the booking page of any folk event for its length, seating and what is served. The guitar hour is fixed at one hour, with the calendar giving the starting time for each date. If you like to sit near the front, arrive early: the quartet asks guests to be there 20 to 30 minutes before the concert, and one visitor reports sitting in the pews for a while waiting for the start.

Food and drink

The guitar concert is not a dinner. The booking page lists a welcome drink, served in the garden unless it rains, and a small gift on arrival and another after the concert. Plan to eat before or after. If a folk evening you are considering includes a meal, that will be written on its own booking page, and it is worth comparing the two on that single point: one evening feeds you, the other gives you a drink and an hour of music. Madeira wine is the natural companion to either evening. Wikipedia says it is popular as an aperitif, and the quartet's replies to visitors mention a welcome glass of it. Neither evening should be taken as a substitute for a proper meal.

Access and comfort

The church has a few stairs at the entrance, so the booking page rules out wheelchairs and pushchairs, and it has no restroom. It marks the concert as not suited to young children, bars cameras and recording, and does not allow bare feet or pets, although assistance dogs are welcome. Some visitors find the church warm on hot evenings. If any of that is a problem for your party, check the access details of a folk evening before you decide, because the building will differ. Ask the same questions of any folk evening you consider: stairs, seating, restrooms and rules on recording. Older buildings and newer halls differ a great deal on all four.

Language and culture

Visit Madeira ties folklore to local life, with songs and dances about pastoral work, farming and love, and a visitor takes it in mostly by watching. The guitar concert leans on commentary: the booking page says the quartet explains the pieces, with English and Portuguese as the host's languages. Fado, tango and Portuguese traditional music share the programme with classical works, so the hour is a short introduction to several styles in one sitting. Wikipedia says fado began in 1820s Lisbon and was added to UNESCO's intangible heritage lists in 2011, so visitors who hear it on guitars are hearing a recognised tradition.

Who each evening suits

The guitar concert suits adults and older teenagers who like quiet music, couples, solo travellers and anyone who wants a calm end to a busy day. A folklore evening suits visitors who want to see regional costume and dance and who enjoy a livelier room. Families with young children should read each booking page closely, since the guitar concert marks young children as not suited to it. Groups who want a party atmosphere should look elsewhere: the guitar concert excludes bachelor and bachelorette groups. Couples and solo travellers also fit the concert well, as the room is small and the format is one hour. Anyone who has long wanted to hear fado, tango or Portuguese folk tunes played softly in a church will find the concert hits that spot.

Who this isn't for

If you want one evening to cover music, dance, costume and dinner, a single guitar hour will feel thin. If you dislike sitting in pews or warm rooms, the church may try your patience, and if you need step-free access the concert is closed to you. If you came for the sound of the island's own instruments, know that the quartet plays classical guitars, although a press preview says its programme includes Portuguese traditional music. Photographers will be frustrated, since cameras and recording are barred, and so will anyone hoping for food, since the ticket includes only a drink. Read the booking page's warnings in full.

How to choose, or do both

The two evenings do not compete for the same hour. A calm first night after arrival suits the concert, and a livelier night later in the trip suits a folk event. Read the booking page of whichever you choose; the guitar concert can be cancelled a day ahead for a refund and paid for later. Pick the concert for the setting and the playing, and pick folk for the costume and the dance. Whichever you choose, arrive early and expect the programme to vary. Either way, read the booking page for what the ticket includes, and let the calendar show you the start time for your date. Pick the guitar concert for a gentle evening that asks little of you but your attention.

Read next: Madeira's plucked strings: from the braguinha to the ukulele