Sesc label launches “Ascensão”, unpublished posthumous album by Serena Assumpção
 
The affective memories and experiences in terreiros and in the ancestral traditions of Afro-Brazilian religions gained a rich and delicate expression in the songs presented in “Ascensão”, an album directed, produced and performed by Serena Assumpção and on which she has worked for the last five years. Recorded in April 2015 in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, the unreleased CDwith the participation of more than 50 musiciansand it was the last work of the artist, who died, aged 39, in March of this year.
Each of the 13 tracks that make up “Ascensão” salutes an orixá and is dedicated to people admired by Serena, such as the artist Leonilson, the Prophet Gentileza, Luz Del Fuego, Elis Regina, Clementina de Jesus, Clara Nunes and Mãe Menininha do Gantois. Pipo Pegoraro and DiPa also sign the musical production.
In the opening text, signed by thecomposer, singer and guitarist from Bahia Tiganá Santana, the album's collaboration is explicit, according to him, in promoting reflection on the importance of respecting cultural diversity and its beauty.
For Danilo Santos de Miranda, regional director of Sesc São Paulo, it was a great pleasure to support the project. "Serena brings us these African nuances, from Candomblé and Umbanda, to sing the most beautiful thing we have: hope. With songs inspired by his experience in these ancestral traditions, we can recognize a breadth of African heritage present in our daily lives”, he explained in the text signed by him in the album's booklet.
 
The CD “Ascensão” costs R$ 20.00 and is for sale at Sesc units and at the linkhttp://www.sescsp.org.br/livraria.