Review: The History of Music in Portugal

Author(s): Owen Rees

Reviewed work(s): Histria da Msica Portuguesa by Manuel Carlos de Brito ; Lusa Cymbron
Source: Early Music, Vol. 24, No. 3, Early Music from Around the World, (Aug., 1996), pp. 500
-503
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3128266
Accessed: 11/06/2008 18:45

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the JesuitCollegein Trent.This last includesan interesting
and detailedconsiderationof one of the most characteris-
tic musical and dramatic forms sponsored locally by the
Jesuitorder, the Latindramawith musical interpolations,
and also providesan impressiveamount of previouslyun-
published documentation of musical life at the college.
Handsomely produced and reasonablypriced for such an
elaborateand lengthyvolume, Musicae societanellastoria
trentinacertainlycontains enough new materialto make it
essential for any library seriously concerned with social
and institutionallife in Italy (the total chronologicalrange
stretchesfrom prehistoryto the present day), despite the
entirelytraditionalstructureand approachof its contents.
It concludeswith a list of manuscriptsourcesreferredto in
the text (the majority, as might be expected, remain in
Trent itself), an index of names and another of places,and
a general bibliography;the latter has been poorly proof-
read, and mistakes abound, particularlyin the English
titles.
Owen Rees
The history of music in Portugal
Manuel Carlosde Brito and LuisaCymbron, Hist6ria da
muisicaportuguesa
(Lisbon: Universidade Aberta, 1992)
Until five yearsago anyone seekinga generalmodern sur-
vey of the history of music in Portugalwould have found
themselvesill served.The books by Joaode FreitasBranco
and Maria Antonieta de Lima Cruz-both entitled
Hist6ria da mtusicaportuguesa-were published as long
ago as the 1950S(althoughthe formerhas recentlybeen re-
issued in a third edition). Therewere, in addition, shorter
and chronologically more limited accounts, including
some in English,among which one might mention Robert
Stevenson's very useful preface to Antologiade polifonia
portuguesa,PM37(Lisbon:FundacaoCalousteGulbenkian,
1982). We are thus extremely fortunate to have available
two new surveys of Portuguese musical history-pub-
lished within the spaceof two years-whose authors(both
books are collaborations)are able to reflectthe vastly in-
creased quantity of researchin the field over the last few
decades,and the earlypartsof which arewrittenby the two
principalmusicologistsof their generationin Portugal:the
Hist6riada mutsicaby Rui Vieira Nery and Paulo Ferreira
500 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1996
de Castro (Lisbon:ImprensaNacional-Casa da Moeda,
1991),which is availablein English, and the work under
reviewhere.
The book, published by the PortugueseOpen Univer-
sity, is intended first and foremost as a student textbook,
with-for example-a list of learning objectives at the
beginningof eachchapter,and suggestionsfor readingand
a discographyat the end of chapters.One could not really
ask for a better concise introduction to the subject;it is a
model of clarity, and the generous page-size allows for
marginalnotes ratherthan footnotes, a very user-friendly
layout. There are, however, no musical examples and no
index.
We are presented first with a useful summary of
writings on Portuguese musicians and musical history.
After the monumental biographicalcompilations which
reached their apogee in the mid-18th century with the
BibliothecaLusitanaof Diogo BarbosaMachado,the his-
toriographyof music in Portugalwas slow to develop. As
the authornotes, a principalhindranceto earlyeffortswas
the severely limited knowledge of musical sources; even
now, much remainsto be done in this area,althoughpub-
lished studies (for example,those of JoseAugustoAlegria)
have provided an invaluableview of severalmajor manu-
script collections such as those at lvora, and the series
PortugaliaeMusica,publishedby the Servicode Musicaof
the GulbenkianFoundationin Lisbon,has made available
a greatdeal of importantrepertory.
The body of the book is divided into chapters dealing
with the following periods and topics: from antiquity to
the end of the Middle Ages (which here is taken as the late
15thcentury), 'The High Renaissance','Musicalaspectsof
the Portugueseexpansion',and a chapteron each century
from the 17th to the 20th. I shall restrict my comments
here to the sections dealing with periods up to the 18th
century (i.e. the part of the book that was the responsibil-
ity of Manuel Carlos de Brito). Chapter1 notes our con-
tinuing reliance,for the generalhistory of sacredmusic in
Portugalin the MiddleAges, on SolangeCorbin'sEssaisur
la musiquereligieuseportugaiseau moyen age, which was
published in 1952. For vernacularsong in the medieval
period,the discoveryin 199oof severalsongs by KingDinis
(recentlyrecordedby Paul Hillier'sTheatreof Voices) in
the ArquivoNacional da Torredo Tombo in Lisbonmust
give encouragement to scholars of Portuguese musical
history;nevertheless,what we have overallare tantalizing
fragments (such as the six cantigas de amigo by Martin
Codax survivingwith music on a parchmentleaf found in
a book binding in 1914),and our knowledgeof all areasof

ANTIQUI MUSICI
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Basili, A.(1703-1777) 10 SonatasforHarpsichord.
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Sorge,GA (1703-1778)CembaloWorks16vols.]
Zingareli,N. (1752-1837) OrganCompositions.
Agrell,J.J. (1701-1765) 6 HapsichordSonatas.
Schneider,C.M.(1673-1752) 6 CembaloPartitas.
Marpurg, F.W.(1718-1795) CembaloWorks[2 vols]
Grtnenwad,G. (1675-1739)Complete Works.
de Neufvlle,J.J. (1684-1712)OrganWorks.
Goldberg,J.O.(1727-1756)3 Piees forCembalo.
Heidom,P. (XVIII sec) ToccataforHarpsichord.
Friedrichd.O.(1712-1786)Synp)llony forCembalo.
Kayser,I (1712-1771)2 Partitas forCembalo,op.4.
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Graupner, J.Ch.(1683-1764)Partita Winter.
Alinickol,J. Ch.(1719-1759)SonataforCembalo.
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Schutheiss, B.(1653-1693) Suitesforcembalo.
vanHemont,Ch.J.(1715-1790) 2ndCembaloSuite.
Ktlngsperger,M.(1708-1769)OrganWorks.
Kdlner,J.P. (1705-1772)Harpsicthrd Works.
Krebs,J.O.(1741-1814)CembaloDivertissements.
Lustig,J.W. (1706-1796)6 Keyboard Sonatas.
Schale,C.F.(1713-1800)18shortSonatas.[3vols.]
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502 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1996
Portuguesemusical culture-vernacular song, chant and
polyphony-during the Middle Ages remains severely
limited (although one should not underestimatethe im-
portance of work on the chant repertory, for example,
publishedsince Corbin'sbook).
With regardto the 'High Renaissance'(as the i6th cen-
tury is designated here), our present knowledge is again
so fragmentarythat we must be cautious in attempting
to trace and date particulartrends, and-as the author
notes-(my translation)'the absence of a thorough study
and analysis'of the sources of sacredpolyphony makes it
'difficultat presentto obtain a coherentpictureof the Por-
tuguese sacredrepertoryof this period', as does the lack of
modern editions (in which respectthe 16th-centuryLatin
repertorysurvivingin manuscripthas hitherto fared less
well than has the vernacular-textedsong repertory);in-
deed, this situation renders the writing of any historical
overview,such as the currentbook, an unenviabletask.
Overall, this chapter provides an excellent and wide-
rangingsurvey,and I have very few queries.First,I am un-
awareof the presenceof three songs attributableto Pedro
de Escobarin the Cancioneirode Elvas(as stated on pp.39
and 55): the most recent and accurate description of
the source (Manuel Pedro Ferreira'sintroductory study
to the facsimile edition (Lisbon: Instituto Portugues do
Patrim6nio Cultural, 1989)) lists only two, and one of
these attributions should, I think, be removed, since the
setting of Secaronmelos pesaresin this manuscript is not
the same piece as that attributedto Escobarin the Can-
cionerode Palacio(althoughthere is sharedmaterial).Sec-
ond, I do not see how Alonso Lobo de Borjacan have been
the first mestrede capelaof Lisbon Cathedralwhen that
post was created in 1530(p.41), given that-besides any-
thing else-he died as late as 1617.(Although we do not
know his date of birth, Stevenson's estimate of c.1555 in
New Groveseems a reasonableone.) Third, the surviving
works specificallyattributedto FreiAntonio Carreira(son
of the similarly named composer who was mestreof the
royal chapel) are not in a manuscript in the Biblioteca
Geral of Coimbra University, as stated on p.49, but in
Lisbon Cathedral,Arquivo de Musica da Fabrica,FSVL 1-
P/H-6. It is good to note that since this chapterwas written
Goncalo de Baena'sArte novamenteinventadapera apren-
der a tanger(Lisbon, 1540), previously presumed lost (or
neverto have reachedpublication),has come to light.
A particularinterest of the author is the part played by
music in the Portugueseoverseas expansion, and he has
included here a fascinatingchapteron this vast subject-
or, rather,subjects:the principal themes covered are the

Portuguesevoyagers'impression of the African,Oriental
and American musical cultures which they experienced,
interactionsbetween Portugueseand local musical prac-
tices, the role of music in the missionaryeffort,and the in-
fluenceof the overseasexpansionon musicallife in Portu-
gal.The survivingevidenceis almost entirelydocumentary
rather than musical, but includes vivid and intriguing
accounts, such as (pp.70-71) a letter written from Luanda
in 1578 (soon after its foundation) by the Governor of
Angola,noting the locals'performanceof Morales's'missa
pequena'(the Missacortilla?)and 'the motet of St Andrew'
(perhaps Morales's five-voice Andreas Christifamulus),
togetherwith a Pangelinguasetting by Guerrero.
The next chapter-entitled 'The 17th century'-
actuallyextends in coverageback to c.1580,and thus takes
in the whole of what is usually (and understandably)
regardedas the 'golden age' of Portuguesemusic, a period
here defined as lastingto the end of Spanishrule in Portu-
gal in 1640.It is for this period that our currentknowledge
of the music is greatest,but there are still significantgaps
which, when filled by the appearance of forthcoming
volumes in the PortugaliaeMusica series,may cause us to
refine our view of sacred polyphony during these 60
years-a view which stressesthe repertory'spreponderant
conservatism.Among these gaps are the Massesof Duarte
Lobo and the polychoral output of Francisco Garro
(mestreof the royal chapel at the end of the 16th century
and during the early 17th century). Nevertheless,the au-
thor's account of the period is, again, laudably compre-
hensive, with excellent summaries of-for example-the
developmentof the sacredvilancico.
The reign of Joao V (1707-50) witnessed the establish-
ment of an absolutistform of monarchyon the model of
the court of Louis XIV, and-partly under royal influ-
ence-a renewalof the culturallife of the country. Joao's
concernswere centred on the sacredratherthan the secu-
lar:a strikingaspectof the king'sacquisitionof directcon-
trol over the church was the elevation of the royal chapel
to the status of PatriarchalSee, and of the head of the
chapel (that is, the king's chaplain)to cardinal.This pres-
tigious establishment (the principal model for which-
liturgicallyand musically-was the papal chapel) and the
seminaryassociatedwith it providedthe focus for much of
the finest musical activityof the reign:Domenico Scarlatti
held the post of mestreof the royalchapelfor severalyears,
and Portugal'sfinest keyboard composer, Carlos Seixas,
was its organist. Roman influence was dominant within
these establishments,influence strengthenedthrough the
awardingof bursariesfor Portuguese composers such as
Ant6nio Teixeiraand Joao RodriguesEstevesto study in
Rome. The impact of Italian music was also increasedby
the presence in Lisbon of such composers as Giovanni
Giorgiand, as alreadymentioned, Scarlatti.On the secular
side, the influenceswere also Italian:in 1735Italian opera
finally became establishedin Lisbon (although it experi-
enced a very uneven history in the decadesthat followed).
The author again treats this period with great authority
and clarity,havingproducedan importantmonographon
opera in Portugal during the i8th century (Cambridge
University Press, 1989), as well as a number of shorter
studies dealingwith the period.
This book and the Hist6riada mtisicaof Rui VieiraNery
and Paulo Ferreirade Castro provide a firm foundation,
and an inspiration,for futurework on Portuguesemusical
history,and will doubtlessplot some of the paths for such
researchas it develops in the direction of, one hopes, an
increasingnumber of detailed studies of particularreper-
tories, styles,genresand periods.
David Ledbetter
Theinexhaustiblerichesof Bach
Bachperspectives,vol. i, ed. RussellStinson
(Lincolnand London:Universityof NebraskaPress,
1995), ?33.95
Bachstudies2, ed. Daniel R. Melamed
(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1995),
?35,$54.95
MichaelMarissen,The social and religiousdesignsof
I. S. Bach'sBrandenburgConcertos
(Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1995),
?19.95, $24.95
So far there has been no regularand substantialEnglish-
languagepublication to match the Bach-Jahrbuch, and to
reflect the lively scene of Bach scholarshipwhich has de-
veloped on the other side of the Atlantic. Neither of the
collections reviewed here is a periodical as such, but the
first Bach studies (1989) now has a successor (hencefor-
ward BS2), most of whose contributorsare active in the
United States, though with a few in Germanyand Japan.
BachPerspectives(henceforwardBP ) is the firstissue of a
serialsponsored by the AmericanBach Society, aiming to
reflectAmericanBachscholarshipin the widest sense. It is
EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1996 503