Portuguese Polyphony in the Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries

Author(s): Albert T. Luper

Source: Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 3, No. 2, (Summer, 1950), pp. 93-
112
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the American Musicological Society
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 PortuguesePolyphonyin the Sixteenthand
Early SeventeenthCenturies*
BY ALBERT T. LUPER

THE arts of Portugal have in the visits to the magnificent 2th-century

past been a peculiarly neglected Cistercian Abbey at AlcobaSa; the
segment in the history of Western beautiful Gothic Batalha monument
culture. In most respects the artistic begun in the i4th century by King
contributions of this nation have to John I to celebrate his victory over
all appearances failed to match her the Castilians at the Battle of Alju-
exploits on sea and land in the i5th barrota in 1385; the Jer6nimos Mon-
and i6th centuries, when as a small astery constructed in the first years
country situated on the westernmost of the i6th century in the distinctive
outpost of Europe she extended her Portuguese style called "Manueline,"
power and influence over many con- and offered to God by King Man-
tinents and new lands to create what uel I in thanksgiving for the success
was for a time the greatest world of the famous first voyage to India
empire among the nations of Europe. by Vasco da Gama; and many other
To be sure, the literary produc- fine examples, large and small, ex-
tion of Portugal, while not so widely tending from the ruins of the Roman
known as it undoubtedly deserves to Temple at lvora, through Roman-
be, is accorded recognition by ro- esque and Gothic churches and clois-
mance scholars all over the world, so ters, Renaissance palaces and recon-
that movements such as the Galician- structions, and on to the Baroque
Portuguese school of lyric poetry of grandiloquence of Mafra and the
the x3th and i4th centuries, the Ren- classical revival structures of the late
aissance theater of Gil Vicente, the I8th century.
Igth-century novel, and masterpieces To a lesser degree have the other
such as the great I6th-century epic visual arts, and particularly painting,
poem Os Lusiadas of Luis de Camoes, come to the attention of the art
are appreciated by limited groups of world until comparatively recent
students and readers. years, and here the situation parallels
Similarly, the architectural monu- somewhat that which has existed in
ments of Portugal's past have not the area of music. Due to the activi-
gone unnoticed by specialists in this ties of a group of native devotees,
branch of the arts, and the fortunate centered in the Academia Nacional
traveller who, in passing through the de Belas Artes at Lisbon, the status
country on his way to more impor- of early Portuguese painting from the
tant European centers of activity, can I5th to the 17th century has under-
afford to break his journey and make gone extensive modification during
an excursion or two through the the past two decades. A subvention
land, will be amply rewarded by from the national government made
*This paper was read in New York on De- possible a systematic program of
cember 29, 1949 at the fifteenth annual meet- searches, studies, acquisitions, and
ing of the Society.
photographic duplication of all pos-
93
94 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

sible extant material within the coun- gal, yet sufficient evidence has come
try and extending even to material in to light to indicate a considerable
Spain and elsewhere. These activities amount of creative music activity
were climaxed with the Exposition of during several periods of the nation's
Early Portuguese Painting held in history, whence we may point out
I940 in connection with the festivi- the following as deserving of con-
ties commemorating the 8ooth an- sideration:
niversary of the founding of the
The Portuguese-Galicianpoet-singers of
kingdom in 1139 as well as the 3ooth I)
the 3th and I4th centuries, men-
anniversary of the liberation from the tioned above;
60 years of Spanish subjugation
2) The part-songs of the palace poets and
which ended in I640. At this exhibit of the Renaissance theater, of the
one could view the magnificent i5th- late I5th and early i6th centuries;
century polyptych altarpiece panels 3) The sacred vocal polyphony of the i6th
of St. Vincent by Nuno Gonqalves and 17th centuries;
and works by "Grao Vasco" Fer- 4) The keyboard music contemporary
nandes and many other masters, with that vocal polyphonic activity;
named and unnamed, of the 15th and 5) The semi-popular, semi-religious en-
semble vocal music of the vilancico
I6th centuries, ample evidence of the
existence of a flourishing native type, extending from the i6th
school of painters. through the i8th century;
6) Keyboard music of the i8th century;
As against the achievements in
7) Opera in the i8th and early Igth cen-
these areas, briefly outlined above, turies; and
what can Portugal present in the field 8) Music by composers of the present day.
of music that may be considered
worthy of standing alongside her ac- Virtually all these movements are
complishments in the other arts, and susceptible of further investigation
further, what has she produced that and study, some with greater suc-
may be. deserving of consideration cess than others, depending in large
and inclusion in the history of the measure on the body of source ma-
tonal art in Europe and the Western terial which is extant or which may
World? come to light through continued
While it is necessary that the pro- searches.
ductions of all periods and types of That phase to which I wish to di-
a nation's music, the good and the rect renewed attention in the present
bad, the ephemeral as well as the out- study is the sacred vocal polyphony
standing, be studied in order to written in Portugal during the i6th
understand its development and re- and 17th centuries and having its cli-
late it to the culture and the social, max of development in the first half
political, and economic life of the of the i7th century. The peak of this
region in its historical unfolding, this production came at a time when the
is a task primarily for the native main stream of creation in most other
scholar-a task of unearthing the parts of Europe had turned to newer
documents and sources, of evalua- methods, newer techniques, and
ting them and interpreting them so newer procedures of expression, and
as to place them in their proper re- perhaps one of the first reactions of
lationship with the known art of the historian to this fact will be that
other times and places. Progress in Portuguese 17th-century composers
this regard has been slow in Portu- just "missed the boat" in coming
 PORTUGUESE POLYPHONY 95
upon the scene of activity too late from the Orient added to the power
to participate in its major develop- and prestige engendered by discov-
ment. However, instances of the eries, heroic feats, and territorial con-
overlapping of styles, old and new, quests in distant lands. This brilliant
between different regions and often period is reflected in the nation's
even in the same region, are too fre- achievements in the arts and letters.
quent and familiar to require ex- Yet even here we can perceive the
tended comment; and, as often hap- seeds of decline; those monarchs, in
pens in music as well as in the other failing to establish sound economic
arts and in literature, important de- policies for the nation, squandered
velopments in style and creation are her wealth, and this, coupled with the
impelled to culminate at times that unwise policy of intermarriages with
are in complete disregard of any ar- the Castilian royal family, left Portu-
bitrary temporal boundaries which gal in a position ripe for plunder. The
for convenience may be established. absentee rulership of the three suc-
In the present instance, while justifi- cessive kings, Philip II, III, and IV of
cation for the persistence of the i6th- Spain, made for a restricted political
century style of vocal polyphony and social atmosphere and exposed
well into the I7th century in Portu- Portugal to the preying of the ene-
gal may not be necessary, a partial mies of Spain, particularly the Dutch,
explanation of that fact may be dis- the French, and the English, who did
cerned in the social, intellectual, and not hesitate to take advantage of the
political life of the nation, which situation and wrest from an impotent
must have helped to determine the nation many of her hard-won pos-
direction that musical production sessions.
took at this time. On the one side is Thus deprived of any direct con-
the intellectual and religious atmos- tacts with the musical life of other
phere characterized by a fanatical parts of Europe, except Spain, it
zeal for the Cross displayed so fre- would seem as if the Portuguese com-
quently by the Iberian peoples. The poser, thrown upon his own re-
strictures of the Inquisition, coupled sources, turned inward and con-
with the control of education pass- tinued in the tradition of the i6th
ing into the hands of the Jesuits, the century, bringing to full flower the
champions of the Counter-Reforma- school of creative writing which had
tion, effectively stifled most liberal or failed to develop completely in that
humanistic tendencies during the last era.
part of the i6th century and beyond. We began this discussion by com-
On the other side is the circumstance menting upon the neglect that has
that during the 60 years from I580 been accorded to the arts of Portugal.
to 1640 Portugal was almost cut off This has been particularly true with
from the outside world, due to the regard to music. Most manuals of
passing of the throne into the hands music history fail entirely to men-
of the Spanish Hapsburgs. tion Portuguese music, or else dis-
The ascendancy of the Portuguese miss it with a brief sentence or two
nation, beginning before the middle added as an afterthought to a discus-
of the 15th century, reached its apex sion of the music of Spain. While we
under kings Manuel I (reg. 1495- cannot entirely absolve the general
152 ) and John III (reg. 152 -1557), music historian of this sin of omis-
when the material riches
----- pouring
------- ----- in sion, since he has failed in many in-
96 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

stances to take into account even the was passed by with little more than a
limited literature on the subject, the concert or two of music by compos-
principal blame must be laid on the ers of Portugal's "golden" period.4
Portuguese people themselves, who With such profound apathy being dis-
have for the most part been remiss played by the Portuguese themselves,
in their duty of rediscovering and it is not surprising that the foreign
preserving their musical heritage. It scholar has failed to concern himself
is certainly true that catastrophes, properly with the subject. What Por-
both natural and human, such as tuguese musical scholarship seems to
earthquakes, fires, wars, invasions, require more than anything else is a
pillaging of religious institutions, etc., person of the stature of a Pedrell or
have taken severe toll of the sources; an Angles to interest himself in the
yet lamentations to that effect fail to problem and to undertake a series of
excuse the continuing neglect of pre- studies and publication projects, and
cious and irreplaceable manuscripts, thus bring early Portuguese music
rare early printed works, and other out of the obscurity in which it is
documents which are rotting away buried.5
in dank and dusty chambers of met- So much for the negative side of
ropolitan and provincial churches and the problem. What is there of an af-
archives, with very little attempt be- firmative nature? A brief review of
ing made to preserve and record the available literature reveals the fol-
them for the present and for pos- lowing limited though worthwhile
terity. There is no complete edition studies and publications concerning
of the works of any Portuguese com- the period under discussion.
poser,1 no general "Denkmaler" The most complete general study
series of Portuguese music,2 no criti- on Portuguese music is Lambertini's
cal study by a Portuguese scholar,3 essay in the Lavignac Encyclopedie,6
and very few really thoroughgoing and this is in fact the only historical
monographs on different phases of treatment of any considerable length
Portuguese musical production. The devoted exclusively to Portuguese
rare opportunity that was presented music. Shorter and more cursory sec-
in the national festivities of 1940, tions on Portuguese music, musicians,
mentioned above, to do something
4There were, however, very properly, programs
concrete in this respect, on the order of works by present-day composers, especially
of what was done for Portuguese art, written for the occasion.
'The significant step taken by the Portuguese
1Manuel Joaquim has begun an edition of the Government in the field of art should be con-
works of Duarte Lobo, of which only one vol- tinued in the area of music, before the ravages
ume has so far been issued: Composifoes poli- of time and circumstance further deplete the
f6nicas de Duarte Lobo, transcritas em parti- national legacies of the tonal art. Unfortu-
tura por Manuel Joaquim. Tomo I: I6 "Mag- nately, the prospect does not appear favorable
nificat" a 4 vozes (Lisboa: Instituto para a for the early underwriting of such a project
Alta Cultura, 1945). by the Government, and neither are private
20ne volume of a projected series edited by resources apparently in a position to cope with
Julio Eduardo dos Santos appeared several the problem. Some other means must be found
years ago: A polifonia classica portuguesa, to deal with it. A possible solution may exist
Vol. I (Lisbon, 1937). There are numerous in a combination of the efforts of local inter-
errors in this edition, some of which can be ested elements with foreign scholarship and
corrected without difficulty, while for others philanthropic aid.
it will be necessary to have recourse to the ""Portugal," by Michel'angelo Lambertini, in
sources. Encyclopedie de la musique et dictionnaire du
'Mention is made below of the studies on Conservatoire, Part I, Vol. 4 (Paris, I920).
Portuguese keyboard music by Santiago Kast- Cf. also Lambertini's Bibliophilie musicale
ner, who is not a Portuguese citizen. (Lisbon, 1918).
 PORTUGUESE POLYPHONY 97
theorists, etc., of this period may be the supplementary compilation of
found in the histories of music or Sousa Viterbo,23 and a recently pub-
other special studies by Freitas lished manuscript written in the i8th
Branco,7 Mitjana,8 Gilbert Chase,9 century by Mazza,24 as well as the
Soubies,l? Frotscher,l Soriano Fuer- few sketches contained in such works
tes,12Van der Straeten,13Menendez y as the dictionaries of Baker, Grove,
Pelayo,'4 and the Harvard Dictionary Fetis, and Riemann. Of the mono-
of Music, with briefer references in graphs written on more limited
studies by Ambros,l5 Leichtentritt,l6 phases of the subject we should name
Seiffert,17 Lang,'8 Einstein,19 Bukof- the essays by Manuel Joaquim,25
zer,20 and a few others. In the field Sampayo Ribeiro,26 and Sousa Vi-
of Portuguese musical biography we terbo,27the important but incomplete
have the old standbys, the biographi- catalogue of the music in the Library
cal dictionaries by Vasconcellos21 of the University of Coimbra,28and
and Vieira,22 to which can be added the bibliographical study by Bertino

7Luis de Freitas Branco, Elementos de scien- A. T. Judice and A. Arroyo (Lisbon, 90o9).
cias musicais, Vol. II: Histdria da musica (Ist 3[Francisco Marques de] Sousa Viterbo,
ed., Lisbon: Sassetti & Ca., 1923; 2nd ed., Subsidios para a historia da misica em Por-
Leipzig, n.d.); also A musica em Portugal tugal (Coimbra, 1932). Consists largely of ex-
[Exposicao Portuguesa em Sivilha] (Lisbon, tracts from miscellaneous records and archives.
1929). 24Jose Mazza, Diciondrio biografico de miisicos
8Rafael Mitjana, "La Musique en Espagne," portugueses, corn prefdcio e notas do P. Jose
in the Lavignac Encyclopedie ..., Part I, Vol. Augusto Alegria. Extraido da revista "Oci-
4 (Paris, 1920). dente." (Lisbon, 1944-45). From a manuscript
9The Music of Spain (New York, 1941), Chap- in the ftvora Public Library. Especially val-
ter 18: "The Music of Portugal," by Albert T. uable for the editorial notes.
Luper. 2"Notas s6bre a musica na Se de Elvas," and
"Albert Soubies, Histoire de la musique: Por- "Documentos para a hist6ria da muisica na Se
tugal (Paris, 1898). de Elvas," in Jornal de Elvas (1928); Ndtulas
"Gotthold Frotscher, Geschichte des Orgel- s6bre a musica na Se de Viseu (Viseu: Pub-
spiels und der Orgelkomposition (Berlin- licaroes da Junta de Provincia da Beira Alta,
Sch6neberg, 1936). 1944; offprint from Beira Alta, Vols. 1-3,
'2Mariano Soriano Fuertes, Historia de la ml- 1942-44); "A prop6sito dos livros de poli-
sica espaiola desde la venida de los fenicios fonia existentes no Paco Ducal de Vila Vicosa
hasta el ano de 1850, 4 vols. (Madrid, I855- (Portugal)," in Anuario musical (Barcelona),
59). Vol. 2 (I947), pp. 69-80. Cf. also the introduc-
l"Edmond Van der Straeten, La Musique au.r tions to Joaquim's editions of the Elvas Can-
Pays-Bas avant le XIXe siecle, 8 vols. (Brus- cioneiro (footnote 34, infra) and Vol. I of the
sels, 1867-1888). See especially Vols. 7 and 8. works of Duarte Lobo (footnote I, supra).
'M. Menendez y Pelayo, Historia de las ideas 2Mario de Sampayo Ribeiro, Damido de Goes
esteticas en Espaia, 3rd ed. (Madrid, igio). na Livraria Real da Musica (Lisbon, 1935);
"August W. Ambros, Geschichte der Musik, A musica em Coimbra (Coimbra, 1939); Os
3rd ed., Vol. 3 (Leipzig, I893). manuscritos musicais nos. 6 e I2 da Biblioteca
"Hugo Leichtentritt, Geschichte der Motette Geral da Universidade de Coimbra (Coimbra,
(Leipzig, 90o8). I94I).
1Max Seiffert, Geschichte der Klaviermusik, 2"Sousa Viterbo, Arte e artistas em Portugal
Vol. I (Leipzig, 1899). (Lisbon, 1892); Mestres da capela real nos
"Paul H. Lang, Music in Western Civilization reinados de D. Jodo II e D. Manuel (Lisbon,
(New York, I947). 906 ?) ; Os mestres da capela real nos reinados
"Alfred Einstein, Music in the Romantic Era de D. Jod III e D. Sebastido (Lisbon, 1907);
(New York, 1947). Mestres da capela real desde o dominio filipino
"Manfred F. Bukofzer, Music in the Baroque inclusivk ate D. Jose I (Lisbon, 1918 ?). These
Era (New York, 1947). are articles written for various periodicals,
2"Joaquim de Vasconcellos, Os musicos portu- and reprinted separately by the author. Much
guezes, 2 vols. (Porto, 1870). of the material consists of extracts from chan-
2Ernesto Vieira, Diccionario biographico de cellery records and other archives.
musicos portuguezes, 2 vols. (Lisbon, I900). 2Inventdrio de ineditos e impressos musicais
This work is somewhat more reliable than that (Subsidios para um catalogo) (Coimbra: Pub-
of Vasconcellos. Cf. also Vieira's "A muisica licacoes da Biblioteca da Universidade, Fasc.
em Portugal," in Notas sobre Portugal, ed. by I, I937).
98 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Daciano Rocha da Silva Guimaraes.28a special journals the results of his re-
Of exceptional worth are the studies searches and discoveries, including
on Portuguese and Spanish keyboard motets by Estevao Lopes Morago,38
music by Santiago Kastner,29a critic, and especially the Elvas Cancion-
harpsichordist, and writer of British eiro34 containing pieces in the style
citizenship who for many years has of the Spanish Cancionero de Palacio.
resided and worked in Lisbon, with Joaquim has embarked also on an edi-
frequent excursions into neighboring tion of the complete works of Duarte
Spain. Lobo, of which only one volume has
Examples or collections of the ac- so far appeared, issued in 1945.s5
tual music of this period are more While this summary virtually ex-
difficult to encounter. A bare half- hausts the list of available86publica-
dozen motets by Damiao de Goes, tions of sacred vocal polyphony, ad-
Duarte Lobo, Manuel Cardoso, and ditional reference should be made to
King John IV were printed in Eu- Santiago Kastner's editions of old
rope during the i9th century either Portuguese keyboard music, espe-
in collections of miscellaneous sacred cially the selections from the Flores
works or as examples in histories of de Musica (1620) by Manuel Rod-
music.30 The first two decades of rigues Coelho.37
the present century brought forth
scarcely anything further. It was not Let us inquire now into the origins
until I923, when Freitas of the Portuguese school of polyph-
Branco
brought out the first edition of his ony.
music history and reproduced there'3 The earliest documents containing
excerpts from masses by Duarte music which so far have appeared in
Lobo and Filipe de Magalhaes, that Portugal are several fragments of
most present-day Portuguese musi- plainsong manuscripts, parts of mis-
cians saw for the first time the scores sals or other liturgical books, with
of any of the music produced by the chants notated in Aquitanian
their ancestors of this period. In 1937
"In supplement to N6tulas s6bre a musica na
Julio Eduardo dos Santos issued an SE de Viseu (cf. footnote 25).
32 of music
anthology by composers of 0" cancioneiro musical e poetico da Biblioteca
the 17th century, the first volume of Piblia Hortensia, cor pr6logo, transcrigdo e
a projected series, but with the lapse notas de Manuel Joaquim. Obra subsidiada pelo
Instituto para a Alta Cultura (Coimbra, 1940).
of more than a decade this has as yet For a list of music common to the Elvas
had no sequel. Meanwhile Manuel Cancioneiro and the Cancionero de palacio see
also Higinio Angles, La musica en la corte de
Joaquim, a bandmaster in the Por- los reyes catdlicos. I: Polifonia religiosa
tuguese Army, had become interested (Madrid, 1941), pp. 127-128, and ibid., II:
in old Portuguese music, and began Polifonia profana, "Cancionero musical de
palacio," Part I (Barcelona, 1947).
to publish in provincial and other 3See footnote i.
"I have not yet been able to see the transcrip-
28*Primeiro esboco duma bibliografia musical tions of music from Santa Cruz de Coimbra
portuguesa (Porto, 1947). which were published in a short-lived publica-
"Kastner's chief works are Musica hispinica tion, Musica sacra (Coimbra, 1927-28), ed.
(Lisbon, 1936), and Contribuci6n al estudio de by P. Jose Eduardo da Silva Matos, except for
la mzisica espanola y portuguesa (Lisbon, three pieces reprinted in the Santos anthology
I94I). (cf. footnote 2).
"See under the composers mentioned, infra. "Cravistas portugueses-Old Portuguese Key-
"*Freitas Branco, op. cit. (ist ed., I923), pp. board Music (Mainz: Schott, 1935), and P.
I I-III, II4-I 9. Manuel Rodrigues Coelho, 5 Tentos (Mainz
*2See footnote 2. & Leipzig: Schott, 1936).
 PORTUGUESE POLYPHONY 99
neumes, and dating apparently from a book on the art of hunting40 which
about the i th to the I3th century.38 he wrote late in the I4th or early in
No manuscript has been found con- the z5th century, speaks about the
taining polyphonic music dating comparative virtues and defects of
from before the i5th century. Yet several forms of diversion, such as
for at least two reasons there is a chess playing, jousting, music mak-
good probability that the early prac- ing, dancing, etc. But the highest
tice of polyphony was known, even form of sport, he says, is hunting,
if it did not take firm root and estab- since it puts into play all the facul-
lish a local tradition. In the first place, ties of man; and after describing its
the proximity of northern Portugal many pleasures and excitements, the
to the shrine of Santiago de Com- king goes on to state that ". . . we
postela in Galicia admits of the pos- can very well say that not even
sibility that the see of Braga and its Guillaume de Machaut made such
suffragan churches, which main- beautiful concordance of melody
1
tained close relationships with Com- ... as do the dogs when they run."
postela, may have employed poly- Doubtless King John would have
phonic types such as those encoun- been more intrigued with an Italian
tered in the Codex Calixtinus.39In the caccia, yet this allusion to Machaut
second place, the great activity is important in demonstrating the dif-
throughout Portugal of the Benedic- fusion of the French musical art into
tine monks and later of the Cluniac Lusitanian territory at least as early
and Cistercian orders, through whom as the beginning of the i5th century.
close and frequent contacts were A further reference to the works of
maintained with Burgundy and other Machaut occurs in a famous letter42
sections of France, allows us to con- written (ca. i449) to the grandson
jecture that the art of polyphony as of John I, the Constable D. Pedro, by
practiced in France and Northeast- the Marquis of Santillana, a signifi-
ern Spain in the I2th to I4th cen- cant figure in Spanish letters, politics,
turies may have produced some and arms.
echoes in the abbeys and churches As Portugal's star rose in the firma-
of the western side of the Iberian ment, her overseas expansion was ac-
Peninsula. companied by an increase in com-
As we reach the end of the i4th mercial and political relations with
century, however, there is definite other countries, particularly those in
evidence that the art of Guillaume Northern Europe, and more espe-
de Machaut was known in Portugal, cially Flanders and Burgundy. This
for King John I (reg. 1385-1433), in activity resulted in exchanges of a
cultural and artistic nature, occa-
8Cf. Freitas Branco, A musica em Portugal sioned in part by intermarriages be-
(Lisbon, 1929), pp. 6-7; Freitas Branco, Ele- tween the royal and noble families.
mentos...,Vol. II, 2nd ed. (x931 ?), pp. 27ff;
M. Joaquim, Ndtulas s6bre a musica na Se de 4'Livro da montaria (manuscript first published
Viseu, pp. 68ff; and Sampayo Ribeiro, A by F.M. Maria Esteves, Coimbra, 1918).
misica cm Coimbra, pp. 7-8. 4The relevant passage is quoted in Rodrigues
'8The National Library at Lisbon possesses Lapa, op. cit., pp. 248f, and by F. Ludwig in
one of the copies of this famous manuscript, in Guillaume de Machaut, Musikalische Werke.,
Latin with a Spanish translation (M. Rodri- Bd. II, pp. 32* and 70* (Leipzig, 1928).
gues Lapa, LiCoes de literatura portuguesa. 42Prohemio e carta . . . al Condestable de Por-
lpoca medieval, 2nd ed., Coimbra, 1943, p. tugal. It is reproduced in several modern edi-
86). tions, in Spanish and in English translation.
I00 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
In 1426, still in the reign of John I, between the style of the Burgundian
there were Portuguese musicians at chanson and that of the secular vocal
the court of Philip the Good, and music written and composed by the
two years later this Duke of Bur- palace poets and musicians of the late
gundy sent an embassy to the Por- 15th and early i6th centuries in Por-
tuguese court to seek the hand of tugal and Spain-a connection read-
the Infanta Isabella. Included in the ily identifiable, for instance, in the
retinue of this mission were musi- cadential formulas employed in many
cians and artists, such as the famous of the pieces of the Elvas Cancion-
Fleming Jan van Eyck, Philip's court eiro published by Manuel Joaquim.
painter, who was sent along to exe- These compositions, written in three
cute the future Duchess' portrait. or four voices to sentimental love
Similar exchanges continued to oc- lyrics in either Castilian or Portu-
cur, and with increasing frequency guese, are largely homophonic in na-
we find in court archives and other ture, and may be considered some-
records references to foreign musi- what the counterparts of the Italian
cians who went to Portugal to prac- frottola of the same approximate
tice their art, as well as to Portu- period, though with a peculiarly Por-
guese who made contacts in other tuguese quality of sad resignation and
countries. The added impetus given nostalgic sentiment, reminiscent of
to the performance of music both in the productions of the Portuguese
the churches and in the chapels of troubadours. They represent the
the nobility and royal family is at- repertory of the aristocratic amateur
tested by the ever longer lists of or talented dilettante, appropriate to
names of secular musicians (chara- their use in palace and court, rather
melas, menestreis) as well as of than the erudite work of the profes-
church singers encountered in the sional composer-although even this
records as we approach the i6th class of musician probably did not at
century. King Afonso V, whose times disdain to contribute works in
reign encompassed the middle half the simpler idiom, particularly if by
of the i th century, maintained a that means he might achieve royal
sizeable chapel choir and had in his preferment or other material advan-
employ instrumental musicians and tage. The first third of the i6th cen-
other secular performers for the en- tury is the period also of the early
tertainment of his court.43 Portuguese Renaissance theater and
From this period comes the earliest of its most genial representative, Gil
document containing polyphonic Vicente (ca. 1465-1536?). Although
music which has so far been found writing for the court, Vicente man-
in Portugal. This is a manuscript 4 aged to draw inspiration, situations,
of uncertain origin, dated around and characterizations from the com-
I450, containing the three-part Bur-
mon walks of life, particularly the
gundian chanson "Le servitor," be- peasantry of his native province of
lieved to have been composed by Du- Beira.45In his aztos, farces, comedies,
fay. In reality, there is a close affinity and tragi-comedies he manages to
"See Sousa Viterbo, Subsidios. ., and Vieira, employ music with great frequency,
Diccionario biographico . . ., passim. 1Beira is thought to be Vicente's birthplace.
4Ms. 714 in the Biblioteca Piiblica Municipal For a discussion of the life and works of
do Porto. See Petrucci, Harmonoice Musices Vicente see Aubrey F. G. Bell, Gil Vicente
Odhecaton A, ed. by Helen Hewitt (Cam- (Oxford, 1921) and the same author's Por-
bridge, 1942), pp. 12, 120, I45-I47, 294-295. tuguese Literature (Oxford, 1922).
 PORTUGUESE POLYPHONY IOI

interpolating a court air here, a tion of Europe, who conversed with

French song in another place, or a Luther and Melanchthon, was a
rustic tune from the countryside, and friend of Erasmus, and whose ac-
at times even using a musical back- complishments included that of mu-
ground to accentuate the action, as sical composition. Glareanus admired
can be seen from some of his stage di- his work sufficiently to include one
rections.46 Unfortunately, no actual of his motets in the Dodecachordon
documents survive containing this of 1547.47His limited extant produc-
music, but by inference we can con- tion18 reveals a certain command of
clude that a part of it was in the same the style but does not allow us to per-
style as the palace songs mentioned ceive to what extent he had devel-
above, and there is further indication oped his technique. Neither can we
that Vicente himself composed and discern whether from a musical point
participated in the performance of of view he is a product of the Por-
the music to many of his plays, as did tuguese environment and schooling,
Juan del Enzina in Spain. Assisting or whether he acquired his knowl-
Vicente in his performances was his edge of composition during his ex-
daughter Paula who became a fa- tended residence in Flanders. It is
vorite in court circles as a keyboard thus difficult to assign him to any
performer and chamber musician. local school or tradition, and in any
The essentially indigenous art of Gil case he was rather a talented amateur
Vicente was not allowed to continue, than an individual who devoted his
for many of his works were placed major effort to music. His distin-
on the censored list while others guished record of service and ac-
were published in severely mutilated complishment was marred in the de-
versions. His work was replaced by clining years of his life through his
the pastoral dramas written under falling into the toils of the Inquisi-
classical and Italian influences, and tion, before which he was accused of
later by the Latin religious school heresy. In this he was probably more
plays produced by the Jesuits. a victim of the jealousy of his politi-
A younger contemporary of Gil cal enemies and of bigoted and fa-
Vicente was Damiao de Goes (I502- natical intolerance (being a man of
I574), one of the finest examples of liberal temperament), rather than a
the universal man produced by Por- person guilty of any overt heretical
tugal in the i6th century. Goes was actions or tendencies.
a traveller, historian, diplomatic Turning anew to the practice of
agent, humanist, and patron of the sacred vocal polyphony, we have
arts, an individual of inquiring mind '7"Ne laeteris inimica mea," on p. 211 of the
who managed to see a very large por- German translation of the work by P. Bohn,
issued as Vol. i6 of the Eitner Publikationen
"O6nmusic in the works of Gil Vicente see the alterer praktischer und theoretischer Musik-
following: G. Chase, The Music of Spain, p. werke (Leipzig, i888). This three-part motet
92ff; Adolfo Salazar, "Music in the Primitive is reproduced further in Sir John Hawkins'
Spanish Theatre Before Lope de Vega" General History of the Science and Practice
(Papers . . . of the American Musicological of Music (London, 1776), and in Thomas Bus-
Society, 1938 [cop. I940], p. I02f); Maria by's A General History of Music (London,
Antonieta de Lima Cruz, Gil Vicente (Lisbon, 1819).
I93?); A. E. Beau, "A musica na obra de Gil 48Two additional motets of Goes are known:
Vicente," in Biblos (Coimbra) XIV (1938), "Surge propera amica mea", in five parts,
pp. 329-355; also A. E. Beau, "Die Musik im published in the Cantiones of S. Salblinger
Werk des Gil Vicente," in Volkstum und Kul- (Augsburg, 1545), and the three-part "In die
tur der Romanen (Hamburg), IX (I937), pp. tribulationis" from the Tricinia of Montanus
177-201. and Neuber (Nurnberg, 1559).
 I02 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
noted already the fact that during the formance of the music of the divine
15th century D. Afonso V supported service, which were established or
a sizeable musical establishment at his expanded in many parts of the realm
court. Shortly after his accession in -some being supported by the
1438 he sent a musician of his royal crown while others were under the
chapel to the court of Henry VI of patronage of the more enterprising
England to obtain a copy of the li- elements among the nobility, whose
turgical ceremonial in use at the Eng- wealth was being increased through
lish court, together with the regula- trade with the East and with the
tions concerning the singers and commercial centers of Europe. Since
their duties, the times and manner it shared in the material prosperity
of celebrating the canonical hours, accruing to the nation, the Church
etc., to serve as a guide for use in the itself found it possible to foster more
Portuguese chapel. These regulations directly the musical element in its
and order of service (possibly dating service by the creation of choirs and
from the time of that musical king, choir schools, by the building and in-
Henry V) were put into effect in stallation of organs, and by encour-
1494 by John II, Afonso's successor, aging the talents of choirmasters,
at the royal palace in lvora, and, ac- composers, singers, and other per-
cording to the chronicler who relates formers, both native and foreign.
the incident, they were still being The monastic establishments, too, al-
used in the i6th and i7th centuries though removed from the bustle of
in the royal chapel at Lisbon.49 secular events, felt the intensification
The reign of John II (1481-I495) in the environment, and in some lo-
and the beginning of that of Man- calities made significant contributions
uel I are years of intense activity to the development of the art of
along all fronts of the national life. In sacred song.
spite of the fact that so much of the The first great impulse of creative
physical effort and manpower of the activity in composition, resulting in
nation were being channeled into the a school from which we retain mu-
ever-expanding activities of world sical documents, occurred in the first
conquest, colonization, and trade, the half of the i6th century, during the
spiritual side of the enterprise was brilliant reigns of Manuel I (1495-
not neglected, since the Cross al- 1521) and John III (1521-1557). In
ways accompanied the Sword. At appraising the character of D. Man-
home the worship and glorification uel, his chronicler, Damiao de Goes,
of the God who made possible the said that ". . . he was very musical,
great successes abroad demanded a . .. and both for his chamber-music
service of dignity and beauty which and for his chapel he had excellent
would be worthy of the Almighty singers and players that came from
Protector and in keeping with the all parts of Europe, to whom he
growing magnificence of the tem- gave honours and salaries on which
poral monarch. As we move into the they lived honourably, and moreover
i6th century we can see the results granted them great favours, so that
of the new attitude of mind in the he had one of the best chapels of the
growing number of vocal and instru- kings that then lived...." 50John III,
mental groups dedicated to the per- no less appreciative of the pleasures
'4Vieira, Diccionario biographico ...,. I, pp. 5?Damiao de Goes, Chronica do felicissimo Rci
2-5. D. Emanucl (Lisbon, 1566-67), quoted in
 PORTUGUESE POLYPHONY 1o3
of music and of the services of musi- effort was apparently not devoted to
cians, became especially well known composition. We must look else-
as a musical Maecenas. Many com- where in Coimbra, to the cloisters
posers and writers, including the of the Monastery of Santa Cruz,
Spaniards Luis Milan and Juan Ber- founded in the izth century during
mudo, dedicated important published the reign of the first king, Afonso
works"' to him and Milan received Henriques, to find any considerable
from him a substantial pension.52 evidence of creative production. The
While the performance of music musical functions of the Santa Cruz
in such places as Evora and Lisbon foundation, receiving a more decided
was apparently of very high quality, impulse after the reformation of the
and though native schools o com- house in 1527, encompassed a variety
position did develop in those centers of operations including singing,
toward the end of the century, it is to teaching, composing, copying mu-
the city of Coimbra, situated on the sic, and performance on musical in-
Mondego River in the North-Central struments, as well as the construction
sector of the country, that we must of these in the instrument shops of
turn to find the first important school the house.54 From this initial flo-
of composers. rescence during the second quarter
Coimbra is the ancient seat of the of the 16th century, the movement
University, in which a chair of mu- continued almost unabated into the
sic was established as early as the 14th third quarter of the i7th. From
century.53 During the i6th and 7th among the composers, many of ob-
centuries the incumbents of this post scure names, others entirely anony-
were practicing musicians who often mous, it is possible to single out four
held simultaneously the position of individuals who may be said each to
choirmaster in the city cathedral or represent roughly a generational
in the chapel of the University. Some segment in this development cover-
of these men wrote and published ing more than a century and a quar-
theoretical works, mostly manuals ter. They are D. Heliodoro de Paiva
for instruction in plainchant and (d. 1552), D. Francisco de Santa
measured music (cantochdo e canto Maria (d. I597), D. Pedro de Cristo
d'orgao); they also composed some (d. 1618), and D. Pedro da Esperan9a
music of which there remain exam- (d. 166o).55
ples in manuscript, but their major D. Heliodoro de Paiva, whose life
H. V. Livermore, A History of Portugal
was spent partly in Lisbon, where he
(Cambridge, 1947), p. 222. was born, and partly in Coimbra,
"6L. Milan, Libro de musica de vihuela de where he became a leading canon of
mano, intitulado El Maestro (I535); J. Ber- the Santa Cruz monastery, was a fos-
mudo, Comienfa el libro primero de la declara-
ci6 de instrumentos, dirigido al clementissimo
y muy poderoso don Joan tercero deste nom- "Sampayo Ribeiro, op. cit., p. 3o.
bre, Rey de Portugal (I549). 5Sampayo Ribeiro cites the following musi-
"The statement frequently made that Milan cians who were active in Coimbra, either at
served for a time at John III's court may pos- Santa Cruz, at the University, or in the Ca-
sibly be true, but I have been unable to find thedral: Joao de Coimbra, Pedro Correia, Am-
any verification in contemporary documents br6sio Ferreira, Fernao Gomes, Mateus de
or accounts. Aranda (Spaniard), Pedro Thalesio, Veris-
'Sampayo Ribeiro, A musica em Coimbra, p. simo de Santo Antonio, Balthazar Telles, Pe-
Io, has some interesting figures comparing the dro Trigueiros, Cosme Baena de Ferreira,
salaries earned by the professors in various Francisco Camelo, Nuno da Conceicao, Jose
disciplines. The teacher of music was the low- dos Anjos, Gaspar da Cruz, Carlos de Jesus
est on the list I Maria, Dionisio da Gloria, ct al.
104 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

ter brother of King John III.56 To D. Pedro da Esperan9a is the com-

his accomplishments in the arts and poser of a considerable portion of the
sciences as linguist, philosopher, and music written during the last period
theologian, he added talents as a calli- of the school of sacred vocal polyph-
grapher, painter, illuminator, and per- ony at Santa Cruz de Coimbra. This
former on several instruments, and generation is slightly better rep-
sang .to his own accompaniment on resented in modern editions than are
the harp. As a composer he wrote the previous ones.60 Again, the re-
masses and motets and made settings maining manuscripts are now in the
of the Magnificat, part of these sur- University of Coimbra Library.
viving still in manuscript in the Coim- Very little research has been made
bra University Library.57 into the production of the school at
D. Francisco de Santa Maria, al- Santa Cruz. It undoubtedly presents
though a Spaniard by birth, spent an important field for investigation
most of his life in Portugal. Besides by interested scholars, in respect to
serving as chapel master at Santa its relations with Franco-Flemish,
Cruz, he had held similar positions Spanish, or other European proto-
earlier at the cathedrals at Guarda types, and more especially with re-
and Coimbra. His considerable out- gard to bringing to light the remain-
put included both sacred and secular ing documents that have not yet been
compositions, many of which remain transcribed and published. Despite
in manuscript in the Library of the the vandalism and pillaging which
University.58 this institution, in common with
D. Pedro de Cristo, the successor many others, underwent in the past,
to the last-named composer as choir- especially during the I9th century, a
master at Santa Cruz, served in that considerable quantity of its musical
capacity not only at this monastery repertory of the i6th and i7th cen-
but also at the sister house of Sao Vi- turies, both printed and in manu-
cente de Fora at Lisbon. As a com- script, has survived and is now de-
poser he wrote both in sacred and posited in the Library of the Uni-
secular idioms, and was a performer versity of Coimbra, where it is in a
on keyboard instruments, the bass position to receive the care and at-
viol, harp, and flute. Compositions of tention it requires for preservation.
D. Pedro have been identified also in The first catalogue of this material,
the Coimbra University Library.59 issued in i937,61 was prepared by
personnel insufficiently trained in
6I.e., Paiva's mother suckled the prince and matters of liturgy and music re-
reared him for three and a half years.
67In Mss. M.M. 44 and M.M. 12 (Sampayo
search, so that only an incomplete
Ribeiro, op. cit., p. I5). Eitner in his Quellen- idea of its content and worth is re-
Lexikon states that there was a Magnificat set- vealed. Continuing research by na-
ting by Paiva, of 1540, also at Coimbra. It has tive and foreign scholars will do
not been located in recent years. Contents of
Coimbra Ms. M.M. I2 are listed and described
in Higinio Angles, La musica en la corte de among the brothers of the convent. Sampayo
los reyes cat6lhcos. I: Polifonia religiosa attributes pieces contained in M.M. 8, 36, 44,
and 53 to this particular D. Pedro de Cristo.
(Madrid, I941), pp. 119-I22. "Three compositions of D. Pedro da Esperanga
'Mss. M.M. 3, 9, 44, 53, and 7o. are included in the J. E. dos Santos anthology,
5Definite identification of composers in many A polifonia cldssica portuguesa (Lisbon,
of the documents is somewhat difficult since I937), and are reprinted from the series which
some of the compositions are unsigned, while appeared in the defunct review Mzisica sacra
others may contain only a first name, such as (1927-28).
"D. Pedro," apparently a very popular one "'Cf. reference in footnote 28.
 PORTUGUESE POLYPHONY 105
much toward clarifying the position farther south, in the province of
of the Santa Cruz school in relation Alentejo, the broad, largely plain-
to the development of the art both in like region extending beyond the
Portugal and abroad. Tagus River. lvora, the capital of
Coimbra was a chief focal center the province, was a favorite residence
for much of the activity in church of the royal family during the I5th
music occurring in the northern and and I6th centuries, and the court
central parts of the country, and to with its attendant nobility met there
some extent its influence can be seen intermittently during those years. To
spreading to other cities, such as the importance of this ancient south-
Viseu, Guarda, Lamego, and Porto. ern city as a center of secular activi-
On the basis of investigations carried ties was joined its prominence in the
out by Manuel Joaquim at Viseu an ecclesiastical field as the seat of one
important sub-center has been found of the important archbishoprics of
to exist there. Joaquim's monograph, the country, in addition to which for
Notuilas sobre a muzsicana Se de 200 years Evora was also a univer-
Viseu (Viseu, i944), presents a sity town, a Jesuit university having
chronology of composers, singers, been established there in 1557.
chapel masters, organists, and other After the middle of the i6th cen-
instrumentalists who worked at the tury the performance of music in
Viseu Cathedral from the i6th to the the old 12th-I3th century cathedral
i8th century, and reveals the exis- took on added importance, develop-
tence of both printed and manuscript ing in the last quarter of the cen-
works in the local church, municipal, tury into the most prolific training
and district archives. Among the school for the production of sacred
manuscripts is a rather extensive col- polyphony in the country. The art of
lection of sacred polyphony by Este- tvora radiated to other cities of the
vao Lopes Morago (i57?-i63?), the upper Alentejo, especially Elvas and
choirmaster of the cathedral from Portalegre, and eventually spread to
I599 to I628. This musician, born in other sections of the country, but
Spain probably sometime during the particularly to Lisbon, where new
eighth decade of the I6th century, roots were put down in an environ-
went to Portugal when he was still a ment favorable to the growth of the
child, obtaining his musical and in- style. The Lisbon school, then, is a
tellectual training in the Evora Ca- branch and continuation of the one
thedral and at the Jesuit University at tvora, developing alongside the
in Evora, where he was awarded a mother source, as will be seen in the
Bachelor of Arts degree in I596. His following discussion.
principal teacher was Felipe de Ma- The musicians in these cities of the
galhaes, but since Manuel Mendes upper Alentejo, strategically situated
and Cosme Delgado were still living on or near the principal land route to
during Morago's student years, un- Spain, were in close and frequent
doubtedly he received also the bene- contact with many of their con-
ficent influence of those two pioneers freres in the neighboring country.
of the Alentejan school. The records attest to the interpene-
While the activities just described tration of Portuguese and Spaniards
were developing in the northern and throughout the entire period. From
central sections of the country, a this exchange the Portuguese prob-
gradual evolution was taking place ably received more than they gave
 Io6 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

in matters of art and style, especially ter at the Portalegre Cathedral he

since during the reign of the Em- filled a like position in his native city
peror Charles V and continuing even of Pvora, where from about 1570 he
to some extent with that of Philip II began to turn out the galaxy of pupils
there were many Flemish musicians who were destined to be numbered
living and working in Spain, who among the leading figures in Portu-
served to influence both Spaniards gal's most important period of musi-
and Portuguese. The derivation of cal production. From his workshop
national schools, directly or indi- came such figures as Duarte Lobo,
rectly, from Flemish musicians and Felipe de Magalhaes, and others who
the Flemish style is a universal phe- were prominent during the first half
nomenon at this time and earlier of the i7th century as composers and
in most parts of Europe. The impor- teachers of newer generations of mu-
tant element in this case is that the sicians. Although for us Mendes'
native musician in this region of Por- chief claim to attention rests upon
tugal began to feel a stronger urge his activity as a teacher, in his own
to create and to express himself, so time he was highly regarded also as
that by the third quarter of the i6th a composer. Of his style we are able
century large numbers of young men to judge somewhat better than is pos-
were being trained in the craft. sible in the case of Cosme Delgado,
The oldest generation of com- since some examples of his work have
posers is represented by Cosme Del- survived.63 From the few that are
gado and Manuel Mendes. Delgado available in moder printed form it
was born about I530 and apparently would appear that he handles the ma-
became active as a singer and com- terial with correctness and facility;
poser shortly after the middle of the one Portuguese writer comments that
century, progressing to the position he is noted for the purity of his style.
of chapel master at the ~vora Ca- One feature of his style which does
thedral where he continued working not appear very frequently in the
until sometime after 1583.62 His death work of his pupils is the employ-
occurred in 1596. At the present ment of cross relations, in a manner
time it is impossible to evaluate his recalling similar treatment in the late
creative production except through motets of William Byrd.
the reputation acquired in his own Mendes' most famous pupil is
time, as his compositions have been Duarte Lobo, who for some time has
either dispersed or destroyed. been regarded as Portugal's greatest
Of somewhat greater importance composer of this age, and perhaps of
is the activity of Manuel Mendes, all time. Born probably between 1560
the first great teacher in the Alentejo
school. Born at tvora sometime be- "Manuel Joaquim has published a transcrip-
tion of Mendes' "Missa Ferialis" (from the
fore 1550, Mendes studied there, BPvora Public Library) and an eight-voice "As-
probably under Cosme Delgado. perges" (from the Ducal Palace at Vila Vi-
cosa), in the review Musica (Revista dos alu-
After a tour of duty as chapel mas- nos do Conservat6rio de Miisica do Porto),
no. 2 (Oct. 1942) and no. 4 (Jan. 1945).
6"He may well have been active for several Other works are located in Lamego (MS
years longer. This date is given as the earliest "Requiem Mass," at the end of a book con-
possible one, since among the manuscript taining masses by Cristobal Morales), Evora
works which Delgado left there was a manual (another mass), and Lisbon National Library
of music theory dedicated to the Cardinal- (according to Freitas Branco, op. cit., 2nd ed.,
Archduke Albert of Austria, Philip II's regent p. 52). Several works were listed in the cata-
in Portugal from 1583 to 1593. logue to John IV's library.
 PORTUGUESE POLYPHONY I07
and 1565, after completing his ap- collections of plainchant, printed in
prenticeship at Evora he went to Lis- the Lisbon shops of Pedro Craes-
bon to direct the music in the chapel beck,66 a former apprentice of Plan-
of the Hospital Real, whence he pro- tin. Of importance also is Lobo's ac-
ceeded sometime prior to 594 to the tivity as a teacher and guiding light
Lisbon Cathedral as chapel master, a for younger men, many 17th-century
post which he held until at least I639, composers, theorists, choirmasters,
the date of his last published work. and singers being numbered among
His death occurred in I646.64 Dur- his pupils.
ing this long period of service, span- On a par with Duarte Lobo as a
ning more than half a century, Lobo contrapuntist is the Carmelite friar
produced, in addition to works left Manuel Cardoso. Born near Elvas
in manuscript, four volumes of com- about 1568-70, from his first years he
positions, all published between 1602 was dedicated by his parents to the
and 1639 by the celebrated Plantin service of the Church. Beginning his
establishment in Antwerp,65 and two
(Copies: Coimbra University Library, M.I. 6;
"Until recent years Lobo's dates were given Lamego Cathedral; Ducal Palace, Vila Vi-
as I540-1643, which would have made him cosa).
103 years of age at his death. Investigations Additional manuscripts, mostly duplicating
by Sampayo Ribeiro and others have estab- works contained in the above volumes, are to
lished his death definitely in I646, while his be found in various places. For details consult
birth can be reckoned as occurring sometime Freitas Branco, Elementos. . . . Vol. II, 2nd
around I565, since during the early seventies ed., pp. 54f.
he was a student of Manuel Mendes, probably Modern reprints: Santos has included in his
as a choirboy. collection (see footnote 2) a motet and two
TSa) in 1602: Edvardi Lvpi Lvsitani Civis masses from the 1639 book. A six-voice motet,
Olisiponensis, in Metropolitana eiusdem vrbis "Audivi vocem de coelo," from the first book
Ecclesia beneficiarij & Musices praefecti Op- of masses, was included in at least three 9gth-
vscvla: Natalitiae Noctis Responsoria quater- century collections: Recueil des morceaux de
ihis vocibus & octonis. Missa Eivsdem Noctis musique ancienne (Paris, 1843); The Fitz-
octonis vocibus. Beatae Mariae Virginis Anti- william Music, ed. V. Novello (London,
phonae octonis etiam vocibus. Eivsdem Vir- I825); and Ancient Church Music (London,
ginis Salve choris tribus & vocibus vndenis. I847). This last is with Engiish text. Mention
Antverpiae, Ex officina Plantiniana, Apud should be made of the Freitas Branco reprint
Ioannem Moretum, MDCII. (4 copies in Coim- of a "Sanctus and Hosanna" from the Mass
bra University Library, M.I. 63-66; one copy "Brevis Oratorio" (cf. footnote 31).
reported in Valladolid Cathedral). With regard to Lobo's Antwerp publishers,
b) in i605: . .. Cantica Beatae Mariae Vir- see especially J. A. Stellfeld, Bibliographie des
ginis, vulgo Magnificat, quaternis vocibus, editions musicales plantiniennes (Brussels,
nunc primum in lucem edita. . . . Antverpiae, 1949), which includes the extant Plantin-
. . .MDCV. (Copies in: Coimbra University Lobo correspondence (65 letters to Lobo, one
Library, M.I. 2; Dr. Ivo Cruz, director of to Plantin) and other information concerning
Conservat6rio Nacional de Muisica, Lisbon; the Lobo editions.
former music archives of the Mexico City "a)Officium Defunctorum. . . . Lisboa, Pedro
Cathedral, now in the Museo de Arte Colonial Craesbeck, I603. (No copy of this is known
Religioso Metropolitano; other copies were to me). b) Liber Processionum et Stationum
also in the Munich Hof- und Staatsbibliothek Ecclesiae Olyssiponensis. . . . Lisboa, Pedro
and in the Vienna Staatsbiblothek). Cf. also Craesbeck, 1607. (Copy in Coimbra Univ.
footnote i. Libr., M.I. 89).
c) in 1621: . . . Liber Missarum IV. V. The activity of the Craesbeck family of
VI. et VIII vocibus. . . . Antverpiae, ex Of- printers is most important in Portuguese mu-
ficina Plantiniana, Balthasaris Moreti, sic, for most of the works of Portuguese writ-
MDCXXI. (Copies: Coimbra University Li- ers and composers published during the I7th
brary, M.I. 3-5, 3 copies; Dr. Ivo Cruz, Lis- century were done in the Craesbeck printing
bon; Lamego Cathedral; former Mexico Ca- shop. Pedro Craesbeck (Peter van Craesbeck),
thedral archives; British Museum [in MS the head of the family, learned the typographi-
score of I8th cent.]; Seville Cathedral). cal art in the Plantin house in Antwerp, com-
d) in 1634: . . . Liber II Missarum III1, ing to Lisbon in 1592. His successors were his
V et VI vocibus. Antverpiae, ex Officina sons Paulo and Lourenco and his grandson
Plantiniana Balthasaris Moreti, MDCXXXIX. Ant6nio Craesbeck de Mello.
Io8 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
career in music as a choirboy he virate of first-rank composers issuing
studied at lvora until the age of from the Alentejo school is Felipe de
eighteen or nineteen, when he went Magalhaes. Born probably sometime
to Lisbon to take orders in the Car- during the third quarter of the I6th
melite Monastery. There he spent the century, he studied with Manuel
remainder of his long life in music, Mendes at tvora, and was active
save for an occasional visit elsewhere, there as a singer and teacher during
such as when he went to Spain to be the 1590's before going to Lisbon to
honored by Philip IV and his chapel. serve eventually as chapel master in
The humble musician was held in the Royal Chapel. Magalhaes' pub-
high regard by another monarch, lished works include a book of masses
Portugal's own John IV, both be- and motets (1636), a book of Mag-
fore and after the Restorer came to nificat settings (I636), and a work
the throne, and at least three of Car- containing the chants for the Office
doso's published works were dedi- of the Dead (I614), all issued by the
cated to that avid patron of music. Craesbeck shop in Lisbon.69 The last
Other musicians sought the com- work was apparently quite popular,
poser's approbation, as happened in as it received further editions in Por-
the case of Manuel Rodrigues tugal (1642, 1724) and in Antwerp
Coelho, whose important keyboard (two in 169I). Magalhaes retired
work, the Flores de Musica of i620,67 from active work in I641, but was
bears a testimonial written by Car- still living in 1648.
doso. He passed away in 1650, leav- While this is not the place to make
ing a considerable body of works, a detailed stylistic analysis of the
published and in manuscript, includ- music of these three individuals, a
ing four books of masses, a book of few words concerning their devel-
Magnificat settings, and a collection opment as composers and their rel-
of music for Holy Week, all issued ative importance are in order. In the
by the Craesbeck printers in Lis- case of Duarte Lobo, definite prog-
bon.68 ress in craftsmanship and in expres-
The third member of the trium- siveness can be observed between the
7There is a photographic copy of this work in successive works of his published edi-
the Isham Memorial Library, Harvard Uni- tions, which start with his Opuscula
versity. For list of contents see Journal of of 1602. Between the Magnificat set-
Renaissance and Baroque Music, I (I946), p.
72. tings of 1605 and the first book of
wThere is some doubt that a fourth book of masses and motets of 1621 there is a
masses was published, only three having been
found or verified. The dates of the known edi- considerable lapse of time, which is
tions of his works are: Cantica Beatae Mariae reflected in his handling of the ma-
Virginis, I613; first book of masses, 1625;
second book of masses, 1636; third book of
terial. The wider gap separating the
masses, i636; Holy Week music, 1648. Copies
of the above works are held by Coimbra Univ. "The only modern reprint is that by Freitas
Libr. (M.I. 12, 13, 14), ]vora Cathedral, Branco (cf. footnote 31), containing the Bene-
tvora Public Library, Portalegre Cathedral, dictus and Agnus Dei from the mass "0'
Lisbon Cathedral, and Ducal Palace, Vila Soberana Luz." Of the book of masses there
Vicosa. An additional group of motets were are copies in the Viseu Archives, the Coimbra
in the Vienna Staatsbibliothek, Ms. 18518. University Library, gvora Cathedral, and
Modern reprints: The Santos anthology (cf. Lamego Archepiscopal palace. Viseu, Coimbra,
footnote 2) has three motets and the Missa and Lamego also hold the Cantica Beatissimae
Filipina, from the third book of masses dedi- Virginis. A copy of the book of chants for the
cated to Philip IV. Karl Proske included two Office of the Dead can be found in the United
motets, "Cum audisset" and "Angelis suos," in States at the Sibley Music Library, Rochester,
his collection Musica divina (Ratisbon, 1854). N. Y.
 PORTUGUESE POLYPHONY o09

publication of this work and that of eral period. With regard to the first
the second book of masses of 1639 of these factors, it can be accepted
shows an even greater development in the present instance that the in-
in the creative powers of the com- dividual's reputation in his own time,
poser, wherein he progresses from among persons who were under-
what seems at times a pale and arid standing of the art, is a fairly good
dryness to a freer and more full- indication of his worth, particularly
bodied expressiveness, but without when we encounter his music in a
any perceptible change in the basic varied number of worthwhile collec-
style, which remained true to the tions. The instances of composers
techniques and tenets of the great who may have been equally good,
Italian, Flemish, and Spanish poly- but who were neglected in their own
phonists of the period following the time, either because they were too
Council of Trent. The work of progressive in relation to the main
Duarte Lobo is without doubt of the trends of the times (or sometimes
highest importance in its own setting the reverse), or because circum-
and time. We cannot subscribe, how- stances were less favorable to their
ever, to some of the nationalistically work becoming as well known as
inspired but exaggerated statements that of their more fortunate brethren,
made about his music, such as that of are not infrequent. The possibility is
Freitas Branco, when he says that always present, therefore, that a man
". . . his work is distinguished by the of genius or superior talent may be
intensity of expression, greater than discovered. The second factor is
that which we find in Palestrina him- somewhat allied to the first, for the
self."70 Even among his own coun- economic situation of an individual
trymen there are a few who consider in a particular time and place, as well
other composers such as Cardoso the as the favor he may enjoy with a
equal or superior of Lobo. Such is publisher or patron, will often be re-
the case with Sampayo Ribeiro, who flected in the amount of his music
has directed performances of the mu- that he may succeed in having pub-
sic of these men, and who places lished. The third factor is much the
Magalhaes ahead of Lobo. weakest element, and the one which
While it is generally conceded that has been least explored in the pres-
the three chief composers formed in ent case, for all too few examples of
the Alentejan school are Duarte the music, not only of the secondary
Lobo, Manuel Cardoso, and Felipe de figures of the school but also of the
Magalhaes,71 this estimate is made composers considered in the top
partly on the basis of the profes- rank, have been scored and issued in
sional reputations which they en- modern editions. No comprehensive
joyed among their contemporaries, evaluation will be possible until this
also partly because of the quantity task has begun and a larger selection
of their published work, and in much of works has been made available for
lesser degree as a result of judgments study.
formed after studying their composi- Many other composers were
tions in comparison with those of formed in the ?vora and Lisbon
other composers of the same gen- schools during the I7th century.
7"FreitasBranco, op. cit. (2nd ed.), p. 55. Some practiced their art in the Alen-
'To these names of composers of vocal music
should be added that of the keyboard writer, tejo and in other localities of Portu-
Manuel Rodrigues Coelho, mentioned earlier. gal, while others went farther afield
I IO JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

to posts in other parts of the Penin- ing even to foreign countries for his
sula and even in Italy. In the direct personnel if these were not readily
line of the tvora tradition the last available near Vila ViSosa or in Por-
composer to receive acclaim was tugal. Among the directors of music
Diogo Dias Melgaz (or Melga9o), who worked there in the first years
who was born in 1638 and died in of the I7th century are Ant6nio Pin-
1700, thus bringing to a close this heiro (d. ]vora I617), a pupil of
century so fertile in notable com- the Spaniard Francisco Guerrero, and
posers. In Melgaz' music, more than an unknown Englishman, Robert
in that of any other composer whose Torgh or Tornar [Turner?], who
works are available for study, there was brought from Italy to be the
is a breaking away from the tradi- master of the chapel and the music
tional style of the i6th century, par- teacher to the duke's young son, the
ticularly in the matter of the rhyth- then Duke of Barcelos, who was later
mic treatment of the text and in the to attain greater eminence as the in-
employment of unprepared seventh strument through whom Portugal re-
chords and suspension dissonances.72 gained her independence when he
In the discussion of the Alentejo was proclaimed King John IV in
school mention has been made of the i64o. One of the future king's study
centers at Evora, Elvas, and Port- companions was Joao Lourengo Re-
alegre. Another locality, Vila Vigosa, belo (ca. 161o- 661) who continued
should be included for its production to devolop as a musician and com-
of music, which though not entirely poser, becoming master of the ducal
unrelated to the activity at the other chapel. John IV signally honored
cities, proceeded somewhat more in- Rebelo in many ways, defraying the
dependently. Vila Viqosa was the cost of publishing a volume of his
seat of the ducal House of Braganga, compositions in Italy73 and dedica-
whose head had been since the i5th ting to Rebelo one of his own works
century the greatest, richest, and of music criticism. Upon his acces-
most powerful peer of the realm. In sion to the throne John took Rebelo
keeping with the importance of the to Lisbon and made him the master
ducal establishment and of the duke's of the Royal Chapel.
position in the life of the nation, a While the school and chapel at
fine chapel was established on the Vila ViSosa continued to produce
palace grounds, where toward the singers and composers even as late as
end of the i6th century, simultane- the end of the i8th century, includ-
ously with the rise of the school of ing Portugal's most famed opera
polyphony in tvora, an elaborate composer, Marcos Portugal (I762-
program of music was instituted for 1830), the most interesting figure
the services of the chapel. The music- connected with that establishment is
loving seventh duke, D. Theodosio, King John IV himself (1604-1656),
maintained a choir and grammar who must be counted with Henry V,
school for boys, and hired the best Frederick the Great, and others
singers, teachers, chapel masters, and among the most musical sovereigns
instrumentalists he could find, send- 7Psalmi tur Vesperarum, tur Completarum.
Item Magnificat, Lamentationes, et Miserere.
72Works in manuscript are in the tfvora Ca- Romae, Typis Mauritii et Amadaei Belmon-
thedral and possibly in Lisbon. Three motets tiarum, I657. Written for sixteen voices with
are included in the Santos collection (cf. foot- an instrumental bass part. A copy of this item
note 2). is reported to be in the Vatican Library.
 PORTUGUESE POLYPHONY III

of history. John was raisedin an en- the furthertreasuresit may havecon-

vironment highly favorable to his tained except as these are mentioned
musicaldevelopment.Both his father occasionallyin other sources.75
and grandfather,the previousDukes With such an importantand exten-
of Braganna,were devoteesof music, sive collection of material available
and made the first acquisitionsfor there should not have existed the
the magnificentcollection of books, problems of documentationof Por-
scores, manuscripts, and printed tuguese music which hamper the
works, which John IV greatly en- scholar at every turn; but what may
largedso that it constitutedwhat was have remainedof this wonderful ar-
perhapsthe finest collection of music tistic inheritancewent up in flames
and materialon music owned by a or was otherwise destroyed in the
single individual in that time. The famous earthquake of 1755, which also
fiscal records of the Bragan;aestate ruined many other artistic treasures
containmany entriestestifying to the in Lisbon and elsewherein Portugal.
trouble and money expended by As a composer John IV did not
John's agents in many parts of Eu- progressapparentlyany fartherthan
rope to acquireold and new works, to become an adept and highly culti-
printedandin manuscript,sacredand vated amateur,and only two compo-
secular,theoreticaland practical,ex- sitions that can be attributedto him
tendingfrom a manuscriptof Guido's are extant.76His understandingand
Micrologus which he obtainedfrom appreciationof the art and technique
Queen Christinaof Sweden, to some was, however,quitedeep and intense,
of the latest works produced in his as can be seen from the correspond-
own century. The famouslibraryof ence he maintainedwith composers
music was best supplied with i6th- from whom he commissionedworks,
and early 17th-centurymaterial,but and from two works of musicalcriti-
there were alsoother importanthold- cism that he publishedanonymously
ings from the 15th century. It was in Spainand Italy.77Even after there
rich in manuscriptsby Portuguese
and Spanishcomposersand contained. along with his Ensaio critico sobre o catdlogo
d'el Rey D. Jodo IV.
most of the works of Palestrina,in- "The Micrologus, for instance, does not ap-
cluding apparently some items in pear in the catalogue. For information on
music still existing at Vila Vigosa see the ar-
original autographs.After John was ticle by Manuel Joaquim in the Anuario mu-
made King in 1640 he transferred sical, listed in footnote 25.
the library to sumptuous quarters "These are the motets "Adjuva nos Deus"
and "Crux fidelis," both a 4. The first was
in the Royal Palace in Lisbon, had published originally by Ernesto Vieira in I887
the collection catalogued,and made and I892 in two Lisbon reviews, while the
second one first appeared in print in a French
provision in his will for its care in work edited by Georges Schmitt, Anthologie
perpetuity.Only a partof the collec- universelle de musique sacree, . . . (Paris,
tion is representedin the large cata- I869). Emil Naumann later included it in his
of Music
logue which he caused to be pub- History (transl. by Praeger
don, I886] as well as in the original German
[Lon-
lished,74and so no idea can be had of edition of the work). Both motets appear in
the Santos anthology (cf. footnote 2).
74Primeira parte do index da livraria de mu- "a) Defensa de la musica moderna contra la
sica do Rey Dom Jodo IV. Lisboa, Paulo errada opinion del Obispo Cyrillo Franco (Lis-
Craesbeck, I649. Only two copies are known, bon, n.d.). The Italian version was published
one in the Paris Biblioteque Nationale, the at an unknown date and place, probably in
other in the Lisbon Biblioteca Nacional. Joa- Venice.
quim de Vasconcellos issued a reprint, dated b) Respuestas a las dudas que se pusieron a
I873, but not distributed until after 19oo, la missa Panis quem ego dabo, del Palestrina
I 12 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
was thrust on his somewhat unwilling place in other countries were in-
shoulders the heavy responsibilities of cluded, the significance of the musi-
governing a resurgent but weak and cal achievement of this small nation
bankrupt nation, which despite seri- would be increased still further.
ous obstacles had managed to free it- In conclusion, the writer wishes to
self from the yoke of a foreign ruler, reiterate his conviction that in the
John IV still found time to enjoy his musical production of the i6th and
favorite art and to honor his subjects I7th centuries in Portugal there exists
who were practitioners of it. a considerable body of works-
mostly neglected heretofore-of suf-
In this brief introductory study, ficient interest and importance to mu-
necessarily restricted and inconclu- sic and to music research to warrant
sive, it has been impossible to touch the expenditure of time, money, and
on many important aspects of the effort to bring it to the surface for
practice of music in Portugal during careful study, analysis, and perform-
the i6th and I7th centuries. Only the ance, in order to illuminate one of the
most active centers of sacred vocal dark recesses in our growing knowl-
music and the chief creative person- edge of Western music. The task is
alities they produced, as these stand one of primary responsibility for the
out in the light of information at Portuguese scholar and musician, and
present available, have been pointed there are undoubtedly many practical
out. Yet the diffusion and practice of obstacles to be surmounted. How-
music in every part of the country ever, the success of the few men, like
has been put sharply into relief Manuel Joaquim, who in the face of
through a biographical index of Por- serious difficulties have managed to
tuguese musicians and of foreign mu- provide us with even a limited glance
sicians working in Portugal which into the forgotten preserves of the
this writer has been assembling re- art, should serve to inspire others of
cently. The list, still in its early their countrymen to undertake a real
stages of compilation, shows over 200 and thoroughgoing exploration of
Portuguese and over 30 foreign mu- their artistic inheritance and patri-
sicians (singers, composers, instru- mony. The non-Portuguese scholar
mentalists, etc.) working in Portugal and musician can make his contribu-
during the i5th century alone, and tion by encouraging the native
these figures rise sharply during the worker and by granting to this ma-
next two centuries. Also, the present terial the recognition it may justly
discussion has been limited to mu- deserve, whether favorable or other-
sicians practicing in Portugal; yet if wise; and perchance, should the op-
the Portuguese whose activity took portunity present itself, by taking an
active part in the quest for the hidden
(Lisbon, 1654). Italian version issued in Rome
in 1655. metal from this "golden age" of Por-
These works deal largely with matters which tuguese music.
had been resolved long before in most coun-
tries. For a summary of the contents see
Vieira's Diccionario . . ., article "Joao IV." State University of Iowa