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What’s the Motive?
Publication . Nelson, Bernadette; Centro de Estudos de Sociologia e Estética Musical (CESEM - NOVA FCSH)
Much of course has been written about Josquin’s Missa de Beata Virgine and, in what concerns this paper, the famous sesquialtera passage in the superius at ‘Qui cum Patre’ in the Credo and the general contrapuntal complexity of this passage is frequently highlighted and commented on. The conceivable raison d’être of this passage, however, may still be open to interpretation. In his classic Spanish Cathedral Music in the Golden Age (1960), Robert Stevenson was the first to propose that this use of sesquialtera was for symbolic Trinitarian purposes, an interpretation he relates to a similar use of blackened (triple-time) notation in the Christe of Morales’s Missa Mille regretz and in further works by Josquin. This and further aspects of symbolism in the music of Josquin have since been thoroughly explored by Willem Elders, although there exists some hesitancy in embracing the Trinitarian interpretation of the ‘Qui cum Patre’ passage in current literature. Springboarding from a consideration of the thematic and contrapuntal contexts of the sesquialtera passages in both Josquin’s Beata Virgine mass and Morales’s Missa Mille regretz, this paper presents a yet further set of intriguing connections between these and other works by the two composers. Combined with questions of motivic interplay and recall, these involve important structural and compositional decisions that were evidently made for symbolic purposes, serving to underline the meaning (usually Trinitarian or Christological) of the texts being set. In his insightful interpretation and emulation of Josquin, therefore, Morales acts as a vital historical witness for interpreting Josquin’s musical exegesis.
Thematic Considerations and Questions of Symbolism in Josquin’s Missa de Beata Virgine as Further Revealed Through the Music of Morales
Publication . Nelson, Bernadette; Centro de Estudos de Sociologia e Estética Musical (CESEM - NOVA FCSH)
Much has been written about Josquin’s Missa de Beata Virgine and, in what concerns part of this paper, the famous sesquialtera passage in the superius at ‘Qui cum Patre’ in the Credo and the general contrapuntal complexity of this passage is frequently highlighted and commented on. The conceivable raison d’être of this passage, however, may still be open to interpretation. In his Spanish Cathedral Music in the Golden Age (1960), Robert Stevenson proposed that this use of sesquialtera was for symbolic Trinitarian purposes, an interpretation he relates to a similar use of blackened (triple-time) notation in the Christe of Morales’s Missa Mille regretz and in further works by Josquin. This and further aspects of symbolism in the music of Josquin have since been thoroughly explored by Willem Elders, although there exists some hesitancy in embracing the Trinitarian interpretation of the ‘Qui cum Patre’ passage in current musicological literature. Springboarding from a consideration of the thematic and contrapuntal contexts of the sesquialtera passages in both Josquin’s Beata Virgine mass and Morales’s Missa Mille regretz, this paper presents a yet further set of intriguing connections between these and other works by the two composers. Combined with questions of motivic interplay and recall, these involve important structural and compositional decisions that were arguably made for symbolic purposes, serving to underline the meaning (usually Trinitarian or Christological) of the texts being set. In his insightful interpretation and emulation of Josquin, therefore, Morales acts as a vital historical witness for interpreting Josquin’s musical exegesis.
Sounding the Trumpet at Dawn
Publication . Nelson, Bernadette; Centro de Estudos de Sociologia e Estética Musical (CESEM - NOVA FCSH)
One of the richest cultural and musical centres in Renaissance Portugal was the court and palace of the Dukes of Braganza in Vila Viçosa. Documentation in the form of chronicles and other contemporary and historical accounts enable us to piece together rich and at once highly colourful soundscapes that entice back to an historical world where distinct ‘stage sets’ complete with details of choreography can be imagined or reconstructed both visually and aurally. From the solo trumpeter at dawn playing his aubade outside the duke’s apartments, to the slave musicians with their shawms, trumpets and drums, in procession or positioned in their splendid livery sporting the duke’s regalia ready to sound their symbolic fanfares, and to other costumed musicians and dancers in the palace square on especially important occasions, the court and town at Vila Viçosa became one of the most vibrant theatrical backdrops for the second most powerful court in 16th-century Portugal. On important festal occasions and state visits, including especially that of the king, João III, music was used both as salutation and ceremonial, and as entertainment and accompaniment to dancing and singing, with such events also dramatically marked by peals of bells and cannon fire. Drawing upon different kinds of contemporary documentation, including the recently studied post-mortem inventory of the fifth Duke of Braganza, D. Teodósio I (d. 1563), besides later historical accounts, this paper will focus especially on the evidently resplendent five-day sequence of events marking the celebration of the royal marriage between the king’s son, the Infante Duarte, and Isabel, sister of D. Teodósio, which took place in Vila Viçosa in April 1537. In this evocative history, the importance of protocol and ceremony that incorporated a closely intertwined and powerful aural and visual spectacle is a dominant aspect. Moreover, music and sound, both outside the town itself and in the terreira do paço in Vila Viçosa, and both inside the palace and the churches, provided aural testimony to the prestigious and indeed symbolic status of the House of Braganza in this royal union.
From Vicentino to Goldoni
Publication . Nelson, Bernadette; Centro de Estudos de Sociologia e Estética Musical (CESEM - NOVA FCSH)
Following the devastation of Lisbon caused by the earthquake and tsunami in November 1755, concerted efforts were made to restore the capital to its former status and glory – not only through a massive architectural re-designing and building programme but also through the continuation and encouragement of intellectual and cultural activities. Musically, this was manifest in performances in surviving (and rebuilt) theatres and prominent churches (during mass and other services), with many involving prominent musicians of the royal court of King José I (R 1750-77). Among these was a certain António Ramos de Figueiredo, violinist, theorist and composer, who by all accounts was an intellectual and also bibliophile. An inventory of his substantial library survives as the result of the zealous activities of the Royal Censorship Board instituted by the Marquis of Pombal in the years following the earthquake, in an attempt to control the circulation, printing and readership of books and ideas. This particular Manifesto dos livros is distinguished for its large (and rare) collection of music (theory) books and libretti, the whole constituting an extremely important and rare international collection dating from 1533 onwards. This paper provides an analysis (as far as possible) of this collection, and an appreciation of it in terms of the then current fashions in performance and discourse. It will also attempt to view Figueiredo as an active musician in mid eighteenth-century Lisbon when fashions tended towards Italianate styles and opera – in part led by such prominent composers as David Pérez, who was also employed at the royal court.
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CEEC IND 2017
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CEECIND/02074/2017/CP1463/CT0002