João de Sousa Carvalho

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João de Sousa Carvalho (born February 22, 1745 in Estremoz , Portugal ; † in Lent 1799 in Alentejo , Portugal) was an important Portuguese Baroque and Rococo composer .

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The musically gifted boy was born in 1745 to Paulo de Carvalho and Ana Maria Angelina. At the age of eight he was given to the Conservatory of Music Colegio dos Santos Reis in Vila Viçosa , the music capital of Portugal, in 1753 . At the age of fifteen he came to the Colegio Sant Onofrio di Capua in Naples in 1761 , where he continued his education under the protection of the Portuguese King Joseph I. As early as 1766, at the age of twenty-one, his opera La Nitteti was premiered at the Teatro Delle Dame no Carnaval. The libretto was written by the Italian poet and librettist Pietro Metastasio . Just one year later, in 1767, he returned to Portugal in order to only work in his home country in the future.

There he became the official music teacher of the Crown Prince of Portugal and professor of counterpoint music at the Episcopal Seminary in Lisbon . In 1778 he became the official “maestro” of the Portuguese king, that is, the official court composer of the crown, until his death. Most of the works that were created during this period were commissioned for official occasions.

His opera Testoride Argonauta from 1780 was also important , as it was written and performed for the official inauguration of Queluz Castle .

He was a famous, respected composer. In 1783 he married in rich circumstances so that he and his wife could afford stately goods and from then on lived in the Algarve and in the Alentejo. The composer died in the Alentejo during Lent in 1799, also of unknown cause.

Although many works have been lost, a large part of the work is still quite well documented even through copies. The dramatic work comprised 16 pieces: 5 operas, 10 serenatas and one cantata . The sacred-spiritual work consists of 3 hymns , 2 arias , ten masses , 4 psalms, an oratorio , and a motet . The most famous piece here is the sacred work Te Deum, written in 1769 . The profane work includes a few secular arias, a duet, a cavatina and a sonnet .

Works (selection)

  • La Nitteti , Opera, 1766, first performance in Naples.
  • L'amore industrioso , opera, 1769, first performance in Lisbon at the Teatro Palácio da Ajuda.
  • Te Deum , spiritual work, 1769.
  • L'Eume , Opera, 1773.
  • L'Angelica , Serenata , 1778, first performance in Lisbon in the Palácio de Queluz
  • Testoride Argonauta , Opera, 1780, for the opening of the Palácio de Queluz in the presence of the reigning Queen of Portugal, Maria I da Gloria.
  • L'Endimione , Dramma per musica, 1783, first performance in Lisbon in the Palácio de Queluz

Web links

Commons : João de Sousa Carvalho  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Carvalho, Joao de Sousa
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Portuguese baroque and rococo composer
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1745
PLACE OF BIRTH Estremoz , Portugal
DATE OF DEATH 1799
Place of death Alentejo , Portugal