Manuel Rodrigues Coelho

Manuel Rodrigues Coelho (* around 1555 , probably in Elvas ; † around 1635 in Lisbon ) was a Portuguese composer , organist , harpsichordist , harpist and priest . He was one of the most important Portuguese keyboard music composers, and the only one in the 17th century whose work was printed.

Live and act

The exact date of birth of Padre Manuel Rodrigues Coelho is not known; the year of birth generally given today, around 1555, as well as some biographical data, are based on research and considerations by Macario Santiago Kastner; the composer was probably a few years younger, but he must have been born before 1563. Coelho himself states in the foreword to his Flores de Musica that he comes from Elvas and that he has studied at the cathedral of that city since he was eight. According to Kastner Coelho maybe served in the years 1573 to 1577 as deputy organist at the Cathedral to Badajoz in Spain. Sometime between 1580 and 1589 he became the organist at Elvas Cathedral. In 1602 he was appointed chaplain and "clavierist" ( tangedor de tecla ) at the Royal Chapel in Lisbon; he is also said to have played the harp. His colleagues were the Spaniards Diego de Alvarado (organist) and Francisco Garro as Kapellmeister. Coelho was also the first organist at Lisbon Cathedral from 1603. He retired on October 13, 1633. The extensive collection of Flores de Musica pera o Instrumento de Tecla & Harpa , published in Lisbon in 1620, has come down to us.

Flores de musica , title page (1620)

meaning

The Flores de Musica collection is the oldest surviving print of Portuguese instrumental music and consists of over 200 folios (sheets in the historical paper format 210 × 330 mm) with works for keyboard instruments or harp . It contains 24 Tentos , about 100 Kyrie - and Magnificat - versettes with voice, 4 Pange lingua , 4 Ave Maris Stella and 4 "Suzana" (arrangements of Chanson Suzanne un jour by Orlando di Lasso ). The work shows clear stylistic and formal influences of the Spanish keyboard music of the Renaissance , in particular by Antonio de Cabezón ; it is also in the succession of the important Portuguese composer António Carreira . The Flores de Musica are notated in a keyboard score , as is the handwritten music of the Portuguese predecessor Coelhos. In his foreword, the composer also gives some tips for performing his music, including "trilling ( quebrar ) with your right and left hands wherever possible ."

Coelho's most important works are his Tentos: "In them, the change from the Renaissance Tiento to the Baroque type, which Peraza and Aguilera already clearly announced, has finally taken place" (Willi Apel). In Flores de Musica there are three tentos in each of the eight traditional church tones . This is very unusual because some keys were otherwise more popular than others (e.g. 1st and 2nd tone), while others were rarely used (e.g. 3rd and 4th tone). Coelhos tentos are very long (an average of 200-300 bars) and consist of several sections. The beginning is always in a straight beat, later there is usually a section in a three-bar dance, often - but not always - at the end. Imitative counterpoint plays a role especially at the beginning, later motivic figurations ( glosas ) come to the fore. Coelho's initial themes are usually in calm note values; some of them may be derived from Gregorian melodies or from motets known at the time . For example, the theme of Tento No. 9 in the 3rd tone resembles the beginning of the motet "Duo Seraphim" by Francisco Guerrero (1528–1599).

Sometimes Coelho's tentos sometimes give the impression of being born out of improvisation. Kastner observed that in the course of several tentos by Coelho a " humble ", "longing" ( "saudoso" ), "decidedly Lusitan" motif emerges again and again , which Kastner called the "Coelho motif", and that from the sequence of tones "g - g - g - f - e - f - e - d - e" or its transpositions (very clearly e.g. in No. 5, T. 177–216, or in No. 6, T. 146 -195).

Coelho's harmony is simple, clear and subtle, his music is softer and less dissonant than z. B. that of his younger Spanish colleague Correa de Arauxo (1584-1654). Coelho's treatment of dissonances is very interesting, he sometimes brings excessive fifths and thirds, melodically diminished fourths and excessive primes. Simultaneous harmonic cross positions are also common and can be seen as a special stylistic feature of his music.

Chromatics occurs only sporadically and rudimentary in Coelho, e.g. B. in the theme of the very virtuoso Tento No. 21 in the 7th tone, which was also used by Sweelinck in one of his fantasies. When assessing Coelho's harmony and style, one must, however, also consider the very strict, conservative guidelines of Spanish music theory and the Inquisition. Comparisons with younger Italian contemporaries such as trabaci , mayon or frescobaldi are limp from the start.

In Flores de Musica's musical history , the Magnificat verses (numbers 32 to 37 and 39), the Nunc dimittis (no. 38) and the psalm verses (no. 40 to 47), in which the underlying Gregorian chant always serves as a cantus firmus , but is notated on an additional staff with text underlaid. In the psalm settings, on the other hand, the chant moves as an integral part from voice to voice. The final block of the collection includes settings of various Kyrie melodies in a specific selection.

“Coelho's ability to melt suggestions from domestic and foreign masters such as Antonio de Cabezón, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck or Andrea Gabrieli into his personal style and to enrich the form of the tientos in a spontaneous and unforced manner gives the Flores de Musica great importance. The pieces combined here are primarily characterized by a wealth of form-creating elements, a cautious treatment of dissonance and a moderate use of characters and chromatic coloring. ”( Gerhard Doderer , Lisbon)

Coelho's music was also highly valued by the eminent Portuguese vocal polyphonist Frey Manuel Cardoso (1566–1650):

“I looked at the music in this book because the author asked me to. I found a great variety of melodies (passos) in it, excellent and graceful decorations (grosa), the dissonances (falsas) in the right place, very well accompanied; & in all it seems to me worthy of its author as well as being printed for the benefit of all who get to know it. Written in the Carmelite Monastery in Lisbon, today, July 21, 1617. ”

- Frey Manuel Cardoso : in the foreword to Coelho's "Flores de Musica".

Literature (selection)

• Manoel Rodrigues Coelho, Prologo da Obra aos Tangedores and Advertencias Particulares pera se tangerem estas obras com perfeiçao , in: Manuel Rodrigues Coelho: Flores De Musica Pera o Instrumento de Tecla & Harpa , Vol. I [24 Tentos, 4 Susanas], Portugaliae Musica , transr. & ed. by Macário Santiago Kastner, Lisbon: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1976/1959 (2.ª edição), pp. XXXIX-XLII.
• Willi Apel, "Coelho", in: History of organ and piano music up to 1700 , Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1967/2004, pp. 507-513.
• Macario Santiago Kastner: Música hispánica , Lisbon 1936.
• MS Kastner, Contribución al estudio de la música espagñola y portuguesa , Lisbon 1941.
• MS Kastner, Vestigios del arte de Antonio de Cabezón en Portugal. In: Anuario musical , No. 21 (1966), page 105.
• MS Kastner, Antonio and Hernando de Cabezón: a chronicle presented on the life of two generations of organists , Tutzing 1977.
• MS Kastner, "The curriculum vitae of Padre Manuel Rodrigues Coelho", "Manuel Rodrigues Coelho / Tento study" and "Compositions based on Gregorian chant melodies", in: Três compositores lusitanos para instrumentos de tecla, séculos XVI e XVII (Three Lusitanian composers for keyboard instruments ): António Carreira, Manuel Rodrigues Coelho, Pedro de Araújo . Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon 1979, pp. 171-266. (bilingual: Portuguese and German!)
• K. Speer: The Organ "Verso" in Iberian Music to 1700. In: Journal of the American Musicological Society No. 11 (1958).
• K. Speer: What is “tonus” in Polyphonic Music. In: Essays in Musicology , Festschrift by Willy Apel, Bloomington / Indiana 1968.

grades

• Manuel Rodrigues Coelho: Flores De Musica Pera o Instrumento de Tecla & Harpa , Vol. I [24 Tentos, 4 Susanas], Portugaliae Musica, ed. by Macário Santiago Kastner, Lisbon: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1976/1959 (2nd edição).
• Manuel Rodrigues Coelho: Flores De Musica Pera o Instrumento de Tecla & Harpa , Vol. II [4 Pange Linguas, 4 Ave maris stella, Kyrios, Versos], Portugaliae Musica, ed. by Macário Santiago Kastner, Lisbon: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1998/1961 (2nd edição).
• Antologia de Organistas do Século XVI: António Carreira - Heliodoro de Paiva - António de Macedo - Giulio Segni da Modena - Antonio de Cabezón (Portugaliae Musica), transc. de Cremilde Rosado Fernandes, estudo de MC Kastner, Lisbon: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1998/1969 (2nd edição).

Web links

• Sheet music and audio files by Manuel Rodrigues Coelho in the International Music Score Library Project
• Manuel Rodrigues Coelho on the HOASM website ("Here of a Sunday Morning" - The very best in early music for more than 40 years)

swell

1. ^ The Music in Past and Present (MGG), Person Part Volume 4, Bärenreiter Verlag, Kassel and Basel 2000, ISBN 3-7618-1114-4 .
2. ↑ Marc Honegger, Günther Massenkeil (ed.): The great lexicon of music. Volume 2: C - Elmendorff. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau a. a. 1979, ISBN 3-451-18052-9 .
3. ^ MS Kastner, Der Lebenslauf des Padre Manuel Rodrigues Coelho , in: Três compositores lusitanos para instrumentos de tecla, ..., Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon 1979, p. 204 and p. 216 (footnote 33).
4. ↑ See: MS Kastner, Três compositores lusitanos para instrumentos de tecla, séculos XVI e XVII: António Carreira, Manuel Rodrigues Coelho, Pedro de Araújo . Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon 1979, pp. 171-217.
5. ↑ There are two entries by Padre Mestre Manuel Rodrigues in the baptismal registers of Elvas Cathedral from 1588 , probably by our composer. Since he had to be at least 25 years old to be able to bear the title Padre Mestre , he can only be born before 1563. See: MS Kastner, The curriculum vitae of Padre Manuel Rodrigues Coelho , in: Três compositores lusitanos para instrumentos de tecla, séculos XVI e XVII (Three Lusitan composers for keyboard instruments): António Carreira, Manuel Rodrigues Coelho, Pedro de Araújo . Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon 1979, pp. 177-178.
6. ↑ "... em a See d'Elvas, minha igreja primitiva, & natural, aonde me criei, & de idade de oyto anos ja nisto estudava". See: Manoel Rodrigues Coelho, Prologo da Obra aos Tangedores , in: Manuel Rodrigues Coelho: Flores De Musica Pera o Instrumento de Tecla & Harpa , Vol. I, 1976/1959 (2.ª edição), p. XXXIX.
7. ↑ This information is not 100% provable because there were many people named " Manuel Rodriguez ". Since, when he was released in 1577, it was claimed that he had not performed his duties to the satisfaction of his superiors, it may be that this was simply due to MR Coelho's youthful inexperience. But it is also conceivable that it was about another Manuel Rodriguez, who later does not necessarily have to have become a professional organist, as Kastner simply assumes. Kastner's idea that MR Coelho took over the organ in Badajoz from 1573-77 is the crux of the matter why he put Coelho's date of birth at "around 1555" so early. See: MS Kastner, The curriculum vitae of Padre Manuel Rodrigues Coelho , in: Três compositores lusitanos ... , séculos XVI e XVII: António Carreira, Manuel Rodrigues Coelho, Pedro de Araújo . Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon 1979, pp. 186-192.
8. ↑ This term is very interesting because it is not limited to the organ, but includes all possible keyboard instruments of the time: different types of virginal or spinet, harpsichord, clavichord.
9. ↑ Portugal was ruled by the Spanish kings from 1580-1640, d. H. from 1580-1598 by Philip II (I) of Spain, 1598-1621 by Philip III (II) of Spain, 1621-1640 by Philip IV (III) of Spain (in brackets: numbering as the Portuguese king!). This means that the king himself was almost always absent in Lisbon because he ruled his huge empire centrally from Spain. Philip III was in Lisbon only once during Coelho's tenure, starting in May 1619, for "a stay of several weeks", and he also traveled to other Portuguese cities such as Evora and Coelho's homeland, Elvas. See MS Kastner, The curriculum vitae of Padre Manuel Rodrigues Coelho , in: Três compositores lusitanos ... , séculos XVI e XVII: António Carreira, Manuel Rodrigues Coelho, Pedro de Araújo . Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon 1979, pp. 209-211.
10. ↑ That can be deduced indirectly from the title of the Flores de Musica ; there are also documents that speak of his harp playing. See: MS Kastner, Der Lebenslauf des Padre Manuel Rodrigues Coelho , in: Três compositores lusitanos para instrumentos de tecla, ..., Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon 1979, p. 204 and p. 216 (footnote 33).
11. ↑ There was probably a first publication around 1536: Uma Obra e Arte de tanger by Gonçalo de Baena. However, probably no copy has survived. See: MS Kastner, Introduction to: Manuel Rodrigues Coelho: Flores De Musica ... , Vol. I, Lisbon 1976/1959 (2.ª edição), p. XXII, footnote 1.
12. ↑ 'Tento' is the Portuguese form of the Spanish word 'Tiento' used by Coelho.
13. ↑ "... que se ha de quebrar com a mão esquerda, & direita, todas as vezes que for possivel." See: Manoel Rodrigues Coelho, Advertencias Particulares pera se tangerem estas obras com perfeiçao , in: Manuel Rodrigues Coelho: Flores De Musica ... , Lisbon, 1976/1959, p. XLI. (The word "quebrar" actually means to break, here it refers to the bulging trills and mordente, which are called "quiebros" in Spanish music.)
14. ↑ Willi Apel, Coelho , in: History of Organ and Piano Music up to 1700 , Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1967/2004, p. 508.
15. ↑ This could also apply to Spanish keyboard music and also to Italian ricercare. Musicological studies could still be carried out here.
16. ↑ from: Francisco Guerrero, Sacrae Cantiones , 1589 and 1597. Sung by the Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hesperion XX under the direction of Jordi Savall on the CD "Francisco Guerrero: Sacrae Cantiones", Astrée Auvidis E 8766, 1992.
17. ↑ These observations by Kastner are really very well taken. The Portuguese themselves regard saudade as a typical national characteristic. The word is difficult to translate, it means something like "longing", but also contains something depressive, such as resignation. Today the saudade finds its expression in fado .
18. ↑ The irregular notation of the note names and dashes is intentional and is intended to indicate the rhythm.
19. ↑ MS Kastner, Manuel Rodrigues Coelho / Tento study and compositions based on Gregorian chant melodies , in: Três compositores lusitanos ... , Lisbon 1979, p. 228 and p. 244–245.
20. ^ Lexicon of the organ, edited by Hermann J. Busch and Matthias Geuting, 2nd edition, Laaber-Verlag Laaber 2008, page 154, ISBN 978-3-89007-508-2
21. ↑ "Vi a Musica deste livro por me pedir o Autor delle. Achey nelle muita variedade de passos, grosa excellente, & airosa, as falsas em seu lugar, muy bem acompanhadas: & em tudo me parece digno, assi de seu Auctor, como de ser impresso, pera proveito dos que delle tiveram noticia. Dada no Carmo de Lisboa oje 21. de Iulho de 1617. " In: Manuel Rodrigues Coelho: Flores De Musica , Lisbon, 1976/1959 (2.ª edição), pp. XXXVIII.