Carlos de Seixas

Carlos de Seixas was the most prominent Portuguese composer and key pad participant of his day time. He mainly published for the key pad, especially toccatas (sonatas), the majority of which were lost. You will find differing accounts about the quantity Seixas produced, nonetheless it shows up he made up over 700 sonatas in his brief life time, as reported in the Biblioteca Lusitana by Portuguese historian Ignacio Barbosa-Machado. The point is, less than 100 survive in support of a mere couple of choral compositions are known, though it really is almost particular he wrote several functions in the sacred choral genre. There are many theories that try to explain the entire lack of Seixas’ initial manuscripts, probably the most prominent becoming that all had been dropped in the earthquake that devastated Lisbon in 1755. Just copies from the composer’s ratings survive, most likely representing just a portion of his result. Sooner or later, most likely in his past due teenagers, Seixas discarded the family members name of Vaz and utilized his 1st three titles, José António Carlos, as many manuscripts attest. For unfamiliar reasons, he used the surname (de) Seixas. He divulged skill early on, most likely having been provided his 1st music lessons by his dad, the Coimbra Cathedral organist Francisco Vaz. In 1718, his dad having passed away, Seixas was appointed organist in the cathedral. Although it may involve a little way of measuring conjecture to summarize his talent will need to have been amazing for him to realize such a exclusive position at age 14, it really is totally safe to state that by age group 16, he was among the finest key pad players in Portugal since he was appointed organist on the Royal Chapel in 1720. Afterwards, while keeping the organist post, he became vice chapelmaster under chapelmaster Domenico Scarlatti. Some possess suggested the fact that fresh Seixas was in fact the greater talented key pad player of both, citing a doubtful accounts by J. Mazza: Seixas requested that Scarlatti provide him key pad lessons as well as the old master, upon viewing his youthful organist play, responded humbly that it had been he who should receive instructions from Seixas. Small is in fact known about the partnership between your two during Scarlatti’s eight-year tenure on the Royal Chapel, because the old composer departed for Spain in 1728. It really is generally believed, nevertheless, that both shared a shared respect, though one might surmise that Seixas was the even more deferential, since his music do divulge an impact by Scarlatti. Still, Seixas’ design had many exclusive features: his key pad works generally highlighted simple harmonies and therefore a greater concentrate on thematic articles; his sonatas, unlike Scarlatti’s, acquired multiple actions and their buildings often exhibited better complexity, relatively auguring those of the Traditional period. Seixas maintained the organist post on the Royal Chapel for the rest of his lifestyle. One excellent event from past due in his profession arrived in 1738 when he was knighted by Ruler João V, an additional indicator of his skill and prominence.