FRANK MORANA
AmerOrganist 34/8

PORTUGAL,ed. Gerhard Doderer, Bärenreiter 8235. This

new series presently comprises five volumes, each devoted to a

specific regional school. Here, Portugal is represented in

eleven pieces, many of them excellent, spanning three centuries

chronologically. The pieces have been carefully edited

from original manuscripts (and one printed source) from

repositories in Lisbon, Porto, Braga, and Coimbra. The

prima prattica is represented with a Fantasia by Antonio

Carreira, followed by several "Versos de Kyrie" from the

Flores de Musica, an important collection by Manuel

Rodrigues Coelho, published in 1620. Despite one or two

weak spots in the Coelho (missing root, missing third), and

some questionable ficta, these pieces make an excellent

contribution to the early repertoire. One of the versets

suggests "Nun komm der Heiden Heiland" (or "Veni Redemptor

gentium" as the case may be) just well enough to serve as a

short hymn prelude, though the resemblance is undoubtedly

coincidental. The Batalha (battle scene) by Pedro de

Araujo is a 200-measure fantasy for chamades and other

reeds, but the piece relies too much on sheer sonic power,

and lacks any interesting harmonic formulations. A nice

rhythmic momentum is gained toward the end, but the closing

3/4 time is an artiface, and cannot sound otherwise than

6/8. The Tento de Meio Registro alto by Diogo da Conceicao

is written extensively in the lower tessitura, in a somewhat

antiquated style, with some challenging syncopations at the

end. With the fifth piece, a Sonata by Carlos Seixas,

arises an inconsistency with respect to the concept of the

Bärenreiter Vox Humana series, for this piece can, in no

way, have been intended for the organ. Seixas was a

successful harpsichord teacher as well as cathedral

organist, and his piece is clearly within the Scarlattian

orb (complete with hand-crossing), though, unlike Scarlatti,

there is little in the second section of the movement that

has not already been stated in the first section. . . . The

Tocata in D minor (really a binary sonata-movement) by

Jacinto do Sacramento is puzzling, considering the

composer's estimable reputation. Its mannered quality may

be a matter of taste, but the second section after the

double-bar contributes nothing but confusion, with an

overextended passage in the supertonic minor, and a harsh

retransition back to the home key. A lovely, anonymous

Minuet in A minor (again, clearly for the harpsichord)

follows. The sudden caesurae in two parallel places suggest

an opportunity for subsequent manual or other registrational

contrast. The Discurso by Soror da Piedade is another

excellent piece very much in the manner of an orchestral

sinfonia in thorough-composed (neither binary nor ternary)

form. It is drawn from the editor's own manuscript

collection, and it would be interesting to try to determine

whether the piece might actually be a transcription. An

anonymous Tocata para Voz humana e Fagote is a long and

highly mannered slow movement. The editor has apparently

sought to normalize the peculiar registration by suggesting

an alternation between Bassoon and Principal for the

left-hand part. The final piece is a Preludio by Jos‚

Marques e Silva, an early 19th Century mestre de capela.

Aside from the bold—really, anarchic—harmonic

excursions, this piece is written in a keyboard style that

is clearly and unmistakably pianistic. Portugese consoles

had poorly equipped pedal machanisms, and none of the pieces

here need involve any pedal at all. But many of them

would make for a bona fide contribution to the organ

repertoire nonetheless.