Carlos Seixas
Encyclopedia
Seixas was born in Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
. He succeeded his father as organist in 1718, aged fourteen, and two years later, moved to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, where he gave harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
lessons and met Domenico Scarlatti
Domenico Scarlatti
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style...
who was living in Portugal from 1721 to 1728. It is claimed that when the king's son, Dom António, arranged for Scarlatti to give Seixas harpsichord lessons, Scarlatti replied that it was Seixas who should give him lessons. Seixas later became organist in the court chapel and Lisbon cathedral as well as court composer. He was knighted in 1738 by John V of Portugal. He died in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
.
Seixas was influenced by the German Empfindsamer Stil
Sensitive style
The Empfindsamer Stil is a style of musical composition developed in 18th century Germany, intended to express "true and natural" feelings, and featuring sudden contrasts of mood. It was developed as a contrast to the Baroque Affektenlehre The Empfindsamer Stil (literally sensitive style) is a...
(literally 'sensitive style'). Much of his work was destroyed in the earthquake
1755 Lisbon earthquake
The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that took place on Saturday 1 November 1755, at around 9:40 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by fires and a tsunami, which almost totally destroyed Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal, and...
that devastated Lisbon in 1755. Only three orchestral pieces and around 100 keyboard sonatas survive, plus a handful of choral works for liturgical use (much more conservative than what one would expect from his instrumental music).
Macario Santiago Kastner published collections of the sonatas in Portugaliae Musica.
Selected recordings
- http://www.saydisc.com/ Amon Ra CD-SAR 43 Harpsichord Sonatas played by Robert Woolley on a harpsichordHarpsichordA harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
made by Joaquim Joze Antunes in Portugal in 1785. The instrument is in the FinchcocksFinchcocksFinchcocks is an early Georgian manor house in Goudhurst, Kent, which houses a large collection of historical keyboard instruments: harpsichords, clavichords, fortepianos, square pianos, organs and other musical instruments...
collection, GoudhurstGoudhurstGoudhurst is a village in Kent on the Weald, about south of Maidstone.It stands on a crossroads , where there is a large village pond. It is also in the Cranbrook School catchment area....
, KentKentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The recording was made at FinchcocksFinchcocksFinchcocks is an early Georgian manor house in Goudhurst, Kent, which houses a large collection of historical keyboard instruments: harpsichords, clavichords, fortepianos, square pianos, organs and other musical instruments...
in December 1988. - http://www.dgclassics.com/ Deutsche Grammophon 453-182. Two motets (Ardebat Vincentius and Tantum Ergo), in a two-disc collection also containing sacred music by Sousa Carvalho, Antonio TeixeiraAntónio TeixeiraAntónio Teixeira was a Portuguese composer.Born and died in Lisbon. He was a royal scholar in Rome from 1714 to 1728, and on 11 June of that year was elected chaplain-singer of Lisbon Cathedral and examiner in plainchant for the Lisbon patriarchy...
, and F. A. de Almeida. Originally recorded in 1970, with the Gulbenkian Chamber Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Pierre Salzman and Michel Corboz. - http://www.stradivarius.it/ Stradivarius STR 33544 Keyboard Sonatas played by Bernard Brauchli on a copy of a clavichordClavichordThe clavichord is a European stringed keyboard instrument known from the late Medieval, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was widely used as a practice instrument and as an aid to composition, not being loud enough for larger performances. The clavichord produces...
after Manuel CarmoManuel CarmoJorge Manuel do Carmo Pereira de Almeida is a Portuguese artist and author.Having practised as a lawyer, he performed, in earlier years, as a deputy to the Chairmanship of the Council of Ministers during the VII Constitutional Government, as Chairman of the European cooperation NGO Latin American...
, PortoPortoPorto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
1796. The recording was made in SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in December 1998. - http://www.virginclassics.com/ Virgin VeritasVirgin VeritasVirgin Veritas is an imprint of Virgin Records's classical label Virgin Classics dedicated to early music and historically informed performance....
45114 Harpsichord Concerto, etc. played by Norwegian Baroque Orchestra - Ketil Haugsand. - http://www.virginclassics.com/ Virgin Veritas 45115 Missa Dixit Dominus, etc. played by Camara de Lisboa / Norwegian Baroque Orchestra - Ketil Haugsand.
- http://www.lojadoarco.com/products/carlos-seixas-musica-sacra Portugaler 20102 SPA Música Sacra, Segréis de Lisboa, Coral Lisboa Cantat, Manuel Morai dir.
- VoxVoxVox is Latin for Voice. It may refer to:* Vocals, a common abbreviation, especially in pro audio-Music:* "Vox" , a song by Sarah McLachlan* Vox Records, an American record label* Vox Records , a German record label...
PVT 7171 Minuet and Toccata (Largo-Allegro) played by Elena Polanska - Fandango - Scarlatti in Iberia - 6 sonatas played by Sophie Yates- UPC:095115063521 cf theclassicalshop.net CHAN 635