Seixas - Sinfonia for strings in B flat Major

For high quality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ces_eTvQtwg&fmt=18
Carlos de Seixas, Sinfonia for strings and basso continuo in B flat Major
- Sinfonia para cordas e baixo contínuo em Si bemol Maior

1 - Allegro

2 - Adagio

3 - Minuet: Allegro

Performed by the Norwegian Baroque Orchestra
Direction - Ketil Haugsand

José António Carlos de Seixas (Coimbra, 11 June 1704 - Lisbon, 25 August 1742) was a Portuguese composer, the son of the cathedral organist, Francisco Vaz and Marcelina Nunes.
When he was fourteen, he succeeded his father as organist in 1718 and two years later moved to Lisbon, where he gave harpsichord lessons and met Domenico Scarlatti, who lived 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.
Seixas was influenced by the German Empfindsamer Stil (literally 'sensitive style'). Much of his work was destroyed in the earthquake 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).

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

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• seixas
• harpsichord
• sinfonia
• major
• concerto
• portuguese
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• strings
• basso
• continuo
• allegro
• gigue
• adagio
• baroque
• classical
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• keyboard
• sonata
• minuet

[alexioco]

what style is this, is it rococo?

[peres010492]

Baroque

[GTXMAN]

amazing

[RachelPortman]

bello molto

[Tomv1750]

@obizin But just to be clear, I think that the possibility that Seixas' concerto was SPECIFICALLY written with a f-p in mind is a rather remote one. If it had been, it would probably have been indicated in the manuscript, in which case musicologists would have been slobbering all over it ever since its rediscovery. I have not read anything to that effect.

[Tomv1750]

@obizin It is possible that Seixas could have written the concerto for f-p, since Scarlatti moved from Spain to Portugal, and we know that Seixas studied with Scarlatti and wrote sonatas in his style. However, there is no documentation that Scarlatti brought a f-p with him from Spain, nor am I familiar with when Christofori f-p's were introduced in Portugal. We have to assume a late date for Seixas' concerto on stylistic grounds, so if a Christofori was present in Lisbon, who knows?

[obizin]

@Tomv1750 What's more fascinating is that the f-p was being introduced in Portugal by the time. Cristofori created the fortepiano by 1700 and it was so expensive that only royalty could afford it:"Several were owned by Mª Barbara of Spain before leaving to Spain"which means that most likely Seixas must have composed the 1st concerto for piano - in Portugal the clavichord was much much more common than the harpsichord (only in 1730's did the harpsichord attain popularity-Antunes family)

[Tomv1750]

I agree that Seixas has a flair towards the rococo/international classical style of the 1760s, though there are Vivaldian undertones in his style. The style came from Naples and Milan, where Sammartini was active. Seixas' Harpsichord Concerto is fascinating, because it was obviously written prior to his death in 1742, and he had no contact with J.S. Bach's Harpsichord Concerti. He may well have written the first concerto for Harpsichord,instead of J.S. Bach.

[Tomv1750]

Zelenka, Vitali, Graun etc. are anything but galant - pure baroque. I agree that Seixas is more forward-looking towards the rococo/international classical style of the 1760s. The style came from Naples and was brought to the rest of Europe through mainly Milan and the activities of among others Sammartini.

[neoclassicalfan1]

adventure all the way makes me think of old pirate movies

[grantco1313]

@isitvalottioryoung1 Yeah, not "quite" gallant for all those earlier composers :-) I would agree though that this piece and others by Pergolesi, Leo etc. probably are more rococo than baroque. But I think a lot of the difference has to do with listening to Italian or Portuguese composers compared to Germans like Bach and Handel.

[isitvalottioryoung1]

@Samoriah

Really?

Alessandro Scarlatti, Fasch, Zelenka, Torelli, Valentini, Fux, Graun, Vitali, etc... --all galant?

Where are they teaching this bold, new interpretation of history?

[Samoriah]

@isitvalottioryoung1

All baroque sinfonias are galant.

[Srabact]

Muito bom !!!