The Capela Real was the

royal chapel A royal chapel is a chapel associated with a monarch, a royal court, or in a royal palace. A royal chapel may also be a Chapel (music), body of clergy or musicians serving at a royal court or employed by a monarch. Commonwealth countries Both ...

and musical establishment of the

kings of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the nea ...

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. The capela played an important role in the development of the

music history of Portugal Being one of the most ancient nation-states in Europe, Portugal has a long music history, which accompanied and strongly contributed to the development of the music history in Europe. Medieval music Liturgical repertoire In the early days of the ...

from its foundation by Dom Dinis in 1299.

Singing in the chapel

Dom Duarte (1391–1438), as

Edward, King of Portugal Edward ( pt, Duarte (; 31 October 1391 – 9 September 1438), also called Edward the King Philosopher (''Duarte o Rei-Filósofo'') or the Eloquent (''o Eloquente''), was the King of Portugal from 1433 until his death. He was born in Viseu, the son ...

, elaborated a Regimen (Ordenaçam) of the Chapel, which indicates that the standard practice was three-voice singing. His son,

Afonso V Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa. ...

(1432–1481), sent the

mestre de capela (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

Álvaro Afonso, to the court of

Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English thron ...

(1421–1471) in order to get a copy of the statutes, regimen and liturgy practiced in the English

Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applie ...

. The detailed description written by William Say is kept at

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old to ...

Mestres de capela

Later composers serving the capela included

Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti, also known as Domingo or Doménico Scarlatti (26 October 1685-23 July 1757), was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the deve ...

who from 1719 until his death served as

where his responsibilities included teaching the Infanta Maria Barbara and the king's younger brother, Don Antonio.

Dennis Shrock Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

''Choral Repertoire'' 2009 - Page 221 "Domenico Scarlatti...and from 1719 until his death he served as mestre de capela at the Royal Chapel in Lisbon, Portugal, where his responsibilities consisted of teaching the Infanta Maria Barbara and the king's younger brother, Don Antonio."

References

{{reflist 1299 establishments in Europe 13th-century establishments in Portugal Culture in Lisbon History of Lisbon Portuguese music history