Manuel Rodrigues Coelho (ca. 15551635) was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

and composer. He is the first important Iberian keyboard composer since Cabezón. Coelho was born in

Elvas Elvas () is a Portuguese municipality, former episcopal city and frontier fortress of easternmost central Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about east of Lisbon, and about west of the Spanish fortress ...

around 1555 and probably received early education at the Elvas Cathedral. He may also have studied at the

Badajoz Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist of Badajoz ( es, Catedral metropolitana de San Juan Bautista de Badajoz) is a Roman Catholic cathedral church in Badajoz, Extremadura, western Spain. Since 1994, together with the Co-cathe ...

, where he worked as organist from 1573 to 1577. At some point during the 1580s Coelho returned to Elvas and worked at the cathedral there. He left the post in 1602 after becoming court organist at Lisbon. He died in 1635, probably in Lisbon. The composer's surviving works are preserved in a 1620 print ''Flores de musica pera o instrumento de tecla & harpa'', published in Lisbon. The collection, dedicated to Philip II of Portugal, is the earliest surviving Portuguese keyboard print. It contains 24 ''

tiento ''Tiento'' (, pt, Tento ) is a musical genre originating in Spain in the mid-15th century. It is formally analogous to the fantasia (fantasy), found in England, Germany, and the Low Countries, and also the ricercare, first found in Italy. By ...

s,'' 101 liturgical organ versets (''

kyrie Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of ('' Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives f ...

s'' and hymn settings), four settings of the Spanish/

Mozarabic Mozarabic, also called Andalusi Romance, refers to the medieval Romance varieties spoken in the Iberian Peninsula in territories controlled by the Islamic Emirate of Córdoba and its successors. They were the common tongue for the majority of ...

version of ''

Pange lingua ''Pange lingua'' may refer to either of two Mediaeval Latin hymns of the Roman Catholic Church: one by St. Thomas Aquinas and one by Venantius Fortunatus (530-609), which extols the triumph of the Cross. He wrote it for a procession that brought a ...

'', and four

intabulation Intabulation, from the Italian word ''intavolatura'', refers to an arrangement of a vocal or ensemble piece for keyboard, lute, or other plucked string instrument, written in tablature. History Intabulation was a common practice in 14th–16th ...

s of

Lassus Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Pales ...

' ''Susanne ung jour''. This large collection is probably a compilation of earlier composed material. Coelho's most important compositions are his ''tientos,'' which are very long (200–300 bars on average), multi-sectional pieces. Imitative counterpoint has a secondary role in them, whereas motivic figures and figuration, hallmarks of the Baroque style, are in the foreground. The harmonic language is simple and clear in sharp contrast to the contemporary Italian composers (i.e., Ascanio Mayone, Giovanni Maria Trabaci and

Girolamo Frescobaldi Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi (; also Gerolamo, Girolimo, and Geronimo Alissandro; September 15831 March 1643) was an Italian composer and virtuoso keyboard player. Born in the Duchy of Ferrara, he was one of the most important composers of ...

); the contrapuntal techniques are reminiscent of

Sweelinck Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck ( ; April or May, 1562 – 16 October 1621) was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard co ...

. Coelho's liturgical pieces are less ornate, and generally employ more strict counterpoint. They include a group of 23 versets ''para se cantarem ao órgâo'', "for singing to the organ", which all consist of a vocal line with organ accompaniment.

References

* Apel, Willi (1972), ''The History of Keyboard Music to 1700''. Translated by Hans Tischler. Indiana University Press. . Originally published as ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700'' by Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel. *Bernardes, J. M. R. e Bernardes, I. R. S. (2003), Uma Discografia de Cds da Composição Musical em Portugal: Do Século XIII Nossos Dias, INCM. p. 114–119 *Cruz, Maria Antonieta de Lima (1948), Rodrigues Coelho, Lisboa, Ed. Europa, Colecção Os Grande Músicos. * *Kastner, Santiago (1936), Música Hispânica: O estilo do Padre Manuel R. Coelho e a interpretação da música hispânica para tecla desde 1450 até 1650. Lisboa: Editorial Ática. *Kastner, Macário Santiago (ed.), (1936), P. Manuel Rodrigues Coelho: 5 Tentos, Mainz: Schott’s Söhne. *Kastner, Macário Santiago (ed.), (1955), P. Manuel Rodrigues Coelho: 4 Susanas, Mainz: Schott’s Söhne. *Kastner, Santiago (1941), Contribución al estúdio de la música española y portuguesa. Lisboa: Editorial Ática. *Kastner, Macário Santiago (ed.), (1976/1959), Manuel Rodrigues Coelho: Flores De Musica Pera o Instrumento de Tecla & Harpa, Vol. I 4 Tentos Portugaliae Musica, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 2.ª edição. *Kastner, Macário Santiago (ed.), (1961), Manuel Rodrigues Coelho: Flores De Musica Pera o Instrumento de Tecla & Harpa, Vol. II yries, Versos, Susanas, etc. Portugaliae Musica, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. *Kastner, Macario Santiago (1979), Três Compositores Lusitanos para Instrumentos de Tecla/Drei Lusitanische Komponisten für Tasteninstrumente. António Carreira, Rodrigues Coelho, Pedro de Araújo. Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, pp. 27–116. *Mazza, José (1944-1945), Dicionário Biográfico de Músicos Portugueses, ed. e notas de José Augusto Alegria, Ocidente, Lisboa, Tipografia da Editorial Império. *Nery, Rui Vieira (1984), A Música no Ciclo da Bibliotheca Lusitana, Lisboa, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. *Rocha, Edite Maria Oliveira da (2010), Manuel Rodrigues Coelho “Flores de Música”: Problemas de Interpretação, Tese de Doutoramento, Departamento de Comunicação e Arte, Universidade de Aveiro, Policopiado. *Vasconcelos, Joaquim de (1870), Os Músicos Portuguezes: Biografia, Bibliografia, 2 volumes, Porto, Imprensa Portugueza. *Vieira, Ernesto (2007/1900), Diccionario Biographico de Musicos Portuguezes, Lisboa, Lambertini, Edição Facsimilada de Arquimedes Livros. *Viterbo, Francisco Marques de Sousa (1908), Tangedores da Capella Real: Manuel Rodrigues Coelho, Sep. da Arte Musical. Hello

External links

Free scores
at ''Órgãos de Portugal''

Free scores by Coelho Rodrigues Manuel
o
loumy.org
* THE END. {{DEFAULTSORT:Coelho, Manuel Rodrigues 1550s births 1635 deaths Renaissance composers Portuguese Baroque composers People from Elvas 16th-century Portuguese people 17th-century Portuguese people 17th-century classical composers Portuguese male classical composers 17th-century male musicians