João de Sousa Carvalho (22 February 1745c. 1798) was the foremost
Portuguese composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
of his generation.
Born in
Estremoz, he studied music from 1753 at the
Colégio dos Santos Reis in
Vila Viçosa
Vila Viçosa () is a town and a municipality in the Évora (district), District of Évora, Alentejo in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 8,319, in an area of 194.86 km².
The municipal holiday is August 16.
Parishes
Administratively, th ...
, then from 1761 at the Conservatório di Sant' Onofrio a Porta Capuana in
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
. In 1766 his setting of
Metastasio
Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti.
Early life
Met ...
’s operatic libretto ''La Nitteti'' was performed in Rome. The following year, he joined the Irmandade de Santa Cecília at
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
and was appointed professor of
counterpoint
In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...
in the Seminário da Patriarcal, where he later served as ''mestre'' (1769–1773) and ''mestre de capela'' (1773–1798). In 1778, he became music teacher to the royal family. He died in 1798 in
Alentejo
Alentejo ( , , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond the Tagus" ().
Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo Province, Alto Alentejo and Bai ...
at the age of 53.
His numerous church works are written in a style similar to that of
Niccolò Jommelli and, sometimes,
Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
. Several of his ''
opere serie'' and
serenatas were performed at the royal palaces of
Ajuda and
Queluz. Some of his keyboard music survives and is occasionally played today.
His Opera Buffa ''L'amore industrioso'' was discovered by conductor and scholar David Chernaik in the Biblioteca da Ajuda in manuscript, and performed in London and Oporto in 2000-2002.
Some compositions
*''L’amore industrioso'', 1769 (revived 1943, 1967, 2000)
*''Eumene'' (dramma serio per musica), 1773
*''L’Angelica'' (serenata), 1778
*''Perseo'' (serenata), 1779
*''Testoride argonauta'' (dramma), 1780 (revived 1987)
*''Seleuco, re di Siria'' (dramma), 1781
*''Everardo II, re di Lituania'' (dramma), 1782
*''Penelope nella partenza da Sparta'' (dramma per musica), 1782
*''L’Endimione'' (
dramma per musica
The phrase ''dramma per musica'' (also spelled ''drama per musica''; Italian language, Italian, literally: 'play (or drama) for music', plural: ''drammi per musica'') is commonly found after the title in Italian opera librettos beginning in the ...
), 1783
*''Tomiri'' (dramma per musica), 1783
*''Adrasto, re degli Argivi'' (dramma per musica), 1784
*''Nettuno ed Egle'' (favola pastorale), 1785
*''Alcione'' (dramma per musica), 1787
*''Numa Pompilio II, re dei romani'' (serenata), 1789
Fiat Misericordia- cooperative transcription of the score from the manuscript in th
Wiki-scoreplatform.
*
Masses, 1769, 1789, 1792
Bibliography
*Luiz, Carlos Santos (1999), João de Sousa Carvalho: Catálogo Comentado das Obras, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
*Manuel Carlos de Brito: ''Opera in Portugal in the Eighteenth Century'' (Cambridge, 1989)
*Robert Stevenson/Manuel Carlos de Brito: ''Carvalho, João de Sousa'', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed
007-05-05), http://www.grovemusic.com
External links
*
1745 births
1798 deaths">1745 births">007-05-05), http://www.grovemusic.com
External links
*
1745 births
1798 deaths
People from Estremoz
18th-century classical composers
18th-century male musicians
Portuguese Classical-period composers
Portuguese classical composers
Portuguese music educators
18th-century Portuguese people
Portuguese opera composers
Portuguese male classical composers
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