The Évora Cathedral Manuscript
In the final decades of the eighteenth century, a unique style of writing emerged at the Portuguese court within the European context: sacred repertoire featuring solo parts for two cellos and two bassoons accompanying the voices. The emergence of this repertoire was prompted by various circumstances, the most significant being the tradition of the Patriarchal Chapel, responsible for the court’s sacred music, of writing for voices and basso continuo, with the use of an orchestra reserved for special occasions of greater ceremony. When, in the final decades of the eighteenth century, basso continuo fell out of use and Classical aesthetic models prevailed, this limitation was overcome through the ingenious transformation of the roles traditionally assigned to the basso continuo instruments.
This “orchestra” of low instruments remained a tradition at the Portuguese court until the first half of the nineteenth century, subsequently spreading to other parts of the country. Although works survive for various moments of the liturgical calendar, different documentary sources indicate a particular association between this instrumentation and moments of mourning and solemnity, such as Holy Week, All Souls’ Day, and funeral ceremonies. This connection is attested by several surviving manuscript arrangements of works such as Requiem Masses by N. Jommelli and W. A. Mozart, and the Mattutini dei morti by D. Perez.
In this programme, Ensemble Bonne Corde presents Mozart’s Requiem in an anonymous version preserved in manuscript in the Musical Archive of Évora Cathedral, in which the orchestra is replaced by a group of basso continuo instruments, with solo cello and bassoon parts accompanying eight voices.
Ensemble Bonne Corde
Diana Vinagre, cello & artistic direction
Emily Robinson, cello
Tomasz Wesolowski & Kamila Marcinkowska-Prasad, bassoons
Jean-Marc Faucher, double bass
Fernando Miguel Jalôto, organ
Ana Quintans (solo) & Raquel Mendes, sopranos
Rita Filipe (solo) & António Lourenço Menezes, altos
João Rodrigues (solo) & Fernando Guimarães, tenors
Hugo Oliveira (solo) & Luís Rendas Pereira, basses