Sacred music by/from Portugal: EMS 2 February

[doversoul1]

Lucie Skeaping is joined in the studio by Portuguese music expert António Jorge Marques to introduce sacred music by the 18th-century composer Marcos António Portugal, including his Missa a quatro in F and movements from his Vésperas de Nossa Senhora. The performers are Ensemble Turicum, recorded at the 2013 Festival Alte Musik Zurich.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03t08ms

[Roehre]

Lucie Skeaping is joined in the studio by Portuguese music expert António Jorge Marques to introduce sacred music by the 18th-century composer Marcos António Portugal, including his Missa a quatro in F and movements from his Vésperas de Nossa Senhora. The performers are Ensemble Turicum, recorded at the 2013 Festival Alte Musik Zurich.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03t08ms

Portugallo is the composer, by chance working in Lisbon and -from 1808 onwards as the Portuguese/Brasilian kingdom's capital was tranferred to rio de Janeiro following the French occupation of the Iberian Peninsula- in Rio de janeiro.

Interesting but not a real great composer. Foreshadows Rossini, Schubert and Verdi in some of his pieces.

[doversoul1]

2.00 pm today.
I’ll be interested to find out if I can hear (or I am supposed to hear) any trace of the Golden Age in these works.

[doversoul1]

Well, I have heard many early music composers who are not exactly great but there is usually something to enjoy in their works but this Marcos António Portugal is an exception. I think Roehre was being very polite when he said Portugallo was not a real great composer. I felt sorry for the audience at the festival and poor Lucie was clearly trying very hard to say something interesting. All this may be due to the performance which was unassertive in the extreme, but I doubt it. Still, the background information was interesting.

I wonder how it got into an Early Music Festival in the first place.

Purcell next week (R). Phew…

[Richard Tarleton]

Yes this was a struggle - the last item [Mass] salvaged something from the wreckage. Why was this on the EMS at all ?? - died 1830? Rossini retired in 1829!

[doversoul1]

Why was this on the EMS at all ?? - died 1830? Rossini retired in 1829!

I wondered at that too. Only reason I can think of is because this was
...recorded at the 2013 Festival Alte Musik Zurich

I wonder if anything has changed in the production process. I can’t believe Lucie would have chosen or recommended this concert/composer as a subject for an EMS.

[MickyD]

Well, I think we have had early nineteenth century pieces on the EMS before...I guess providing they are HIP performances, there is no reason why not. Indeed, I would like to hear more early pianos on the programme.

[jean]

I didn't hear the whole of this when it was first broadcast, so I've just LAed it.

It's about as bad as it gets. What were they thinking of? Perhaps it's part of a plan to get everyone thinking if this is Early Music I want none of it - then they can cut the remaining 50%.