The Mandolin in Madeira (c. 1880-1950)

By Paulo Esteireiro

It is commonly said that the mandolin is an instrument of great tradition in Madeira. This affirmation is usually based on the current quite high number of mandolin orchestras existing in the region1 and at the same time on a superficial notion that musical groups with mandolins have existed for “many years” in Madeira. No one seems to know for certain what is meant by “many years”, as opinions on when the mandolin was first introduced in Funchal vary much.

Thus, this paper intends to answer the question of the origin of the mandolin in Madeira, and therefore to answer other questions related to this context, as who the pioneer musicians were, which factors contributed to the acceptance of this instrument and what the musical repertoire played on mandolin was.

In an attempt to answer these questions, several sources were brought together such as periodicals of the 19th and 20th centuries, scores by Madeira’s mandolin groups, iconographic documentation compiled with assistance from Rui Camacho, president director of the Associação Musical Xarabanda (Xarabanda Musical Association), and a recently published brief synthesis of works concerning music in Madeira. Also, a sample of 326 scores was studied in order to get to know the repertoire executed2.

It is possible that the mandolin had gained great popularity in Portugal since at least the 19th century. There are references to its practice in the eighteen hundreds private ballrooms, possibly as an alternative instrument to the Portuguese guitar executing melody lines (Pinto, 2010: 119-120).

In Madeira’s case however, it seems unlikely that the mandolin had great acceptance before the last quarter of the 19th century. The several

                                                                                                                         1  The Associação de Bandolins da Madeira (Madeira Mandolin Association) relates on its website that there are «17 mandolin tunas or orchestras currently active in the Autonomous Region of Madeira». See http://www.bandolins-madeira.net/web/orquestras/ (accessed on March 26, 2010).

2  The 326 scores sample is constituted of manuscript pieces for mandolin, which can be found in the Ângelo Álvares de Freitasand Noé Cró Collections, in the Library of the Coordinating Cabinet of Artistic Education.

 

investigations on music in this period indicate that the most popular instruments in Funchal, with written repertoire, were the machete, the guitar, the piano and the violin, no credible reference has been found so far evidencing a general practice of the mandolin during the eighteen hundreds.

Origin

Even in the national context, it is plausible that the overall and popular spread of the instrument, outside ballroom circles, occurred only at the end of the 19th century, through the tunas (musical groups composed of university students) formed in academic environment. For instance, it is curious that the musicologist Ernesto Vieira makes no special reference to the mandolin practice in Portugal in his Dicionário da Música (Dictionary of Music), published in 18993, only pointing out that this instrument was used «in Italy and in the operatic environment, especially in Mozart’s Don Juan and Verdi’s Otello» (Vieira, 1899: 85-86).

A decisive moment for the spread of the mandolin in Portugal appears to have had origin in Spain. In 1888, the Tuna Compostellana from University of Santiago de Compostela, probably made up with mandolins in its orchestral assemblage4, visited the cities Coimbra, Oporto and Lisbon - where it performed at the prestigious São Carlos Theatre – meeting with excellent acceptance in all places, as the periodical Occidente states:

The tunos [from Compostela] before all else desired to pay tribute of esteem to the Academy of Coimbra, and therefore went directly to that city, where they received an enthusiastic reception by the students of the University, in which all inhabitants took part. The displays of warm fraternization exchanged among the Portuguese and the Spanish academics on that day were expressive and of an indescribable expansion (Occidente, 1/3/1888: 50).

The enthusiasm aroused by the Tuna Compostellana was such that the Tuna Académica da Universidade de Coimbra (Academic Tuna of the University of Coimbra) was created in that same year, a musical tuna of reference in our country, and also the oldest, becoming a pole of spread for the mandolin practice in Portugal. If there are doubts about mandolins being used by the Tuna Compostellana of University of Santiago de Compostella, there are none that the Tuna of Coimbra had members playing it since 1888. According to the Academic Tuna of the University of

                                                                                                                         

3  Publishing date of the 2nd edition, consulted for this research.

4  It is difficult to distinguish in the picture if the Tuna had mandolins or bandurras, a similar instrument more largely used in Spain.  

Coimbra website, on its first performance, occurred on May 5, 1888, «the group was made up of ten violins, two cellos, one double bass, two clarinets, two C flutes, five mandolins and fourteen classical guitars» (our underlining).

Illustration 1 – Academic Tuna of the University of Coimbra in 1888, Academic Tuna of the University of Coimbra Venue

Curiously, the influence of the Tuna Compostellana arrived in Madeira, even though it did not perform in Funchal. In 1889, the year following its performance in Coimbra, there is news on the existence of a Tuna Compostellana in Madeira, named Estudantina, playing and singing through the streets of the city. This tuna were made up of 55 members, directed by musician Augusto José Miguéis (1836-1900) (Freitas, 2008: 417)5, and it is the very first reference with the word tuna for a musical group we find in Funchal. Although it is not known for certain that this tuna had mandolins, it is plausible that it was so, due to the emulation made of the tuna from Compostella.

We also find in the case of Funchal’s group that first connection to the academic environment of the word tuna, similarly to what occurred in Compostella and Coimbra. This connection is maintained until the pbeginning of the 20th century, when we find again two tunas originated in the academic environment. For example, in 1905 there are accounts on the                                                                                                                          

5  «Funchal balls repertoire in the second half of the 19th century: Anselmo Serrão and Augusto Miguéis in Morais compositions and orchestra arrangements», Manuel (coord.), Madeira and Music – Studies (c. 1508-c.1974). Funchal: Municipal Enterprise “Funchal 500 Years”.

 

existence of a Tuna Académica dos alunos do Liceu do Funchal (Funchal Highschool Students Academic Tuna), in which we note a reference to four members playing the mandolin (Freitas, 2008: 420); and in 1906 Grupo Musical de Amadores “Passos de Freitas” (“Passos de Freitas” Amateur Musical Group) is created, whose main instrument was the mandolin (Clode, 1983: 357-358)6.

The case of Manuel dos Passos Freitas Group7 deserves a special highlight. It can be pointed out that this personality graduated Law at the University of Coimbra in 1896, and therefore had had the opportunity to take part in the Academic Tuna created some years previous, in 1888 (Clode, 1983: 357-358). For the currently known pictures of the group, it can be easily perceived that the lawyer from Madeira closely followed the tuna model of the University of Coimbra, which had in turn followed the model of Compostella; although focusing their practice on instruments of the mandolin family. It is also worthy of notice that throughout the article on music published in the Elucidário Madeirense, Dr Passos Freitas is the only one musician referred as a «mandolinist» (Silva e Meneses, 1984: 417), another indication of his role in the spread of the instrument in Funchal.

Ilustration 2 – Dr Passos Freitas Amateur Group, Vicentes Photography Museum

Considering this data, it is possible to deduce that the mandolin was first introduced in Madeira as a symbol of prestige and bohemia. On the one hand, the academic status restricted the instrument to a group of people from higher classes, and on the other hand, it was tied to social get-togethers and a manly, bohemian side. For instance, a first reference to this bohemian side is found in a poetic text published in Funchal’s newspaper Diário de Notícias, where the mandolin is related to the romantic context of                                                                                                                          6  The  year  1906  marked  by  Luiz  Peter  Clode  requires  some  reservations,  for  the  oldest  news  and  photos  we  could  find  on  the  Dr  Passos  Freitas  Musical  Group  date  from  1912.  We  could  not,  nevertheless,  lack  the  reference.  7   For   more   information   on   Manuel   dos   Passos   Freitas,   see   Esteireiro,   Paulo   (2008).   50   Histórias   de  Músicos   na   Madeira.   Funchal:   Associação   de   Amigos   do   GCEA   (50   Stories   of   Musicians   in   Madeira.  Funchal:  GCEA  Friends  Association).  

serenades, on the «bright moon nights», performed by «troubadours, under the gothic windows» (Diário de Notícias, 20-4-1895: 2).

In this bohemian male context, the worship of wine is also strongly associated with mandolin tunas. Back in 1912, a chronicle on a rehearsal of Dr Passos Freitas mandolin group humorously describes the wine consumption during the intermissions – but not only… - , as we can see in the following excerpt, in which the author alternates between a dialogue supposedly uttered by the leader of the group, Manuel dos Passos Freitas, and a comment of his own:

[Dr Passos Freitas] – Nascimento? Where is that devil? There he is, revering the repertoire. Oh, you scoundrel. The repertoire, in Dr’s [Passos Freitas] figurative language, is the variety of glass bottleneck vases containing the music with which the performers tone themselves up during the intermissions (L.P., 1912: 104-106).

Another important aspect of this chronicle is that it shows an informal side of those rehearsals, unveiling the familiar relationships these tunas made possible. For instance, Dr Passos Freitas referred to the mandolins as «the crickets» and the musicians got the code name «magicians».

Thus, one of the first conclusions about the diffusion of the mandolin in Madeira is that this instrument was mainly popularized through the group practice in male tunas, and secondarily through the distinctively feminine ballroom practice. What is certainly known is that there is a picture of girls with mandolins dating from 1912, at the Vicentes Photography Museum – the Lacerda Girls – indicating the mandolin practice in the ballroom ambience. It is also relevant that this is the only known photograph of the kind, considering the tens of those of male tunas with mandolins in Madeira.

These first male tunas of mandolins in Funchal must have had great success, as many musicians and groups dedicated to these instruments arouse in the following years. A proof of this is the 1910’s Diário de Notícias advertisement by musician Alfredo A. Graça, 27 Infantry band quartermaster, stating that apart from teaching piano and rebec through the Real Conservatório de Lisboa (Royal Conservatory of Lisbon) course, he also taught classes of «mandolin by Christofaro y Gautiero method» (Diário de Notícias, 17/07/1910: 2). This first reference to mandolin teaching in newspapers strengthens the hypothesis of a great diffusion of the mandolin already in the first quarter of the 20th century.

Another indication of its spread is the advent of references to musical instrument builders that together with other string instruments also made

mandolins. There are accounts on the Portuguese monarchs King Dom Carlos and Queen Dona Amélia visiting Madeira in 1901 and receiving two mandolins from builder Augusto da Costa, one shaped as a vase and the other as a ship (Nóbrega, 1901: 106). Furthermore, a studio photo shot by Vicente Gomes da Silva (1827-1906) of Augusto da Costa in 1897 is currently known, in which a mandolin can be seen among other string instruments (Morais, 2008: 59-60).

Illustration 3 – Mandolin made by Augusto da Costa, 1897 photo – Vicentes Fotography Museum

José da Silveira is another builder largely associated with the first mandolin groups in Funchal. Madeiran intellectual Horário Bento Gouveia recalls that in between the two world wars «at 31 de Janeiro Street, there was a well known small mandolin, guitar and French guitar store» owned by José da Silveira, to whose name «plectrum groups that grew distinguished»8 in Funchal became linked (Gouveia, 1966: 274-275).

Horácio Bento Gouveia also refers that buider José da Silveira perfected his technique in Lisbon and back to Madeira, shall have been the most appreciated builder by the main musical groups of the time, such as the Círculo Bandolinístico da Madeira (Madeira Mandolin Circle), directed by Carlos Santos and Septeto Passos Freitas (Passos Freitas Septet), as it can be inferred from the following text:

The guitar and the mandolin reach technical perfection through the meticulous and impeccable art of José the guitarist. A mandolin is made to the «Círculo bandolinístico» (Mandolin Circle), which, according to eminent French musicologist and musician

                                                                                                                         8  [In  Portuguese,  the  expression  «Grupos  de  Palheta»  (plectrum  groups)  refers  to  mandolin  groups;  this  note  is  just  to  avoid  confusion  with  the  windwood  tool  reed,  which  in  Portuguese  is  named  identically:  palheta.]  

Mário Maciocchi9, is not surpassed by Parisian making. And the famous islander guitarist makes innovations in the mandolin, creating the 29-tone scale. Soul accomplice of “Passos Freitas Septet”, he was the artist-artisan of the mandolins that marked the glory of so many unforgettable soirées (Gouveia, 1966: 275).

Another factor adding to the mandolin acceptance in Madeira had to do with its easy playing when compared to the alternative melodic instrument among musical groups at that time, the violin. Whereas professional and more skilled musicians seem to have maintained the preference for the violin, popular groups frequently chose the mandolin instead. A good example of this are in the records of a case occurred in the Sociedade União e Fraternidade (Union and Fraternity Society), where «by virtue of the death of some of its players […] it was resolved that bow instruments be replaced by plectrum [mandolin]». If we consider that the then new director of this society, musician Carlos Gomes, was a mandolin player, and his father, Francisco Gomes was a violinist, hence this transition from violins to mandolins appear to have also been related to a change of generations.

The fact that the mandolin has similar scale and intonation to the violin (from shrill to deep: E, A, D, G) was also an important reinforcement to its spread, since those who played the violin would easily adapt to the mandolin practice. Consequently, it became usual to find repertoire for mandolin duplicated from pieces written for violin. This last information clearly indicates what is perceived in some pictures of the time: in some tunas, mandolins and violins coexisted, probably being played in the same melodies. Therefore, as the violin practice was widely spread, the mandolin was easily integrated due to the similarities of intonation with the former.

Finally, there is a central factor that enabled the dissemination of the mandolin practice: the non-existence of the new technologies that subsequently dominated the musical entertainment in the 20th century, the telephony and the gramophone. When the mandolin began to be spread across Madeira, it was the pre gramophone and telephony age, and musical groups had the function of entertaining that was later replaced by these new technologies. Horácio Bento Gouveia had a curious negative reaction against these new technologies, defending the mandolin groups that dominated music in Madeira in the first half of the 20th century. One of the main arguments against the records and the radio, according to the Madeiran intellectual, was that they did not expressed feelings so honestly:

                                                                                                                         9  Mário  Mariocchi  was  the  well-­‐known  mandolinist  who  created  the  highly  regarded  Parisian  mandolin  magazine  L'Estudiantina.  

 

[In the time between the two great wars,] in the city and suburbs, musical groups were a positive mark of the collective interest in paying vassalage to Apollo, because they then lived more for the spirit, from within. The environment was of sincere communication of feelings. Serenades directly conveyed them in the melancholy of the chords and songs and not as today, by means of records, on radio station transmitters, accompanied by a sugar-dripping verbal dedication. Fingers and plectrums were what produced sounds (Gouveia, 1966: 274).

Diagram 1 – Origins and causes of the spread of the mandolin in Madeira

Musicians and Groups

Tens of mandolin groups were created in Madeira from the last quarter of the 19th until the mid-20th century. This phenomenon of diffusion of mandolin groups also occurred throughout the major countries in Europe and in the United States, especially from the end of the 19th century until the beginning of the First World War. At that time, there were hundreds of amateur mandolin orchestras in different artistic levels, for instance, in France and Germany (Tyler e Sparks, Grove Music Online).

Even though Augusto José Miguéis was the first musician - according to current knowledge – to conduct a tuna in the academic style, it was probably Manuel dos Passos Freitas the first great supporter of the mandolin and the tunas in Funchal. His role was not only for the spread of the mandolin, as according to some sources the musician-lawyer also tried to contribute for a change in kind and quality of repertoire played by Madeira’s musical groups. Luiz Peter Clode, who was in familiar terms with Dr Passos Freitas, affirmed that he was the «precursor of the true music movement» in Madeira (Clode, 1983: 358). This «musical pioneer» designation must be understood based on the popular classical repertoire performed by his mandolin group, that differed from the zarzuelas and revue songs that then dominated Funchal’s music. For example, in the quarterly published magazine “Ilustração Madeirense”, dating from October 1930 – coordinated by Viscount of Porto da Cruz –, article writer Fonseca Duarte affirmed that although «there is no street [in Funchal] where we can not hear the piano […] the repertoire is remarkably characterized by bad taste». Facing this negative scenario, Fonseca Duarte emphasized «Dr Passos Freitas heroic effort» (Ilustração Madeirense, October, 1930: 1). Musical quality of groups conducted by Dr Passos Freitas was not only assigned by Fonseca Duarte. The Elucidário Madeirense states that among «the several musical groups [in Funchal], the one directed by Dr Manuel dos Passos Freitas, highly distinct lawyer and musician, distinguish itself» (Silva e Meneses, 1984: 418).

Another factor that may have contributed to the success and prestige of this first mandolin groups were two journeys Dr Passos Freitas group took to Canary Islands. According to Luiz Peter Clode, the group from Madeira had enormous success in the neighbour archipelago, and this success outside Madeira might have encouraged the emergence of other groups of equal style.

One of Dr Passos Freitas disciple, Fernando Clairouin, also contributed to the increasing prestige of mandolin groups in Funchal. In 1928, leading the then Dr Passos Freitas Sextet – in which the lawyer no longer took part –, Clarouin’s group made an expedition to London, and apart from carrying out musical presentations, was invited to record a set of albums for the publishing company His Master’s Voice, therefore becoming one of the pioneer musical groups from Madeira to do so. This successful episode in England was another contribution to the expansion and prestige of mandolin groups in Madeira.

Another prominent musician at that time was Carlos Maria dos Santos (1893 - 1955). Although widely remembered in history for his

ethnographic works, he was a protagonist among mandolin groups in a primary phase of his musical activity. At the age 20, he created a group of mandolinists which performed in Machico and Porto Santo, and in the 1920’s assumed artistic direction of the “6 de Janeiro de 1915” group, contributing to its transformation and change of name to “Círculo Bandolinístico da Madeira” (Madeira Mandolin Circle).

In leadership of this musical group, Carlos Santos was awarded the first prize in a contest for plectrum orchestras carried out at the Baltazar Dias Municipal Theatre in 1929, whose jury president was the highly regarded conductor Francisco Lacerda, and organized two musical expeditions to the Azores Archipelago in 1929 and 1930 (Clode, 1983: 424) (Santos, 1993: 2) (Freitas, 2008: 426). The merit attributed to the Madeiran musician in the mandolin field was recognized worldwide, as he was awarded with the Diplôme de la Médaille de L'Estudiantina, by the periodical specialized in music for mandolin founded in 1905, L'Estudiantina.

Illustration 4 – Medal attributed to Carlos Santos, L’Estudantina, Xarabanda Files

Along with Grupo Dr Passos Freitas and the Círculo Bandolinístico da Madeira, there were many other groups at that time that are worthy of emphasis, as Horacio Bento Gouveia points out: «"Grupo Musical Faialense" (Faial Musical Group); "Grupo da Fé" de S. Roque (São Roque’s “Grupo da Fé”); "Juventude Católica" de Câmara de Lobos (Câmara de Lobos “Catholic Youth”); "Juventude Católica", de St. António (Santo António’s Catholic Youth), etc.» (Gouveia, 1966: 275), to which can be added the group Recreio Musical União da Mocidade (Youth Union

Musical Recreation), first formed in 1913 with the name Reunião Musical da Mocidade (Youth Musical Reunion), an institution that still exists today with the designation Madeira Mandolin Orchestra.

It is interesting to note the great significance of catholic associations on the list pointed by Horácio Bento Gouveia. As Manuel Pedro Freitas refers, in an article about musical groups in Madeira, «youth catholic associations composed, over all places where they were created, important recreational development centres for Madeira’s musical groups […], with a tuna of mandolins, a choir group, a theatre group, etc being invariably associated to them.» (Freitas, 2008: 416-418).

Groups with mandolins in Madeira (1889-1943) - (Non-exhaustive list)

Year of Foundation

Tuna Compostellana (Madeira) 1889 Tuna Académica (Liceu do Funchal) (Academic Tuna of Funchal Highschool Students) 1905

Grupo de Amadores de Música “Passos Freitas” (“Passos de Freitas” Amateur Musical Group) 1906

As Meninas Lacerda (The Lacerda Girls) 1912 Grupo Reunião Musical da Mocidade (Orquestra de Bandolins da Madeira) (Youth Musical Reunion – Madeira Mandolin Orchestra)

1913

Grupo 6 de Janeiro de 1915 (Círculo Bandolinístico da Madeira) (6 de Janeiro de 1915 Group – Madeira Mandolin Circle)

1915

Grémio Musical 10 de Junho de 1920 1920 Septeto Dr. Passos Freitas (Dr Passos Freitas Septet - reduced version from original group) 1920

Quarteto do Sr. Arsénio (Santa Cruz) (Mr Arsénio Quartet - Santa Cruz) 1920

Grupo Musical Faialense (Faial Musical Group) 1923 Núcleo Bandolinístico de Câmara de Lobos (Câmara de Lobos Mandolin Nucleous) 1930

Grupo Bandolinístico de Santo António (Santo António Mandolin Group) 1934

Grupo Bandolinístico União de Santo António (BUSA) (Santo António Union Mandolin Group) 1935

Grupo Musical Colares Mendes (Colares Mendes 1935

Musical Group) Orquestra Bandolinística Jazz Vieira (Jazz Vieira Mandolin Orchestra) 1938

Tuna Curralense 1939 Orquestra-Jazz Bandolinística Canavial (Canavial Mandolin Jazz-Orchestra) 1940

Tuna Bandolinística da Fajã da Ovelha (Fajã da Ovelha’s Mandolin Tuna) 1943

List 1 – Groups with mandolins in Madeira (1889-1943)10

In the 1950’s mandolin groups began to fade, what was largely caused by new technologies as the telephone and the records, as Horácio Bento Gouveia mentions: «telephone was the implacable blow to finish the machete, the guitar, the mandolin, the rebec and the harmonium» (Gouveia, 1966: 277). Only after April 25 (1974 Portuguese democratic revolution), mandolin orchestras have emerged again, and today there are 17 mandolin groups in Madeira, with emphasis to the Coordinating Cabinet of Artistic Education Mandolin Orchestra and the Madeira Mandolin Orchestra, from the Associação Recreio Musical União da Mocidade (Youth Union Musical Recreation Association).

Repertoire

As mentioned before, not only in Madeira mandolin groups had great significance during the first half of the 20th century. In many countries in Europe and in the United States mandolin orchestras arouse, generally performing a light classical repertoire.

In Madeira, Dr Passos Freitas Group is a good example of devotion to classical repertoire for mandolin. In the already mentioned description of

                                                                                                                         10  A  more  extended  list  of  mandolin  groups  founded  in  Madeira  in  the  first  half  of  the  20th  century  can  be  found  in  FREITAS,  Manuel  Pedro  S.  (2008).  «Grupos  Musicais  Madeirenses  entre  1850  e  1974»  em  A  Madeira   e   a   Música:   Estudos   [c.   1508-­‐c.1974],   Manuel   Morais   (coord.).   Funchal:   Empresa   Municipal  “Funchal  500  Anos”,  pp.  394-­‐505  [«Musical  Groups  of  Madeira  between  1850  and  1974»  in  Madeia  and  Music:   Studies   [c.   1508-­‐c.1974],  Manuel  Morais   (coord.).   Funchal:  Municipal   Enterprise   “Funchal   500  Years”]  pp.  394-­‐505.  

 

the group’s rehearsal, the author notes that the repertoire played on that day was composed of two opera fantasias from Freischutz and The Merry Widow (L.P., 1912: 104). Dr Passos Freitas Septet, first formed in 1920, a reduced group from the original members, also followed this line of aesthetics and also had in its repertoire arias from well-known operas, such as «Quando m’en vo» from Puccini’s La Bohème.

Non-exhaustive list of repertoire played by Dr Passos Freitas Septet

Song title Composer Aria “Quando m'en vo” from La Bohème G. Puccini

Fado Rui Coelho Spanish Serenade J. Malats Dance Norvegiene E. Grieg Fado N.º 11 Raul de Campos Air de Ballet C. Chaminade Sérénade D’Arlequim à Colombine N. Lambert Bailarico Minhoto Raul de Campos Dansa dos Conversados Raul de Campos

List 2 – Musical repertoire played by Dr Passos Freitas Septet

Júlio de Câmara (1876-1950) was a highly regarded musician in Funchal and advocate of the classical repertoire for mandolin; one of the major Portuguese singers of the first quarter of the 20th century, performing in theatres in Italy, Lisbon, Brazil and in the then designated Union of South Africa (Borba e Graça, 1962: 257). Born in Lisbon, he lived in Funchal between 1919 and 1925, when he fostered the vocal music practice in Madeira by creating a singing school, and contributed to the spread of the mandolin practice. A mark of his contribution in both areas is a concert programme he produced on April 28, 1928, in which a mandolin sextet played a central role in almost all pieces along with the singers. The musical programme was composed of a light classical repertoire, featured by great opera composers of the 19th century: Verdi, Bizet, Donizetti, Puccini, among others (Diário da Madeira, 25/4/1920: 3).

Besides being a singer, Júlio Câmara might have also been an excellent mandolin player, with the best knowledge of repertoire for this

instrument at that time. In the concert programme referred above, he performed some pieces in duet with Luiz Pinheiro; pieces written for mandolin by Carlo Munieri (1859-1911) from Florence, one of the pioneer revivalists of music for mandolin at the end of the 19th century, whose repertoire was essential to the improvement in technique and quality standards of the instrument (Tyler e Sparks, Grove Music Online): a Donizetti’s Romanza and a Beethoven’s Polonese.

Illustration 5 – Júlio Câmara (1876-1950), National Library

He also composed some pieces for mandolin, two of which currently known and kept in the library of the Conservatório-Escola das Artes (Conservatory Art School of Funchal): Pensiero libero (Prelude) and a Fado for mandolin and piano11. Both compositions are highly virtuous; it is noteworthy that the Fado is in two versions: a virtuous one and an «easy transcription», the latter surely addressed to the amateurs that would likely play it in the private ballrooms.

Nevertheless, Madeira’s groups’ main repertoire at that period did not belong to the universe of classical music but to the popular. From a

                                                                                                                         11   These   Júlio  Câmara’s   compositions  were   recently   found  by  militaries   Juvenal  Dantas,   Luís  Monteiro  and  José  Cunha,  who  I  thank  for  sharing  their  discovery  with  me.  

sample of 326 scores with parts for mandolin, made of pieces played at the time studied, it is possible to determine that most part of the repertoire played by Madeira’s tunas was made up of popular styles, related to ballroom dances or to revues’ sung segments, such as the tango, one step, fox trots, fados, canzonets, marches, etc.

Dr Passos Freitas Septet combined classical pieces with other characteristically popular in its repertoire. For example, together with La Bohéme arias, serenades, traditional genres and original compositions from Fernando Clarouin, leader of the group, also appeared.

In the following chart it is possible to observe a quantitative distribution by genres of the 326 musical pieces studied. Among the favourite genres, marches, tangos and fados stand out; among the less played are some of those that were dominant in the 19th century as the polka and the mazurka.

Chart 2 – Repertoire observed distributed by genres

Among the curious aspects of this sample, it is perhaps significant the extended number of viras, the residual presence of the samba, anticipating its emergence worldwide in the mid-20th century, and also the low number of serenades, evidencing a disengagement from academic tunas with mandolins.

It is equally relevant the high number of authors from Madeira. Some musical pieces with parts for mandolin composed by Madeiran authors can be observed on the following list.

Title of the song with parts for mandolin Madeiran composer

Lamentos F. Clairouin

Palace Club (One Step) César H. Gonçalves Fox-trot Carlos F. Gomes

Fado da Academia

Música de Manuel Ribeiro

Arr.: Manoel Augusto de Ao que chegaste (fado slow) Carlos F. Gomes O Carreirinho (fox-trot) J. Neves O Fúsca (Passo ordinário) Ângelo Álvares de Freitas O Serpante (Passo doble) Francisco Correa Aurelio (Fox-trot) Raul de Abreu Venha daí “Vira” Carlos F. Gomes Azinhaga Artística Ernesto Serrão Quando o amor está perto Carlos F. Gomes

List 3 – Examples of musical pieces composed by Madeiran authors.

References

BORBA, Tomás e GRAÇA, Fernando Lopes (1962). Dicionário de Musica: ilustrado, 2 vols. Lisboa: Cosmos. CLODE, Luiz Peter (1983). Registo Bio-Bibliográfico de Madeirenses, sécs. XIX e XX. Funchal: Caixa Económica do Funchal. Diário da Madeira. Funchal: Empreza do Diário da Madeira, 1912- . Diário de Notícias. Funchal: [s. n.], 1876- . ESTEIREIRO, Paulo (coord.) (2008a). 50 Histórias de Músicos na Madeira. Funchal: Associação de Amigos do GCEA. FREITAS, Manuel Pedro S. (2008). «Grupos Musicais Madeirenses entre 1850 e 1974» em A Madeira e a Música: Estudos [c. 1508-c.1974], Manuel Morais (coord.). Funchal: Empresa Municipal “Funchal 500 Anos”, pp. 394-505. GOUVEIA, Horácio Bento de (1966). Canhenhos da Ilha. Funchal. Arquivo Regional da Madeira. Ilustração madeirense. Funchal: Companhia de Petroleos da Madeira, 1929-1934. L.P. (1912). «Grupo de Amadores de Música "Passos Freitas" - Primeiro Ensaio da Viúva Alegre» em Almanach Illustrado do Diário da Madeira 1913. Funchal: Edição da Empreza do Diário da Madeira. MORAIS, Manuel (coord.) (2008). A Madeira e a Música: Estudos [c. 1508-c.1974]. Funchal: Empresa Municipal “Funchal 500 Anos”. NÓBREGA, Cyriaco de Brito (1901). A Visita de Suas Majestades os Reis de Portugal ao archipelago madeirense: narração das festas. Funchal: Typ. "Esperança". Occidente: revista illustrada de Portugal e estrangeiro. Lisboa: Lallement Frères, 1878-1915. PINTO, João Ricardo (2010). «Bandolim» em Enciclopédia da Música em Portugal no Século XX (A-C), Salwa Castelo-Branco (Direcção). Lisboa: Círculo de Leitores, pp. 119-120. SANTOS, Rui (1993). «A biografia de Carlos Santos» em Revista Xarabanda (Número especial – 22 de Julho de 1993). Funchal: Associação Musical e Cultural Xarabanda, pp. 2-4. SILVA, Padre Fernando Augusto da e MENESES, Carlos Azevedo (1978), Elucidário Madeirense, 3 vols. Funchal: Secretaria Regional de educação e Cultura. Tuna Académica da Universidade de Coimbra (Sítio oficial). http://tauc.aac.uc.pt/postnuke/modules.php?op=modload&name=tauc&file=apresentacao (acedido em 30 de Março de 2010). TYLER, James e SPARKS, Paul. «Mandolin» em Grove Music Online. Oxford Music online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/46239

(acedido em 26 de Março de 2010). VIEIRA, Ernesto (1899). Diccionario musical contendo todos os termos technicos... ornado com gravuras e exemplos de música. Lisboa: Lambertini.