Maria Helena da Cruz Martins Rodrigues Milheiro

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The Orpheonic Movement in Portugal: the case of the Orfeão dos

Trabalhadores e Artistas de Condeixa (1903-1929)

Abstract

In 1903, father João Antunes, founded a choir in Condeixa-a-Nova, which was

a reference to the groups that will define the orpheonic movement in Portugal, in

the first decades of the twentieth century. This movement, despite the impact it

had, only recently began to be studied. Why and how was this choir formed? What is

the impact of it in the daily lives of the workers in Condeixa? Who joined the chorus?

What repertoire was performed? Where was presented to the public? The data

collected show that the Choir of Condeixa, provided a space for dialogue between

different strata of local society.

Keywords: Orpheonic movement, Condeixa-a-Nova, João Antunes, Orfeão dos

Trabalhadores e Artistas de Condeixa.

Introduction

In 1903, father João Antunes, one recent graduate at the University of

Coimbra, founded one choir in the village of Condeixa a Nova, which was a reference

to the groups that will define the choral movement in Portugal, in the first decades of

the twentieth century. This movement, despite the impact it had, only recently began

to be studied in all its extension under the ongoing project in the Institute of

Ethnomusicology in Aveiro, entitled "Music in between: the ‘orfeonismo’ movement

and choral singing in Portugal (1880-2012) ", funded by the Foundation for Science

and Technology and coordinated by Maria do Rosario Pestana. This study is part of

that project and aims to contribute to the knowledge of the role of choral singing in

the construction of a new model of society.

Why and how was this choir formed? What is the impact of it in the daily lives

of the workers in Condeixa? Who joined the chorus? What repertoire was

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performed? Where was presented to the public? Sustained in bibliographic and

archival research in the current association Orfeão João Antunes and in the General

Library of the University of Coimbra and the Municipal Library of Condeixa-a-Nova,

the study explores the relationship between singing in choir and a liberal ideology

and republican array of "regeneration" of Portuguese society by education, art and

civic mobilization (Nóvoa, 2005; Ramos, 2009 and Pestana, 2012).

Orfeão dos Trabalhadores e Artistas de Condeixa

Pict. 1: “The orfeon condeixense with it’s founder and conductor João Augusto Antunes”from the

Revista Ilustração Portuguesa, Serie II, Number 340, 26th August 1912.

The Orfeão dos Trabalhadores e Artistas de Condeixa (1903-1929, 1941; 1956)

was founded in the village of Condeixa-a-Nova, in 1903, by the musicologist father

João Antunes (1863-1931). The first performance was the concert which took place

at the church of Condeixa-a-Nova, in 1903, this being followed by many other public

presentations all over the country, especially in the cities of Lisbon, Porto and

Coimbra. According to Manuel Rodrigues dos Santos, the Orfeão dos Trabalhadores e

Artistas de Condeixa got great visibility:

"In the first quarter of the twentieth century, echoed in the country the names of the Orfeão dos

Trabalhadores e Artistas de Condeixa and of father João Antunes, its founder and leader. He was

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ventilated in the columns of newspapers and enjoyed the gatherings of music lovers who considered

the precursor to the disclosure of the choir at the level of rural populations, a process in which these

populations were at the same time, agents and recipients of artistic message pane." (Santos , 1990:

45)

According to its founder, father João Antunes, the idea of creation of the

Orfeão came from a conversation between friends:

"Music has always been my passion. In Coimbra, I played at the Tuna Académica. Then exile here

(Condeixa), and meet, on occasion, with some friends, some evenings where each played what he

knew. Once came to us the idea of the Orfeão. We gathered who wanted to meet us, made the first

tests and came to what we are now. But through hard work! Calculate ... The music I know is little. So I

cannot pass at the moment the great difficulties of interpretation. Count me the successive rehearsals,

firt separate and then all together. Finally everything is obtained. That's what delights me... "(João

Antunes, cit in Santos, 1990: 47-48)

There were several designations of this group over time:

"The official name of the institution was, successively, “Orfeon Condeixense dos Artistas e

Trabalhadores de Condeixa”, “Orfeon de Condeixa – Escola Cantorum Santa Cecília” and “Associação

de Instrução, Beneficência e Recreio”.” (Santos, 1990: 49)

This initiative from João Antunes had impact in the contemporary press that

not only gave news of the performances of the Orfeão, but also mobilized the public

for their actions. Indeed, it is through stories and photographs published in the press

that we learn that it was a male choir that brought together adults and children,

peasants, workers and professionals of the state. According to Afonso Lopes Vieira, it

consisted on:

"An association of workers, employees of commerce and State, old men with 70 years old and

children with 12. The school teacher is in the Orfeão, and sings with some of his disciples. Within this

brotherhood disappear the differences in wealth, individual opinions, only the group lives, only the

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choir survives. This is the spirit of orfeons and this is, to my knowledge, the 1st attempt of that sort to

be made in Portugal." (Vieira, 1916)

This gregarious nature so often emphasized in the press that made the cover

of their actions reveals similarities with the nineteenth-century French orpheonic

societies studied by Jane Fulcher (cf. Fulcher, 1979).

Despite the Orfeão did not have its own headquarters, they rehearsed

regularly, often in the house of João Antunes himself or even in his work place

(Santos, 1990).

The choir had the following objectives:

"(...) Cultivating choral singing, industrial design and professional education in evening classes,

creating a music library and file organizing exhibitions of manufactures of the county, aid charities to

the poor, shareholders or not, resident in county, conducting festivals, auditions, concerts, tours and

dances."(Santos, 1990: 49)

Like any recreative association, this Orfeão intended, through music,

specifically choral singing, to provide its members a space for learning, not looking at

the social strata. For this, had three aspects: education (musical and general),

beneficence and recreation.

Repertoire and Programs

As to the repertoire, the Orfeão interpreted works of European composers

and music of oral rural traditions, as we read in the words of Afonso Lopes Vieira,

concerning the performance in the Theatre of the Republic in Lisbon on February 9,

1916:

"Let's hear some snippets of the great German music and some songs taken from our so

characteristic, so meaningless and yet so untapped musical folklore [...] Traditional Songs, flowers with

the scent of our countryside, our mountains and our beaches and bring in the rhythms of the

provinces. All these songs are old and authentic, prior to the influence of magazines and free of other

influences that undermine the musical folklore. Some of them come from the region of Coimbra to

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the sea [...] as in Buarcos, where there are perhaps the most beautiful of Portugal’s singers [...]”

(Vieira , 1916)

The program of this public presentation was published in the journal Ecco

Musical:

“1st part, Hymn to the night from Beethoven, Adoramus Te from Palestrina, Choral from J. S. Bach;

Cantiga da Mofina Mendes, João de Badajoz; 2nd part: Chanson du Printemps, Mendelssohn by the

Academic Scgool’s Orchestra; by the choir: shepherd’s Song from Serrana, Keil, Russian Song,

Christmas Song (Ribatejo), Galician Song; 3rd part: Portuguese Rhapsody from A. Eduardo Ferreira, by

the Academy’s Orchestra; by the choir: 1. Senhora do Livramento; 2. A moda da Rita; 3. Senhora da

Encarnação; 4. O lenço; 5. Rouxinol e Rosa; 6. Santo Antão; 7. Canção da cigana.” (S. a., 1916b: 50)

The performances of the choir consisted of several parts, which were

performed by the Orfeão and instrumental parts, beginning with a brief conference.

An example of this performative model is one concert in Caldas da Rainha, in the

Park of Visconde de Sacavém, in September 12, 1915, which featured a lecture by

Afonso Lopes Vieira. In this concert, after the conference, started the choir, who

owned three parts, each consisting of choral (by the Orfeão) and instrumental music

(with guest musicians) (S. a., 1915).

Spaces and Performative Contexts

The Orfeão has performed in different spaces, open and closed, sometimes

for many people, as happened in the performances of 19 and 20 August in 1916 at

the Crystal Palace of Porto (the S., 1916a: 3.).

The concert in Caldas da Rainha mentioned above is an example of a

performance in the open, as it was held in the grounds of a stately home. When the

choir went to Lisbon in February 1916, the Orfeão gave two concerts indoors: one on

the Republic Theatre and other in the Santana Sanatorium, the latter being an

example of the philanthropic activity of the choir.

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“The trip to Lisbon was registered in February 1916. The choir presented on 9th and 11th in the

Republic Theatre, then just rebuild, and on the 13th, in the Santana Sanatorium, an auditorium

consisting of blind people and patients of the sanatorium. "It was the Christian part of the tour,

touching and endearing" as commented Dr. João Antunes.” (Santos, 1990: 50).

Importance and End of Activities

In Portugal, with the first appearances of orpheonic societies, one of the goals

of such groups was philanthropy, as has been studied by Rui Marques. Thus, like

other orpheonic societies all over the country, the Orfeão dos Trabalhadores e

Artistas de Condeixa assumed a dedicated philanthropic posture especially for the

promotion of public education.

Among these initiatives stands out one in 1924 in Lisbon, at an undisclosed

location, in order to raise funds for the Design School of Condeixa (S. a., 1924, 404).

The Orfeão has hosted an "industrial school" (Vieira, 1916, 3) that "(...) held up from

1914 to 1927" (Santos, 1990: 59).

Despite their important role as an integral part of the culture of Condeixa, in

1929 the Orfeão ceased its activities, with the latest performances in Condeixa-a-

Nova and S. Pedro de Moel:

"This recurrence of the orfeão had a small duration. After acting in the latter phase and twice in

Condeixa for the benefit of the hospital of the village, the group departed, in September 15 1929, to S.

Pedro de Moel in order to deliver his swan song where there lived the poet murmurs of the Pinhal de

Leiria and waves of its coastline outside the major sponsor of its most resounding successes."

(Santos, 1990: 54)

Later, an attempt to resume the activities of the orfeão took place in 1941,

with no indication of conductor, also ending shortly after:

“In 1941 was created, in the House of the People, the "Center of Joy João Antunes" evocative memory

of his patron, and that included an orfeão. In the show's debut on July 22nd 1941, was shown a

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magazine entitled "Is not evil," authored by Dr. Fernando de Sá Viana Rebelo. This group also had no

long life.” (Santos, 1990: 114)

Another short-lived attempt occurred in 1956 but did not, however, avenged:

"In 1956 was celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the death of the "distinguished citizen", as old

members and other admirers in the call for acts of homage. (...) A set of 15 surviving members of the

Orfeão dos Trabalhadores e Artistas de Condeixa a interpreted, in fact, under the direction of Saúl de

Oliveira Baio, various numbers of sacred music that Dr. Antunes had taught them." (Santos, 1990:

114)

Father João Antunes (1864-1931)

Pict. 2: “Rev.º Dr. João Antunes: Father and lawyer in Condeixa-a-Nova. He is the conductor and has

been the soul of the Orfeão Condeixense, that is today in Porto”, fotograph from Porto Crítico, 19th

August 1916, year I, N. º 20.

Born in Coimbra in 1864, John Antunes graduated in this city in Theology

(1886) and Law (1892). After finishing the courses, he obtained the post of curator of

Land Registry in Condeixa and was a professor of choral music at the National School

of Agriculture in Coimbra, current College of Agriculture of Coimbra:

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"For over a decade he served as a Professor of Choral Singing in the Agricultural School of Coimbra, where his

disciples, in particular Antunes de Azevedo and José Bessa dos Santos who, before graduating in Medicine and

ascend university teaching, took courses at this institution (...)" (Santos, 1990: 67)

He was also chaplain of the now extinct Royal House and was considered a

distinct musician.

Despite settling in Condeixa-a-Nova, Coimbra was not forgotten by him:

"Coimbra, his land of birth and bohemia, and whose Tuna Académica streamlined, never abandoned

him at all, because his destination was a nearby village where carries dreams of youth and leaving in

Coimbra friendships and models who would help to realize them." (Santos, 1990: 21)

His vast activity in Condeixa-a-Nova began as soon as he arrived at the

village, founding and conducting the Orfeão dos Trabalhadores e Artistas de

Condeixa since the beginning of the chorus activity in 1903 and until its completion

in 1929, performing in various locations, including Lisbon and Porto. Many initiatives

of João Antunes in the village were borne by himself: "With no official support, in the

village triggers a febrile educational activity that will consume his personal fortune and even trigger

some self-righteous protests." (Santos, 1990: 21).

He also conducted the Orfeon Académico do Porto for some time and also

founded an orfeão in Figueira da Foz, the latter premiering in December 1925:

"But not even in those periods of leisure the father and jurist forgot his passion for choral singing and

its dissemination. Here's how it organizes and rehearses, within the Gym Club Figueirense an orfeão

that came to integrate more than one hundred elements." (Santos, 1990: 68)

"It happened also with the orfeão Figueirense, which premiered on December 12th 1925, at the

Casino Peninsular winter theater and behaved so as to justify lengthy applause." (Santos, 1990:

69)

João Antunes died without resources in Condeixa-a-Nova, in August 26th

1931:

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"But back to the last days of father João Augusto Antunes: those were times of hardship almost

touching the extremes of poverty, social erasure and agony that these mediate between 1929 when

he left his job as curator and saw his Orfeão become extinct, and death occurred on August 26th 1931,

when he was completing 68 years of life, 36 of which were consumed in dedication to the people of

Condeixa." (Santos, 1990: 106)

Conclusions

The data collected show that the Orfeão dos Trabalhadores e Artistas de

Condeixa integrated not only workers and 'artists' but also professionals, providing a

space for dialogue between different strata of local society. Despite the wide age

and social spectrum, the Orfeão excluded females.

This orfeão, singular in Portuguese panorama of amateur choirs, approached

the French model described by Jane Fulcher. The local impact of this constitution has

been repeatedly reported by the press. Incidentally, this was the main source of

documentation for this study. In the pages of local and national periodicals, the

Orfeão dos Trabalhadores e Artistas de Condeixa was presented as a model of ideal

society, and in the words of the writers should be replicated. However, this will only

happen occasionally such as in Serpa "composed entirely of young men of the

people" (1907: 144) consucted by Pulido Garcia, and in Lordelo Paredes, in 1924,

with the Choral Society Araújo Castro Lordelo Paredes, conducted by Virgílio Pereira

(Pestana, 2010).

The study reveals that the Orfeão dos Trabalhadores e Artistas de Condeixa

was a metaphor for regeneration and progress, according to a social model and a

space for social transformation, in line with a progressive and humanitarian ideal

prevailing in the years before the establishment of the Republic in Portugal.

Bibliography

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AMORIM, EUGÉNIO (1941): “Dicionário Biográfico de Músicos do Norte de Portugal”,

João Antunes, Porto, Edições Marânus.

CORDEIRO, GRAÇA ÍNDIAS (2010): “Associações Recreativas”, dentro de CASTELO

BRANCO, S. e outros (2010): Enciclopédia da Música em Portugal no Século XX, A – C,

Lisboa, Temas e Debates: Círculo de Leitores (82-83).

FULCHER, JANE (1979): “The Orphéon Societies: ‘Music for the Workers’ in Second-

Empire France”, International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, Vol.

10, nº 1 (47-56).

NÓVOA, ANTÓNIO (2005): Evidentemente: Histórias da Educação, 2ª Edição, Porto,

Asa Editores, SA.

PESTANA, ROSÁRIO (2010): “Orfeão”, dentro de CASTELO BRANCO, S. e outros

(2010): Enciclopédia da Música em Portugal no Século XX, A – C, Lisboa, Temas e

Debates: Círculo de Leitores (940-942).

PESTANA, MARIA DO ROSÁRIO (2012): Armando Leça e a Música Portuguesa, Lisboa,

Tinta-da-China.

RAMOS, RUI (co.) (2009): História de Portugal, Lisboa, A Esfera dos Livros.

SANTOS, MANUEL RODRIGUES DOS (1990): Padre-Boi não é Lenda. Esboço Biográfico

do P. Dr. João A. Antunes, Condeixa-a-Nova, Câmara Municipal.

S. A. (1907): “Orpheons Populares”, A Arte Musical, Ano IX, nº 204, 144-5.

S. A. (1916 a): “Orfeões Portugueses”, Porto Crítico, Nº 20, 3.

S. A. (1916 b): “Orfeon de Condeixa”, Ecco Musical, Nº 244, 50.

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S. A. (1924): “Escola de desenho e Orfeão de Condeixa”, Illustração Portugueza, II

Série, Nº 945, 404.

Web References

Municipality Condeixa; Culture; Great Figures: Dr. João Antunes: http://www.cm-

condeixa.pt/menu/cultura/figurasIlustres/joaoAntunes.html, (consulted: November

2nd 2012).

Associação Orfeão Dr. João Antunes; Novos Corpos Dirigentes:

http://orfeaodecondeixa2.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/novos-corpos-sociais/,

(consulted: November 2nd 2012).

Orfeão de Condeixa Blogando: http://orfeaodecondeixa.wordpress.com/,

(consulted: November 2nd 2012).

Interviews

António Pedro Devesa, in Condeixa-a-Nova by Maria Helena Milheiro, 26th October

2012.

António Rodrigues, in Condeixa-a-Nova by Maria Helena Milheiro, 23rd October

2012.