João de Sousa Carvalho

The composer João de Sousa Carvalho was born on February 22, 1745, in Estremoz, and is believed to have died between the Lents of 1799 and 1800, either in the Alentejo or in Lisbon. Considered the most distinguished Portuguese composer of the second half of the 18th century, he began his musical studies in 1753, at the age of eight, at the Colégio dos Santos Reis Magos in Vila Viçosa¹.

He continued his training at the Patriarchal Seminary in Lisbon and, in 1761, entered the Conservatorio di Sant’Onofrio a Capuana in Naples, alongside other Portuguese composers – the brothers Brás and Jerónimo Francisco de Lima and Camilo Cabral – all of them scholarship holders of King José I². He remained in Italy until 1767 and saw his opera La Nitteti presented at the Teatro delle Dame in Rome during the Carnival of 1766³.

Upon returning to Lisbon, he was appointed professor of counterpoint and later, between 1773 and 1798, mestre de capela of the Patriarchal Seminary. Among his disciples were several protagonists of the musical activity of the following generations: António Leal Moreira, Marcos Portugal, João José Baldi and, probably, João Domingos Bomtempo⁴. In 1778, he succeeded David Perez as music teacher to the court. He was tutor to Infanta D. Maria Francisca Benedicta, daughter of King José; to Prince José, son of Queen Maria I; to his brother João, who would later become king; to his sister, Infanta D. Mariana Victoria; and to Princess D. Carlota Joaquina⁵.

After assuming this role, João de Sousa Carvalho became one of the court’s favourite composers and took up a prominent position in the field of dramatic repertoire, having written multiple serenatas for the celebration of birthdays and other festive occasions at the Portuguese court, as well as several operas, mostly with texts by Gaetano Martinelli⁶. Regarding his technical qualities, Ernesto Vieira wrote.

Sousa Carvalho was a first-rate composer in his time, quite advanced, possessing all the resources thoroughly and using them with the utmost skill. The orchestra itself, even though it was something little valued in that era, is worked with care, especially the string quartet. The style is purely Italian, ornamented but not excessively, and the influence of David Perez is frequently discernible.