In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer José Nunes García.
José Nunes Garcia
1767-1830
José Nunes Garcia was a Brazilian classical composer, one of the greatest exponents of Classicism in the Americas. Born in Rio de Janeiro, son of mulattos, Nunes Garcia lost his father at an early age. His mother perceived that her son had an inclination for becoming a musician and allowed him to continue his musical studies. Nunes Garcia became a priest and, when Prince John VI of Portugal came to Rio de Janeiro with 15,000 people, he was appointed Master of the Royal Chapel. He sang and played the harpsichord, performing his compositions as well as those of other composers such as Domenico Cimarosa and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and he was a very prestigious musician in the royal court of John VI. His musical style was strongly influenced by Viennese composers of the period, such as Mozart and Haydn. Today, some 240 musical pieces written by Nunes Garcia survive, while at least 170 others are known to have been lost. Most of his compositions are sacred works, but he wrote also some secular pieces, including the opera Le due gemelle and the Tempest Symphony.
Suggested Choral Works:
- Lauda Sion (pd.)
- Te Deum in D (pd.)
- Requiem Mass (Associated Music Publishers)