| Jose Mauricio Nunes Garcia is one of the most important and influential composers of late 18th and early 19 th century Brazil. His three orchestral works that survived in complete scores---Sinfonia Funebre (1790 - CT 230), Zemira (1803 - CT 231) and Abertura em Re (unknown date - CT 232)---are, to the present day, the earliest examples of orchestral music composed in Brazil.;The present study examines which possible models Jose Mauricio adopted for his symphonic works. It attempts to clarify the esthetical preferences regarding the symphonic repertoire in the environment where Jose Mauricio lived and worked, and to relate selected aspects of each of the above mentioned works to European compositional practices current during his lifetime.;Chapter One of this study delineates the criteria adopted for choosing this subject of study, examines the role that symphonic works play in our present understanding of music of this era, and surveys the conditions for cultural exchanges in colonial Brazil. Chapter Two delineates the musical environment in Rio de Janeiro, the place where Jose Mauricio, spent his whole life, demonstrating its close connections to the Portuguese metropolis. Chapter Three examines each of the above mentioned symphonic works, delineating a common formal model to them, and making considerations on generic differentiation for symphonic works in Jose Mauricio's lifetime. The Conclusion examines the limitations that this study encountered regarding the identification of possible models for Jose Mauricio's symphonic works, limitations related to our present vision of the music of this era, a phenomenon labeled as "the classical style paradigm.";Six Appendices complement this study. Appendices One to Three survey the repertoire of profane music performed in Rio de Janeiro between 1740 and 1830. Appendix Four surveys the operatic composers preformed on Portuguese stages between 1770 and 1792. Appendix Five presents the repertoire listed in the post-mortem estate of Jose Mauricio's music teacher. Appendix Six compares the length of structural sections in Jose Mauricio's examined works. |
