Joao Domingos Bomtempo : itinéraire de son oeuvre
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Paris 8Disciplines:
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Abstract EN:
The work ofjoao domingos bomtempo (1775-1842), the first symphonist and the only preromantic portugese musician, has been occulted for a long time. It takes place in a period of transition, between classicism and romantism. With the era of patronage ending, musicians were aspiring after their independence. In 1803, bomtempo was in paris and appeared to be a composer and a virtuoso pianist. After the occupation of portugal by napoleon, he composed and executed other pieces in london (1810-1814) where he became a founder member of the philharmonic society. He published his compositions in paris by leduc and pleyel, and in london by clementi. He also composed pieces of religious music (he had been educated in religious music and a oboist to the portuguese royal chapel). He became a militant to the liberal cause. We have analysed some of his intrumental pieces from the point of view of esthetics (sonatas, concertos, variations, symphonies and religious compositions). To understand the evolution of his work, we chose to examine the way he lived and felt during this period of historical and social transition, that is the romantic stream of which he was representative. We attempted thus to find the esthetic dimension of his work through the social and historical transformations of portugal and europe in that period. After the 1820 portuguese liberal revolution, bomtempo founded the philharmonic society at a time when italian opera was in vogue in all europe and especially in portugal. He then founded in 1835 the conservatory of music in lisbon. This institution caused laicization of musical education, allowing for the first time women to study music.
Abstract FR:
L'oeuvre de joao domingos bomtempo (1775-1842), le premier symphoniste et le seul preromantique portugais, fut longtemps occultee. Elle se situe dans la periode de transition entre le classicisme et le romantisme. Avec la fin du mecenat, les musiciens aspirent a leur independance. Au lendemain de la revolution francaise (en 1803), bomtempo se revela pianiste virtuose et compositeur dans un paris en fete et en effervescence culturelle. Apres l'occupation du portugal par napoleon, il composa et executa d'autres oeuvres a londres (1810-1814), ou il devint membre fondateur de la societe philharmonique. Il publia ses oeuvres a paris, chez leduc et pleyel, et a londres chez clementi. Il retourna a la musique sacree (d'ou il venait; il avait connu une education musicale religieuse et avait ete hautbois de l'orchestre de chambre du roi a lisbonne). Il devint militant de ta cause liberale et composa des oeuvres inspirees par le mouvement social portugais. Notre analyse esthetique porte sur quelques de ses oeuvres instrumentales (sonates, concertos, variations, symphonies et oeuvres religieuses). Pour saisir son oeuvre dans son itineraire, nous avons prefere une notion qui implique l'etude de son attitude, de l'interieur de son vecu, pendant cette periode de transition historique et sociale: la mouvance romantique; nous considerons bomtempo comme l'un de ses prototypes. D'ou notre effort constant de vouloir trouver le sens esthetique de ses oeuvres a la lumiere des transformations sociales et historiques au portugal et en europe, surtout pendant la premiere moitie du xixeme siecle. Apres la revolution liberale portugaise de 1820, bomtempo fonda la societe philharmonique (1822), alors que l'opera italien faisait rage en europe et surtout au portugal. Il fonda ensuite, en 1835, le conservatoire de musique de lisbonne. Cette derniere institution laicisa l'enseignement de la musique; pour la premiere fois les portugaises y accedaient.