Francisco Xavier Baptista: New Biographical Data on the Identity of the Portuguese Composer.

Francisco Xavier Baptista: Novos Dados Biográficos sobre a Identidade do Compositor Português.

Nejmeddine, Mafalda S.^*

(*) Department of Music, Arts school, University of Évora.

Nejmeddine, M. S. (2015, 12-14 November). Francisco Xavier Baptista: New Biographical Data on the Identity of the Portuguese Composer [Paper presentation]. 5th National Conference on Musical Research, University of Évora, Portugal.  https://www.academy-on.com/videos/nejmeddine-ms-enim15-1-2019/

Little is known about Francisco Xavier Baptista who was the greatest Portuguese keyboard composer of the second half of the eighteenth century. This paper reveals new biographical data, clarifies some uncertainties about his identity and assigns the authorship of two sonatas to this Portuguese composer.

Pouco se sabe sobre Francisco Xavier Baptista que foi o maior compositor português para instrumentos de tecla da segunda metade do século XVIII. Esta comunicação divulga novos dados biográficos, esclarece algumas incertezas acerca da sua identidade e atribui a autoria de duas sonatas a este compositor português.

Francisco Xavier Baptista is one of the most important composers in the field of the Portuguese repertoire for keyboard instruments of the second half of the eighteenth century. His collection of twelve sonatas for harpsichord published in Lisbon around 1770 features amongst the rare works for keyboard instruments which were printed in Portugal in the course of that century. Despite the importance of his work and the relevance of his professional activity as organist of the Basilica de Santa Maria in Lisbon, the biographical details about Francisco Xavier Baptista that are currently available continue to be scarce. The recently released data about the professional career of this musician and composer, specifically related to the occupation of the post of organist at the Basilica of Santa Maria and the accomplishment of musical activities outside the institution, treat Francisco Xavier Baptista and Francisco Xavier Baxixa as a single person. However, previous informations indicates Francisco Xavier Baptista and Francisco Xavier Baxixa as two distinct musicians who lived at the same time. The existence of keyboard compositions whose authorship is identified by the names of Francisco Xavier Baptista and Francisco Xavier Bachixa imposed a depth research about these two names. This research was developed in two lines that are characterized by the collection of personal information and the search of informations about the professional trajectory of the musician. The results of biographical research and the study of contemporary documentation continue to reveal new biographical details about Francisco Xavier Baptista, and also clarify some uncertainties about the identity of this Portuguese musician and composer.

Francisco Xavier Baptista é um dos compositores mais marcantes no domínio do repertório português para instrumentos de tecla da segunda metade do século XVIII. A sua coleção de doze sonatas para cravo publicada em Lisboa por volta de 1770 figura entre as raras obras para instrumentos de tecla impressas em Portugal ao longo desse século. Apesar da importância da sua obra e da relevância da sua atividade profissional como organista da Basílica de Santa Maria de Lisboa, as informações biográficas atualmente disponíveis sobre Francisco Xavier Baptista continuam a ser escassas. Os dados recentemente divulgados acerca da carreira profissional deste músico e compositor, concretamente relacionados com a ocupação do posto de organista na Basílica de Santa Maria e com a realização de atividades musicais exteriores a esta instituição, tratam Francisco Xavier Baptista e Francisco Xavier Baxixa como sendo uma única pessoa. Todavia, informações anteriores indicam Francisco Xavier Baptista e Francisco Xavier Baxixa como dois músicos distintos que viveram na mesma época. A existência de composições para instrumentos de tecla cuja autoria é identificada pelos nomes de Francisco Xavier Baptista e Francisco Xavier Bachixa impôs uma pesquisa aprofundada acerca destes dois nomes. A presente investigação desenvolveu-se em duas linhas que se caracterizam pela recolha de informações de carácter pessoal e pela pesquisa de dados sobre o percurso profissional do músico. Os resultados da pesquisa biográfica e do estudo de documentação da época vêm revelar novos dados biográficos sobre Francisco Xavier Baptista e esclarecer algumas incertezas acerca da identidade deste músico e compositor português.

Music history, Portuguese music, 18th century, Keyboard instruments, Francisco Xavier Baptista, Sonata.

História da música, Música Portuguesa, Século XVIII, Instrumentos de tecla, Francisco Xavier Baptista, Sonata.

This work was supported by FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) through a research grant of the QREN-POPH with joint participation by the European Social Fund and by the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science. The author is most grateful to the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, Biblioteca da Ajuda, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (images provided by ANTT) and Arquivo Histórico da Irmandade de Santa Cecília for allowing the reproduction of images of cited manuscripts and editions.

The author certifies that there is no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this video article.

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Mafalda Nejmeddine concluded in 1995 the Diploma of the Complementary Piano Course at the Academy of Music S. Pio X in Vila do Conde. In 1999, she obtained the 1st Prize of Harpsichord from the Superior Conservatory of Paris-CNR. His academic career was completed with the Harpsichord Degree in the Superior School of Music of Lisbon, Master degre in Music Education in University of Minho, and with PhD degree in Music and Musicology in University of Évora, which has been supported of the Foundation for Science and Technology. She performed teaching activities, interpretation as a harpsichordist and research in the field of musicology. She edited the score of “Sei Sonate per Cembalo” by Alberto José Gomes da Silva, in collaboration with Gerhard Doderer. Her repertoire extends from ancient music to contemporary music with emphasis on Portuguese keyboard repertoire of the eighteenth-century.