The Capela Real was the

royal chapel A royal chapel is a chapel associated with a monarch, a royal court, or in a royal palace. A royal chapel may also be a body of clergy or musicians serving at a royal court or employed by a monarch. Commonwealth countries Both the United Kin ...

and musical establishment of the kings of Portugal in Lisbon. The capela played an important role in the development of the music history of Portugal from its foundation by

Dom Dinis Denis (, ; 9 October 1261 – 7 January 1325 in Santarém), called the Farmer King (''Rei Lavrador'') and the Poet King (''Rei Poeta''), was King of Portugal. The eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second wife, Beatrice of Castile, an ...

in 1299.

Singing in the chapel

Dom Duarte (1391–1438), as Edward, King of Portugal, elaborated a Regimen (Ordenaçam) of the Chapel, which indicates that the standard practice was three-voice singing. His son, Afonso V (1432–1481), sent the mestre de capela Álvaro Afonso, to the court of

Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne ...

(1421–1471) in order to get a copy of the statutes, regimen and liturgy practiced in the English

Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also appl ...

. The detailed description written by William Say is kept at

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old to ...

Mestres de capela

Later composers serving the capela included

Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti, also known as Domingo or Doménico Scarlatti (26 October 1685-23 July 1757), was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the devel ...

who from 1719 until his death served as mestre de capela where his responsibilities included teaching the Infanta Maria Barbara and the king's younger brother, Don Antonio. Dennis Shrock ''Choral Repertoire'' 2009 - Page 221 "Domenico Scarlatti...and from 1719 until his death he served as mestre de capela at the Royal Chapel in Lisbon, Portugal, where his responsibilities consisted of teaching the Infanta Maria Barbara and the king's younger brother, Don Antonio."

References

{{reflist 1299 establishments in Europe 13th-century establishments in Portugal Culture in Lisbon History of Lisbon Portuguese music history