António Teixeira (14 May 1707 – after 1769) was a Portuguese

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. Teixeira was born and died in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. He was a royal scholar in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

from 1714 until 11 June 1728, when he was elected chaplain-singer of Lisbon Cathedral and examiner in plainchant for the Lisbon patriarchy. He wrote some festive

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

s for members of the aristocracy and also composed the music for two Portuguese

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s by António José da Silva. José Mazza stated that Teixeira composed seven

s, which were performed by large

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

s at the Teatro do Bairro Alto in Lisbon between 1733 and 1739. His surviving theatrical music shows him writing in the contemporary Italian style. His most important sacred work is a 20-voice '' Te Deum.'' It alternates the polychoral style of the Roman

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

with an operatic style in the solo sections. Teixeira's sacred works are now in the archive of Lisbon Cathedral.

Some compositions

* Masses * Miserere * Lamentations * Motets **''Gaudete, astra'' * Te Deum, 1734
Cantata: Gloria, Fama, Virtu
- cooperative transcription of the score from the manuscript in th
Wiki-score
platform. *Marionette Operas in Portuguese - mainly lost **except: '' As Variedades de Proteu'' (May 1737), for the theatre of António José da Silva. Score restored 1968, revived 1968, 1982, 2005.recording with libretto and essays, PortugalSom PS 5009

Bibliography

*Manuel Carlos de Brito: ''Teixeira, António'', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 2007-05-05), http://www.grovemusic.com *Manuel Carlos de Brito: ''Opera in Portugal in the Eighteenth Century'' (Cambridge, 1989)

References

Portuguese Baroque composers Year of death unknown 1707 births Musicians from Lisbon 18th-century Portuguese musicians Portuguese male classical composers Portuguese opera composers Expatriates in the Papal States Marionette operas {{Portugal-composer-stub