The Mandolin in Madeira (c.

1880-1950)

By Paulo Esteireiro

It is commonly said that the mandolin is an instrument of great

tradition in Madeira. This affirmation is usually based on the current quite
high number of mandolin orchestras existing in the region1 and at the same
time on a superficial notion that musical groups with mandolins have
existed for “many years” in Madeira. No one seems to know for certain
what is meant by “many years”, as opinions on when the mandolin was
first introduced in Funchal vary much.

Thus, this paper intends to answer the question of the origin of the
mandolin in Madeira, and therefore to answer other questions related to this
context, as who the pioneer musicians were, which factors contributed to
the acceptance of this instrument and what the musical repertoire played on
mandolin was.

In an attempt to answer these questions, several sources were

brought together such as periodicals of the 19th and 20th centuries, scores
by Madeira’s mandolin groups, iconographic documentation compiled with
assistance from Rui Camacho, president director of the Associação Musical
Xarabanda (Xarabanda Musical Association), and a recently published
brief synthesis of works concerning music in Madeira. Also, a sample of
326 scores was studied in order to get to know the repertoire executed2.

It is possible that the mandolin had gained great popularity in

Portugal since at least the 19th century. There are references to its practice
in the eighteen hundreds private ballrooms, possibly as an alternative
instrument to the Portuguese guitar executing melody lines (Pinto, 2010:
119-120).

In Madeira’s case however, it seems unlikely that the mandolin had

great acceptance before the last quarter of the 19th century. The several
                                                                                                                       
1
  The Associação de Bandolins da Madeira (Madeira Mandolin Association) relates on its website that
there are «17 mandolin tunas or orchestras currently active in the Autonomous Region of Madeira». See
http://www.bandolins-madeira.net/web/orquestras/ (accessed on March 26, 2010).

2
  The 326 scores sample is constituted of manuscript pieces for mandolin, which can be found in the
Ângelo Álvares de Freitasand Noé Cró Collections, in the Library of the Coordinating Cabinet of Artistic
Education.

 
investigations on music in this period indicate that the most popular
instruments in Funchal, with written repertoire, were the machete, the
guitar, the piano and the violin, no credible reference has been found so far
evidencing a general practice of the mandolin during the eighteen
hundreds.

Origin

Even in the national context, it is plausible that the overall and

popular spread of the instrument, outside ballroom circles, occurred only at
the end of the 19th century, through the tunas (musical groups composed of
university students) formed in academic environment. For instance, it is
curious that the musicologist Ernesto Vieira makes no special reference to
the mandolin practice in Portugal in his Dicionário da Música (Dictionary
of Music), published in 18993, only pointing out that this instrument was
used «in Italy and in the operatic environment, especially in Mozart’s Don
Juan and Verdi’s Otello» (Vieira, 1899: 85-86).

A decisive moment for the spread of the mandolin in Portugal

appears to have had origin in Spain. In 1888, the Tuna Compostellana from
University of Santiago de Compostela, probably made up with mandolins
in its orchestral assemblage4, visited the cities Coimbra, Oporto and Lisbon
- where it performed at the prestigious São Carlos Theatre – meeting with
excellent acceptance in all places, as the periodical Occidente states:
The tunos [from Compostela] before all else desired to pay tribute of esteem to the
Academy of Coimbra, and therefore went directly to that city, where they received an
enthusiastic reception by the students of the University, in which all inhabitants took
part. The displays of warm fraternization exchanged among the Portuguese and the
Spanish academics on that day were expressive and of an indescribable expansion
(Occidente, 1/3/1888: 50).

The enthusiasm aroused by the Tuna Compostellana was such that

the Tuna Académica da Universidade de Coimbra (Academic Tuna of the
University of Coimbra) was created in that same year, a musical tuna of
reference in our country, and also the oldest, becoming a pole of spread for
the mandolin practice in Portugal. If there are doubts about mandolins
being used by the Tuna Compostellana of University of Santiago de
Compostella, there are none that the Tuna of Coimbra had members
playing it since 1888. According to the Academic Tuna of the University of

                                                                                                                       

3
 Publishing date of the 2nd edition, consulted for this research.

4
 It is difficult to distinguish in the picture if the Tuna had mandolins or bandurras, a similar instrument
more largely used in Spain.  
Coimbra website, on its first performance, occurred on May 5, 1888, «the
group was made up of ten violins, two cellos, one double bass, two
clarinets, two C flutes, five mandolins and fourteen classical guitars» (our
underlining).

Illustration 1 – Academic Tuna of the University of Coimbra in 1888, Academic Tuna of the University
of Coimbra Venue

Curiously, the influence of the Tuna Compostellana arrived in

Madeira, even though it did not perform in Funchal. In 1889, the year
following its performance in Coimbra, there is news on the existence of a
Tuna Compostellana in Madeira, named Estudantina, playing and singing
through the streets of the city. This tuna were made up of 55 members,
directed by musician Augusto José Miguéis (1836-1900) (Freitas, 2008:
417)5, and it is the very first reference with the word tuna for a musical
group we find in Funchal. Although it is not known for certain that this
tuna had mandolins, it is plausible that it was so, due to the emulation made
of the tuna from Compostella.

We also find in the case of Funchal’s group that first connection to

the academic environment of the word tuna, similarly to what occurred in
Compostella and Coimbra. This connection is maintained until the
pbeginning of the 20th century, when we find again two tunas originated in
the academic environment. For example, in 1905 there are accounts on the
                                                                                                                       
5
 «Funchal balls repertoire in the second half of the 19th century: Anselmo Serrão and Augusto Miguéis
in Morais compositions and orchestra arrangements», Manuel (coord.), Madeira and Music – Studies (c.
1508-c.1974). Funchal: Municipal Enterprise “Funchal 500 Years”.

 
existence of a Tuna Académica dos alunos do Liceu do Funchal (Funchal
Highschool Students Academic Tuna), in which we note a reference to four
members playing the mandolin (Freitas, 2008: 420); and in 1906 Grupo
Musical de Amadores “Passos de Freitas” (“Passos de Freitas” Amateur
Musical Group) is created, whose main instrument was the mandolin
(Clode, 1983: 357-358)6.

The case of Manuel dos Passos Freitas Group7 deserves a special

highlight. It can be pointed out that this personality graduated Law at the
University of Coimbra in 1896, and therefore had had the opportunity to
take part in the Academic Tuna created some years previous, in 1888
(Clode, 1983: 357-358). For the currently known pictures of the group, it
can be easily perceived that the lawyer from Madeira closely followed the
tuna model of the University of Coimbra, which had in turn followed the
model of Compostella; although focusing their practice on instruments of
the mandolin family. It is also worthy of notice that throughout the article
on music published in the Elucidário Madeirense, Dr Passos Freitas is the
only one musician referred as a «mandolinist» (Silva e Meneses, 1984:
417), another indication of his role in the spread of the instrument in
Funchal.

Ilustration 2 – Dr Passos Freitas Amateur Group, Vicentes Photography Museum

Considering this data, it is possible to deduce that the mandolin was

first introduced in Madeira as a symbol of prestige and bohemia. On the
one hand, the academic status restricted the instrument to a group of people
from higher classes, and on the other hand, it was tied to social get-
togethers and a manly, bohemian side. For instance, a first reference to this
bohemian side is found in a poetic text published in Funchal’s newspaper
Diário de Notícias, where the mandolin is related to the romantic context of
                                                                                                                       
6
  The   year   1906   marked   by   Luiz   Peter   Clode   requires   some   reservations,   for   the   oldest   news   and   photos  
we  could  find  on  the  Dr  Passos  Freitas  Musical  Group  date  from  1912.  We  could  not,  nevertheless,  lack  
the  reference.  
7
  For   more   information   on   Manuel   dos   Passos   Freitas,   see   Esteireiro,   Paulo   (2008).   50   Histórias   de  
Músicos   na   Madeira.   Funchal:   Associação   de   Amigos   do   GCEA   (50   Stories   of   Musicians   in   Madeira.  
Funchal:  GCEA  Friends  Association).  
serenades, on the «bright moon nights», performed by «troubadours, under
the gothic windows» (Diário de Notícias, 20-4-1895: 2).

In this bohemian male context, the worship of wine is also strongly

associated with mandolin tunas. Back in 1912, a chronicle on a rehearsal of
Dr Passos Freitas mandolin group humorously describes the wine
consumption during the intermissions – but not only… - , as we can see in
the following excerpt, in which the author alternates between a dialogue
supposedly uttered by the leader of the group, Manuel dos Passos Freitas,
and a comment of his own:
[Dr Passos Freitas] – Nascimento? Where is that devil? There he is, revering the
repertoire. Oh, you scoundrel. The repertoire, in Dr’s [Passos Freitas] figurative
language, is the variety of glass bottleneck vases containing the music with which the
performers tone themselves up during the intermissions (L.P., 1912: 104-106).

Another important aspect of this chronicle is that it shows an

informal side of those rehearsals, unveiling the familiar relationships these
tunas made possible. For instance, Dr Passos Freitas referred to the
mandolins as «the crickets» and the musicians got the code name
«magicians».

Thus, one of the first conclusions about the diffusion of the mandolin
in Madeira is that this instrument was mainly popularized through the
group practice in male tunas, and secondarily through the distinctively
feminine ballroom practice. What is certainly known is that there is a
picture of girls with mandolins dating from 1912, at the Vicentes
Photography Museum – the Lacerda Girls – indicating the mandolin
practice in the ballroom ambience. It is also relevant that this is the only
known photograph of the kind, considering the tens of those of male tunas
with mandolins in Madeira.

These first male tunas of mandolins in Funchal must have had great
success, as many musicians and groups dedicated to these instruments
arouse in the following years. A proof of this is the 1910’s Diário de
Notícias advertisement by musician Alfredo A. Graça, 27 Infantry band
quartermaster, stating that apart from teaching piano and rebec through the
Real Conservatório de Lisboa (Royal Conservatory of Lisbon) course, he
also taught classes of «mandolin by Christofaro y Gautiero method»
(Diário de Notícias, 17/07/1910: 2). This first reference to mandolin
teaching in newspapers strengthens the hypothesis of a great diffusion of
the mandolin already in the first quarter of the 20th century.

Another indication of its spread is the advent of references to musical

instrument builders that together with other string instruments also made
mandolins. There are accounts on the Portuguese monarchs King Dom
Carlos and Queen Dona Amélia visiting Madeira in 1901 and receiving two
mandolins from builder Augusto da Costa, one shaped as a vase and the
other as a ship (Nóbrega, 1901: 106). Furthermore, a studio photo shot by
Vicente Gomes da Silva (1827-1906) of Augusto da Costa in 1897 is
currently known, in which a mandolin can be seen among other string
instruments (Morais, 2008: 59-60).

Illustration 3 – Mandolin made by Augusto da Costa, 1897 photo – Vicentes Fotography Museum

José da Silveira is another builder largely associated with the first

mandolin groups in Funchal. Madeiran intellectual Horário Bento Gouveia
recalls that in between the two world wars «at 31 de Janeiro Street, there
was a well known small mandolin, guitar and French guitar store» owned
by José da Silveira, to whose name «plectrum groups that grew
distinguished»8 in Funchal became linked (Gouveia, 1966: 274-275).

Horácio Bento Gouveia also refers that buider José da Silveira

perfected his technique in Lisbon and back to Madeira, shall have been the
most appreciated builder by the main musical groups of the time, such as
the Círculo Bandolinístico da Madeira (Madeira Mandolin Circle), directed
by Carlos Santos and Septeto Passos Freitas (Passos Freitas Septet), as it
can be inferred from the following text:
The guitar and the mandolin reach technical perfection through the meticulous and
impeccable art of José the guitarist. A mandolin is made to the «Círculo bandolinístico»
(Mandolin Circle), which, according to eminent French musicologist and musician

                                                                                                                       
8
 [In  Portuguese,  the  expression  «Grupos  de  Palheta»  (plectrum  groups)  refers  to  mandolin  groups;  this  
note  is  just  to  avoid  confusion  with  the  windwood  tool  reed,  which  in  Portuguese  is  named  identically:  
palheta.]  
 Mário Maciocchi9, is not surpassed by Parisian making. And the famous islander
guitarist makes innovations in the mandolin, creating the 29-tone scale.
Soul accomplice of “Passos Freitas Septet”, he was the artist-artisan of the mandolins
that marked the glory of so many unforgettable soirées (Gouveia, 1966: 275).

Another factor adding to the mandolin acceptance in Madeira had to

do with its easy playing when compared to the alternative melodic
instrument among musical groups at that time, the violin. Whereas
professional and more skilled musicians seem to have maintained the
preference for the violin, popular groups frequently chose the mandolin
instead. A good example of this are in the records of a case occurred in the
Sociedade União e Fraternidade (Union and Fraternity Society), where «by
virtue of the death of some of its players […] it was resolved that bow
instruments be replaced by plectrum [mandolin]». If we consider that the
then new director of this society, musician Carlos Gomes, was a mandolin
player, and his father, Francisco Gomes was a violinist, hence this
transition from violins to mandolins appear to have also been related to a
change of generations.

The fact that the mandolin has similar scale and intonation to the
violin (from shrill to deep: E, A, D, G) was also an important reinforcement
to its spread, since those who played the violin would easily adapt to the
mandolin practice. Consequently, it became usual to find repertoire for
mandolin duplicated from pieces written for violin. This last information
clearly indicates what is perceived in some pictures of the time: in some
tunas, mandolins and violins coexisted, probably being played in the same
melodies. Therefore, as the violin practice was widely spread, the mandolin
was easily integrated due to the similarities of intonation with the former.

Finally, there is a central factor that enabled the dissemination of the

mandolin practice: the non-existence of the new technologies that
subsequently dominated the musical entertainment in the 20th century, the
telephony and the gramophone. When the mandolin began to be spread
across Madeira, it was the pre gramophone and telephony age, and musical
groups had the function of entertaining that was later replaced by these new
technologies. Horácio Bento Gouveia had a curious negative reaction
against these new technologies, defending the mandolin groups that
dominated music in Madeira in the first half of the 20th century. One of the
main arguments against the records and the radio, according to the
Madeiran intellectual, was that they did not expressed feelings so honestly:

                                                                                                                       
9
 Mário  Mariocchi  was  the  well-­‐known  mandolinist  who  created  the  highly  regarded  Parisian  mandolin  
magazine  L'Estudiantina.  

 
 [In the time between the two great wars,] in the city and suburbs, musical groups were
a positive mark of the collective interest in paying vassalage to Apollo, because they
then lived more for the spirit, from within. The environment was of sincere
communication of feelings. Serenades directly conveyed them in the melancholy of the
chords and songs and not as today, by means of records, on radio station transmitters,
accompanied by a sugar-dripping verbal dedication. Fingers and plectrums were what
produced sounds (Gouveia, 1966: 274).

Diagram 1 – Origins and causes of the spread of the mandolin in Madeira

Musicians and Groups

Tens of mandolin groups were created in Madeira from the last

quarter of the 19th until the mid-20th century. This phenomenon of
diffusion of mandolin groups also occurred throughout the major countries
in Europe and in the United States, especially from the end of the 19th
century until the beginning of the First World War. At that time, there were
hundreds of amateur mandolin orchestras in different artistic levels, for
instance, in France and Germany (Tyler e Sparks, Grove Music Online).
 Even though Augusto José Miguéis was the first musician -
according to current knowledge – to conduct a tuna in the academic style, it
was probably Manuel dos Passos Freitas the first great supporter of the
mandolin and the tunas in Funchal. His role was not only for the spread of
the mandolin, as according to some sources the musician-lawyer also tried
to contribute for a change in kind and quality of repertoire played by
Madeira’s musical groups. Luiz Peter Clode, who was in familiar terms
with Dr Passos Freitas, affirmed that he was the «precursor of the true
music movement» in Madeira (Clode, 1983: 358). This «musical pioneer»
designation must be understood based on the popular classical repertoire
performed by his mandolin group, that differed from the zarzuelas and
revue songs that then dominated Funchal’s music. For example, in the
quarterly published magazine “Ilustração Madeirense”, dating from
October 1930 – coordinated by Viscount of Porto da Cruz –, article writer
Fonseca Duarte affirmed that although «there is no street [in Funchal]
where we can not hear the piano […] the repertoire is remarkably
characterized by bad taste». Facing this negative scenario, Fonseca Duarte
emphasized «Dr Passos Freitas heroic effort» (Ilustração Madeirense,
October, 1930: 1). Musical quality of groups conducted by Dr Passos
Freitas was not only assigned by Fonseca Duarte. The Elucidário
Madeirense states that among «the several musical groups [in Funchal], the
one directed by Dr Manuel dos Passos Freitas, highly distinct lawyer and
musician, distinguish itself» (Silva e Meneses, 1984: 418).

Another factor that may have contributed to the success and prestige
of this first mandolin groups were two journeys Dr Passos Freitas group
took to Canary Islands. According to Luiz Peter Clode, the group from
Madeira had enormous success in the neighbour archipelago, and this
success outside Madeira might have encouraged the emergence of other
groups of equal style.

One of Dr Passos Freitas disciple, Fernando Clairouin, also

contributed to the increasing prestige of mandolin groups in Funchal. In
1928, leading the then Dr Passos Freitas Sextet – in which the lawyer no
longer took part –, Clarouin’s group made an expedition to London, and
apart from carrying out musical presentations, was invited to record a set of
albums for the publishing company His Master’s Voice, therefore
becoming one of the pioneer musical groups from Madeira to do so. This
successful episode in England was another contribution to the expansion
and prestige of mandolin groups in Madeira.

Another prominent musician at that time was Carlos Maria dos

Santos (1893 - 1955). Although widely remembered in history for his
ethnographic works, he was a protagonist among mandolin groups in a
primary phase of his musical activity. At the age 20, he created a group of
mandolinists which performed in Machico and Porto Santo, and in the
1920’s assumed artistic direction of the “6 de Janeiro de 1915” group,
contributing to its transformation and change of name to “Círculo
Bandolinístico da Madeira” (Madeira Mandolin Circle).

In leadership of this musical group, Carlos Santos was awarded the

first prize in a contest for plectrum orchestras carried out at the Baltazar
Dias Municipal Theatre in 1929, whose jury president was the highly
regarded conductor Francisco Lacerda, and organized two musical
expeditions to the Azores Archipelago in 1929 and 1930 (Clode, 1983:
424) (Santos, 1993: 2) (Freitas, 2008: 426). The merit attributed to the
Madeiran musician in the mandolin field was recognized worldwide, as he
was awarded with the Diplôme de la Médaille de L'Estudiantina, by the
periodical specialized in music for mandolin founded in 1905,
L'Estudiantina.

Illustration 4 – Medal attributed to Carlos Santos, L’Estudantina, Xarabanda Files

Along with Grupo Dr Passos Freitas and the Círculo Bandolinístico

da Madeira, there were many other groups at that time that are worthy of
emphasis, as Horacio Bento Gouveia points out: «"Grupo Musical
Faialense" (Faial Musical Group); "Grupo da Fé" de S. Roque (São
Roque’s “Grupo da Fé”); "Juventude Católica" de Câmara de Lobos
(Câmara de Lobos “Catholic Youth”); "Juventude Católica", de St. António
(Santo António’s Catholic Youth), etc.» (Gouveia, 1966: 275), to which
can be added the group Recreio Musical União da Mocidade (Youth Union
Musical Recreation), first formed in 1913 with the name Reunião Musical
da Mocidade (Youth Musical Reunion), an institution that still exists today
with the designation Madeira Mandolin Orchestra.

It is interesting to note the great significance of catholic associations

on the list pointed by Horácio Bento Gouveia. As Manuel Pedro Freitas
refers, in an article about musical groups in Madeira, «youth catholic
associations composed, over all places where they were created, important
recreational development centres for Madeira’s musical groups […], with a
tuna of mandolins, a choir group, a theatre group, etc being invariably
associated to them.» (Freitas, 2008: 416-418).

Groups with mandolins in Madeira (1889-1943) - Year of

(Non-exhaustive list) Foundation
Tuna Compostellana (Madeira) 1889
Tuna Académica (Liceu do Funchal) (Academic Tuna
1905
of Funchal Highschool Students)
Grupo de Amadores de Música “Passos Freitas”
1906
(“Passos de Freitas” Amateur Musical Group)
As Meninas Lacerda (The Lacerda Girls) 1912
Grupo Reunião Musical da Mocidade (Orquestra de
Bandolins da Madeira) (Youth Musical Reunion – 1913
Madeira Mandolin Orchestra)
Grupo 6 de Janeiro de 1915 (Círculo Bandolinístico da
Madeira) (6 de Janeiro de 1915 Group – Madeira 1915
Mandolin Circle)
Grémio Musical 10 de Junho de 1920 1920
Septeto Dr. Passos Freitas (Dr Passos Freitas Septet -
1920
reduced version from original group)
Quarteto do Sr. Arsénio (Santa Cruz) (Mr Arsénio
1920
Quartet - Santa Cruz)
Grupo Musical Faialense (Faial Musical Group) 1923
Núcleo Bandolinístico de Câmara de Lobos (Câmara de
1930
Lobos Mandolin Nucleous)
Grupo Bandolinístico de Santo António (Santo António
1934
Mandolin Group)
Grupo Bandolinístico União de Santo António (BUSA)
1935
(Santo António Union Mandolin Group)
Grupo Musical Colares Mendes (Colares Mendes 1935
 Musical Group)
Orquestra Bandolinística Jazz Vieira (Jazz Vieira
1938
Mandolin Orchestra)
Tuna Curralense 1939
Orquestra-Jazz Bandolinística Canavial (Canavial
1940
Mandolin Jazz-Orchestra)
Tuna Bandolinística da Fajã da Ovelha (Fajã da
1943
Ovelha’s Mandolin Tuna)

List 1 – Groups with mandolins in Madeira (1889-1943)10

In the 1950’s mandolin groups began to fade, what was largely

caused by new technologies as the telephone and the records, as Horácio
Bento Gouveia mentions: «telephone was the implacable blow to finish the
machete, the guitar, the mandolin, the rebec and the harmonium» (Gouveia,
1966: 277). Only after April 25 (1974 Portuguese democratic revolution),
mandolin orchestras have emerged again, and today there are 17 mandolin
groups in Madeira, with emphasis to the Coordinating Cabinet of Artistic
Education Mandolin Orchestra and the Madeira Mandolin Orchestra, from
the Associação Recreio Musical União da Mocidade (Youth Union Musical
Recreation Association).

Repertoire

As mentioned before, not only in Madeira mandolin groups had great

significance during the first half of the 20th century. In many countries in
Europe and in the United States mandolin orchestras arouse, generally
performing a light classical repertoire.

In Madeira, Dr Passos Freitas Group is a good example of devotion

to classical repertoire for mandolin. In the already mentioned description of
                                                                                                                       
10
 A  more  extended  list  of  mandolin  groups  founded  in  Madeira  in  the  first  half  of  the  20th  century  can  
be  found  in  FREITAS,  Manuel  Pedro  S.  (2008).  «Grupos  Musicais  Madeirenses  entre  1850  e  1974»  em  A  
Madeira   e   a   Música:   Estudos   [c.   1508-­‐c.1974],   Manuel   Morais   (coord.).   Funchal:   Empresa   Municipal  
“Funchal   500   Anos”,   pp.   394-­‐505   [«Musical   Groups   of   Madeira   between   1850   and   1974»   in   Madeia   and  
Music:   Studies   [c.   1508-­‐c.1974],   Manuel   Morais   (coord.).   Funchal:   Municipal   Enterprise   “Funchal   500  
Years”]  pp.  394-­‐505.  

 
the group’s rehearsal, the author notes that the repertoire played on that day
was composed of two opera fantasias from Freischutz and The Merry
Widow (L.P., 1912: 104). Dr Passos Freitas Septet, first formed in 1920, a
reduced group from the original members, also followed this line of
aesthetics and also had in its repertoire arias from well-known operas, such
as «Quando m’en vo» from Puccini’s La Bohème.

Non-exhaustive list of repertoire played by Dr Passos

Freitas Septet
Song title Composer
Aria “Quando m'en vo” from La
G. Puccini
Bohème
Fado Rui Coelho
Spanish Serenade J. Malats
Dance Norvegiene E. Grieg
Fado N.º 11 Raul de Campos
Air de Ballet C. Chaminade
Sérénade D’Arlequim à Colombine N. Lambert
Bailarico Minhoto Raul de Campos
Dansa dos Conversados Raul de Campos

List 2 – Musical repertoire played by Dr Passos Freitas Septet

Júlio de Câmara (1876-1950) was a highly regarded musician in

Funchal and advocate of the classical repertoire for mandolin; one of the
major Portuguese singers of the first quarter of the 20th century,
performing in theatres in Italy, Lisbon, Brazil and in the then designated
Union of South Africa (Borba e Graça, 1962: 257). Born in Lisbon, he
lived in Funchal between 1919 and 1925, when he fostered the vocal music
practice in Madeira by creating a singing school, and contributed to the
spread of the mandolin practice. A mark of his contribution in both areas is
a concert programme he produced on April 28, 1928, in which a mandolin
sextet played a central role in almost all pieces along with the singers. The
musical programme was composed of a light classical repertoire, featured
by great opera composers of the 19th century: Verdi, Bizet, Donizetti,
Puccini, among others (Diário da Madeira, 25/4/1920: 3).

Besides being a singer, Júlio Câmara might have also been an

excellent mandolin player, with the best knowledge of repertoire for this
instrument at that time. In the concert programme referred above, he
performed some pieces in duet with Luiz Pinheiro; pieces written for
mandolin by Carlo Munieri (1859-1911) from Florence, one of the pioneer
revivalists of music for mandolin at the end of the 19th century, whose
repertoire was essential to the improvement in technique and quality
standards of the instrument (Tyler e Sparks, Grove Music Online): a
Donizetti’s Romanza and a Beethoven’s Polonese.

Illustration 5 – Júlio Câmara (1876-1950), National Library

He also composed some pieces for mandolin, two of which currently

known and kept in the library of the Conservatório-Escola das Artes
(Conservatory Art School of Funchal): Pensiero libero (Prelude) and a
Fado for mandolin and piano11. Both compositions are highly virtuous; it is
noteworthy that the Fado is in two versions: a virtuous one and an «easy
transcription», the latter surely addressed to the amateurs that would likely
play it in the private ballrooms.

Nevertheless, Madeira’s groups’ main repertoire at that period did

not belong to the universe of classical music but to the popular. From a
                                                                                                                       
11
  These   Júlio   Câmara’s   compositions   were   recently   found   by   militaries   Juvenal   Dantas,   Luís   Monteiro  
and  José  Cunha,  who  I  thank  for  sharing  their  discovery  with  me.  
sample of 326 scores with parts for mandolin, made of pieces played at the
time studied, it is possible to determine that most part of the repertoire
played by Madeira’s tunas was made up of popular styles, related to
ballroom dances or to revues’ sung segments, such as the tango, one step,
fox trots, fados, canzonets, marches, etc.

Dr Passos Freitas Septet combined classical pieces with other

characteristically popular in its repertoire. For example, together with La
Bohéme arias, serenades, traditional genres and original compositions from
Fernando Clarouin, leader of the group, also appeared.

In the following chart it is possible to observe a quantitative

distribution by genres of the 326 musical pieces studied. Among the
favourite genres, marches, tangos and fados stand out; among the less
played are some of those that were dominant in the 19th century as the
polka and the mazurka.

Chart 2 – Repertoire observed distributed by genres

Among the curious aspects of this sample, it is perhaps significant

the extended number of viras, the residual presence of the samba,
anticipating its emergence worldwide in the mid-20th century, and also the
low number of serenades, evidencing a disengagement from academic
tunas with mandolins.

It is equally relevant the high number of authors from Madeira. Some

musical pieces with parts for mandolin composed by Madeiran authors can
be observed on the following list.

Title of the song with parts for

Madeiran composer
mandolin
Lamentos F. Clairouin
Palace Club (One Step) César H. Gonçalves
Fox-trot Carlos F. Gomes
Música de Manuel
Fado da Academia Ribeiro

Arr.: Manoel Augusto de

Ao que chegaste (fado slow) Carlos F. Gomes
O Carreirinho (fox-trot) J. Neves
O Fúsca (Passo ordinário) Ângelo Álvares de Freitas
O Serpante (Passo doble) Francisco Correa
Aurelio (Fox-trot) Raul de Abreu
Venha daí “Vira” Carlos F. Gomes
Azinhaga Artística Ernesto Serrão
Quando o amor está perto Carlos F. Gomes

List 3 – Examples of musical pieces composed by Madeiran authors.

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