Poem read by Gisela Casimiro.
Jorge Peixinho: CDE (1970)
Jorge Peixinho: Elegy to Amílcar Cabral (1973)
Jorge Peixinho: The Dawn of Socialism (Madrigale Capriccioso) (1975–76)
Jorge Peixinho (1940–1995) is a unique figure in the history of Portuguese music. To him we owe (as Augusto M. Seabra stated) “the effective beginning of contemporary musical practices in Portugal”. “It is never too much to remember him”, said the critic. However, all too often these practices are poorly remembered — reduced to the introduction of a serialist aesthetic in a national context, summarised briefly by his attendance at the Darmstadt summer courses.
Such a sketchy caricature overlooks his seminal work in electroacoustics, in incidental music for the theatre, and in his engagement with contemporary practices in other artistic disciplines. It also leaves out his tireless work in promoting contemporary music, which Peixinho understood from the very beginning as an integral part of his activity as a performer and composer: from the ‘succèsses de scandale’ of Cage’s first performances in Portugal (at the first of which our composer was a mere 21 years old), to the creation of the first courses dedicated to new music in Portugal, right through to the founding of the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group.
His participation in Darmstadt also deserves mention: the Darmstadt that Peixinho knew — and in which he gradually gained prominence — was that of the 1960s. In 1967 and 1968, Peixinho took part in two seminars led by Stockhausen, in which group composition experiments were carried out, exploring a radical, non-hierarchical polyphony composed by many hands. These two experiences — “fascinating”, the composer writes in correspondence — were decisive in shaping his future outlook.
It is here that we join him, with this concert. Whilst Stockhausen (as some contemporaries were quick to note) appeared uninterested (if not downright hostile) towards the utopian potential of his own musical proposals, Peixinho took it upon himself to explore what ‘political music’ might be. In a case of absolute originality in Portugal — whether during the ‘Marcelist Spring’ or the PREC (as in the works in this programme), or in the democratic period up to the present day — no other composer has been so committed to the musical expression of his political ideals in music, and of his musical ideals in politics. The pieces in this programme, with their scores open to individual interpretation and dependent on attentive listening amongst the members of the ensemble, offer models of sociability that can be described as democratic. If politics is the set of activities associated with group decision-making, this music is inherently political, far beyond the directness of its titles. These pieces are living testimonies to the spirit of democratic resistance to the Salazar regime and the desire to build a better country — and they remind us that, just like music, politics emerges essentially from our own hands.
Under the artistic direction of conductor Jan Wierzba, the MPMP Ensemble is a group with a flexible line-up – ranging from chamber music to choral-symphonic works – which, since 2012, has been working closely with musicologists and composers with a view to rediscovering historical heritage and promoting contemporary repertoires. It has performed at the Young Musicians’ Prize Festival (CCB in 2013 and the Gulbenkian Foundation in 2015) and at the São Roque Festival (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020). As the on-stage manifestation of the MPMP’s research and promotion work, it has revived, in modern premieres, works by Marcos Portugal, João José Baldi, D. Pedro IV, Joaquim Casimiro Júnior, Francisco Norberto dos Santos Pinto, Sá de Noronha, Freitas Gazul, Augusto Machado and Luiz de Freitas Branco (among others). In 2015, it staged the operas O cavaleiro das mãos irresistíveis and Cai uma rosa…, by Ruy Coelho and Daniel Moreira respectively, at the Municipal Theatres of Almada and Porto. In an orchestral setting, it was also conducted by Pedro Neves and Martim Sousa Tavares. He has taken part in various lecture series and public engagement initiatives (Proximidades, Histórias da Música em Portugal, Contemplações, amongst others), conceived by the MPMP and presented in dozens of venues across the country and abroad (France, Denmark and Brazil, a country he has visited on three tours, performing on such prestigious stages as the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo and the Cecília Meireles Hall, as well as recording a programme of Portuguese music for TV Brasil). He took part in the 2017 Dias da Música Festival (CCB), the Palmela International Saxophone Festival (2021) and the Sintra Music Festival, where he performed Bomtempo’s monumental Mattutino de’morti. More recently, he has taken part in the Música Viva Festival (2024) and the World New Music Days (2025). He has recorded for film, theatre and installation, and has released albums featuring music by Eurico Carrapatoso, Fernando Lopes-Graça, Ruy Coelho, Filipe Pires and Fernando C. Lapa.
