Saturday, 22 October, 9.30, p.m., 
Sé de Funchal 

Mozart: Church Sonatas 
Orquestra Clássica da Madeira 
Tiago Ferreira, organ 
Norberto Gomes, direction 

Mozart: Church Sonatas 

The seventeen Church Sonatas (Sonate da Chiesa) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were composed between 1772 and 1780, during his tenure as Kapellmeister at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. They are short, autonomous pieces, usually in A-B-A’ form, of festive, cheerful character and with fast movements (only one is marked Andante). In these sonatas, the influence of Italian baroque music is notable, as well as thematic elements and the use of the Alberti bass in the accompaniment that were in vogue in the instrumental music of the 18th century in Central Europe. The Church Sonatas are also interesting in that they confirm the tenuous boundary that existed between sacred and secular music during this century; one does not note any great distinction in the writing and style of one and the other, or in their intrinsic compositional elements. Liturgically, and according to the opinion of most music historians, they would have been played between the reading of the Epistle and the Gospel, for which reason they are also known as Epistle Sonatas, and generally each one of them corresponds to a Mass by Mozart. The earliest of them were written for string orchestra and organ, the latter functioning merely as a basso continuo, filling out the harmony. This attitude changed over the course of time: little by little the organ part ceased being merely an accompaniment and became more dominant, with brief melodic interventions, finally becoming a soloist. The orchestra’s composition also changed, with the introduction of wind instruments: firstly oboe and bassoon (as a reinforcement of the continuo); depending on the character and instrumentation of the Mass in which the sonata was played, trumpets and horns, and also timpani might be included. The Fantasy in F minor, or Adagio and Allegro Kv. 594, whose original title was “Ein Stück für ein Orgelwerk für eine Uhr” (a piece for an organ work for a clock) was composed in December 1790 and is a work for a “mechanical and automatic organ”. These instruments reached their apogee in the 18th century, the fruit of an interest on the part of high society in complex instruments that demonstrated a certein degree of innovative technology and science. According to Jakob Adlung, in a description from 1768, these instruments were similar to positive organs, with the pipes, wind chest and mechanisms inherent to an organ, but had no keyboard, and were not intended to be played, functioning instead by means of a perforated roll, which contained the previously “recorded” music. Mozart, according to some contemporary sources, was an outstanding organist, and the expression “In my eyes and ears the organ will forever be the King of Instruments.”. In spite of this, Mozart’s organ works such as these are not originally for organ, but for this kind of instrument, so that the Fantasy in F minor, for example, originally notated on four staves, is played in a transcription for organ. Various available editions of this work have different configurations. It comprises three parts: an Adagio of funereal and dense character (Mozart intended that the piece could also be performed in the context of a funeral) is preceded by a vibrant and virtuosic Allegro, in the key of F major and in a faster tempo. The finale takes up the opening Adagio once more, recapitulating its theme.

Tiago Ferreira

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

¬ Church Sonata in C major, KV 278

¬ Church Sonata in F major, KV 244

¬ Church Sonata in C major, KV 263

¬ Church Sonata in D major, KV 245

¬ Church Sonata in C major, KV 328

¬ Church Sonata in B flat major, KV 68

¬ Fantasy in F minor, KV 594 *
› Adagio

› Allegro

› Adagio

¬ Church Sonata in E flat major, KV 67

¬ Church Sonata in C major, KV 329

¬ Church Sonata in D major, KV 69

¬ Church Sonata in C major, KV 336

* organ solo

Participants

Notes about the Organ

Funchal´s Cathedral

At Funchal Cathedral, the presence of an organ can be documented from the very beginning of the 16th century. In 1739 King João V gave the Cathedral a new organ made in Lisbon by the organ builder Francisco do Rego Matos. In 1740 the Chapter had this instrument placed in the original gallery, placed in a recess above the former sacristy, situated to the left of the sanctuary (Ferreira 1963: 18-19). No longer in working order, this organ was dismantled in 1925 and eleven years later given to the Igreja do Colégio. In its place the Cathedral Chapter decided to buy the organ that belonged at that time to the Anglican Church. The minutes of the Chapter meeting of 5 January 1937 mentions “that by order of His Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Lord, the Bishop had bought the present organ belonging to the Anglican Church, the price of which was thirty-four contos and five hundred escudos (34,500 escudos), added to which the cost of transport, reassembly, etc.”, and that it was placed in the choir gallery at the main entrance of the Cathedral. This instrument, much altered since then, was built in England in 1884, having been ordered by an English doctor who resided in Madeira and also played the organ. At a certain point, this doctor had decided to give it to the Anglican Church.

The organ had resulted from the collaboration of various builders, though T. A Samuel (Organ Builder, Montague Road, Dalston-London) was responsible in 1884 for assembly in situ. The pipes – or, rather, some of them – were made by the firm Charles S. Robson (1861), the windchests by Wilson Gunnerson, the manual by the firm S. W. Browne and some of the metal pipes were the work of the company A. Speneir (1884).

Originally using tracker action, some thirty years ago the instrument was considerably altered, with changes made to the mechanism and the addition of a number of reed stops en chamade. These modifications have completely altered the organ’s character, without making any kind of improvement from a musical point of view. As a result of this, and with the intention of endowing the Cathedral with an instrument appropriate for liturgical purposes and for concert work, major restoration to the instrument was undertaken and completed in 1995/96 by Dinarte Machado.

I Manual (C-g’’’)
Open Diapason 8’
Flöte 8’
Holz Bourdon 8’
Principal 4’
Waldflöte 4’
Nazard 2 2/3’
Super Octave 2’
Mixture 1 1/3’ de 4 filas
Dulçaína
Trompette 8’

II Manual (C-g’’’)
Voix Celeste 8’
Gamba 8’
Gedeckt 8’
Principal 4’
Spitzflöte 4’
Octave 2’
Simbala 1’ de 4 filas
Krummhorn 8’
Tremblant

Pedal (C-g’’’)
Subbass 16’
Open Diapason 16’
Octave 8’
Bombarde 16’
Trompette 8’

Couplers
I/II
I/Pedal
II/Pedal