Seixas (real name, Vas), (Jose Antonio) Carlos de
Seixas (real name, Vas), (Jose Antonio) Carlos de
Seixas (real name, Vas ), (José Antonio) Carlos de, important Portuguese organist and composer; b. Coimbra, June 11, 1704; d. Lisbon, Aug. 25, 1742. He received his primary musical education from his father, whom he succeeded as organist at Coimbra Cathedral when he was 14; at 16 he was named organist at the royal chapel, a position he retained until his death; was knighted by John V of Portugal in 1738. He wrote a great number of keyboard sonatas (sometimes designated as “toccatas”), of which 88 are preserved. He knew Domenico Scarlatti personally, but was not demonstrably influenced by the Italian style of keyboard composition. Eighty keyboard sonatas by Seixas were ed. by S. Kastner in Portugaliae Musica (Lisbon, 1965); an overture, sinfonia, and Harpsichord Concerto were ed. in the same series (1969).
Bibliography
S. Kastner, C. S. (Coimbra, 1947); K. Heimes, C. S.’s Keyboard Sonatas (diss., Univ. of South Africa, 1967).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire