SESC Partituras (review)

Abstract

SESC Partituras. [Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]: Servico Social do Comercio, 2007-. http://www.sesc.com.br/sescpartituras (Accessed 27 March 2015). [Requires a Web browser, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and an Internet connection. Pricing: free]Sesc (pronounced Seskey) is the Servico Social do Comercio [Social Service of Commerce], an organization providing programs and programming in the areas of culture, education, health, leisure, and assistance to those working in commerce in Brazil. The organization has no similar peers in the United States. Among its activities are cultural programs presenting films, live performances of classical music, and more.Sesc has supported a website offering Brazilian scores since 2007, when it provided technical support at 17 Sesc locations around Brazil, providing computers with score software (e.g., Sibelius or Finale), becoming an important resource for research and score editing for students and local musicians.1 The project was restructured in 2010, and the contents are constantly being updated. Any Brazilian composer (including foreign nationals who have been resident in Brazil for at least two years) can submit scores for inclusion on the site. The scores must either be public domain, or permission must be granted by the owner of the intellectual property (the composer or legal representative) to include the score on the site. Such permission includes authorization for the end user to print the material from the site.The site (as of now, only available in Portuguese) includes tabs for The Project, Composers, The Score, Music at Sesc, Concerts, News, and Talk with us. Navigation of the site is by composer name (a list for All is sorted, in the usual Brazilian way, by first name), with separate pages for each alphabet letter (indexing surname). At this level there is no classification of composers by period, genre, or other such parameters, nor are dates provided with the names. Once you arrive at the individual composer page, there are brief biographies, with dates of birth and death. Along with the scores (provided as PDFs), there are some works which have sound files provided, either MP3 or MIDI, or both. The other mode of access is through a search box which allows one to search by title of work or name of composer, with checkboxes for ensemble (solo, duo, trio, quartet, string orchestra, chamber orchestra, etc.) and instrument names (37, only in Portuguese). Around 1300 scores by more than 150 individual composers are available for free download.Since in Brazil the boundaries between classical and popular composition are less strictly drawn than in the United States, the user will find music in a wide variety of genres. Below is a sampling of composers that I believe will be of most interest to readers of Notes.Alberto Nepomuceno (1864-1920)15 mostly small works, but including String Quartets 1-3 (with scores and parts).Alexandre Schubert (contemporary, b. 1970)21 works, all chamber music. Notable works include Sonata for Trombone and Piano (with MP3), Sonatina for Bassoon (written for Elione Medeiros, with MP3), Micropecas [Micropieces] for Harpsichord or PianoAnacleto de Medeiros (1866-1907)One work, the waltz Terna saudade [Tender nostalgia] for piano (original) and arranged for brass quintet.Alexandre Levy (1864-1892)Levy died tragically young after having studied in Paris at the Conservatory, and his individual voice combining modern Parisian trends with Brazilian genres gained him an entry in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London: Macmillan, 1980). Four works: Andante for string quintet, op. 22; String Quartet (1885); Reverie (string quartet); Recuerdos (piano).Joaquim Antonio Barrozo Netto (1881-1941)Five piano works, three songs, two for voice and piano, one for voice and guitar. Barrozo Netto was professor of piano at the National Music Institute (now the School of Music of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), and his piano works are worth getting to know. …