Scope and Content Note
The Alberto Nepomuceno Collection spans the years 1887-1988, the bulk of which dates from 1894 to 1920 and represents the development of Nepomuceno's career. He was recognized as a pioneer among Brazilian classical musicians and the "father" of musical nationalism in his country. In addition to being the first composer to incorporate native themes and rhythms into Brazilian art music, he built a career as a prominent teacher, theoretician, orchestra conductor, pianist and organist, and musical administrator.
The Music series consists primarily of printed and photocopied scores, among them the original Portuguese-Italian version of his opera Abul , printed in 1913, and a photocopied piano-vocal score of the French-Portuguese version of the opera Artemis . The series also includes the full score of his Série Brasileira , whose last movement, "Batuque," was the first symphonic depiction of Brazilian folk life, and the printed full score of the prelude O Garatuja, a work conducted and praised by Richard Strauss. The composer's three major string quartets are found within the chamber music, and the third in D minor, "Brasileiro," is an early example of Brazilian rhythms in art music. The piano works range widely in style, from Suite Antiga, which imitates Baroque keyboard music, to the Quatro Peças Lyricas, which begins in a Romantic style but finishes with the syncopated rhythms and improvisation unique to the Brazilian "choro."
The collection also contains a small amount of printed materials that comprise the Biographical Materials series, and portraits of Nepomuceno and his wife are found in the Photographs series.