J. S. Bach in Portuguese: The Textual Choice of Furio Franceschini and Martin Braunwieser for Johannespassion, BWV 245

Abstract

Performances in Portuguese of foreign choral music were a common practice in the city of São Paulo during the beginning of the 20th century until the 1960s. However, translated repertoire increasingly fell into disuse by the second half of the 20th century, currently constituting a repertoire that has been little discussed in studies of performance and interpretative practices in Brazil. In this context, this article is a critical discussion in respect to the presence of choral works translated to Portuguese in in 20th-century musical practices of Brazil, starting with performances in Portuguese of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Johannespassion BWV 245 conducted by Furio Franceschini and Martin Braunwieser in São Paulo between 1940 and 1960 decades. Referenced as field of research in the history of musical performance , our discussion is grounded on a set of documents related to the above-mentioned concerts and a bibliography composed by Mahraun (2016), Stauffer (1997), Goehr (1992) and Doyle (1980). Both bibliographical and documentary research show that the use of translations was an interpretative choice directly related to both the conductors’ own ideas of the piece, as well as the European performance traditions related to this repertoire and the political and cultural conjunctures in the local ambit. Ultimately, this article makes evident the presence of this repertoire in São Paulo, its historical importance, its artistic value and practical applications, despite a context of growing authority of the musical work on the musical practices of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Keywords

• Canto em português. Furio Franceschini. Martin Braunwieser. Johannespassion BWV 245. Canto coral.