Volume 04
Antonio José Santana Martins (Tom Zé) - Impropérios

Short Review

Improperia was especially composed for the 1966 Holy Week concert, the event which originated the Group of Composers from Bahia. It is the work of a newcomer who at the time was one of Ernst Widmer’s composition students in the former “Free Music Seminars” at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA).

An instrumentation of woodwinds (1/1/1/1), brasses (2/2/2/0) and percussion makes up the musical environment of the short text inspired on the Improperia (Reproaches) of the ancient Catholic Easter liturgical tradition, articulated by a narrator and mixed four-voice choir.

Ricardo Bordini’s analysis focuses on the work’s motivic context, also identifying the origin of material derived from liturgical chants.