THE DIFFUSION OF THE OCARINA IN PORTUGAL AND BRAZIL IN THE XIX CENTURY

This work aims to reconstruct the steps in the spread of the ocarina in Portugal and, at a later time, in Brazil at the end of the XIX century, the consequent establishment of ocarina groups in the wake of the original one from Budrio and to fill the gaps in the information regarding the first Budrio ocarina group (the Montanari dell’Appennino) following the 1876 Lisbon concerts. After a meeting during the 2019 Ocarina Festival in Budrio with Mr. Inocencio Casquinha (Portuguese musician and instrument maker originally from Vila Franca de Xira), we became acquainted with a private collection of ocarinas kept in his village. In Vila Franca de Xira, a small town near Lisbon, one of the largest Portuguese collections of ocarinas (consisting of 23 exhibits) is preserved. After a careful analysis of some photos from this collection, in consultation with the esteemed musician from Budrio Fabio Galliani, we found that one of these items appears to be made by an artisan from Budrio, specifically by Ercole Mezzetti; it can be recognized by the fact that the last hole on the right (right little finger) is split into two small holes, a typical and unique feature of one of his productions, and by the presence of a golden mark (not completely distinguishable) but which differentiates this ocarina from the others, probably Portuguese artifacts. The question at this point was: how did an ocarina from Budrio from the late 19th century come to this Portuguese town? We immediately became aware of the existence of a local ocarina group, founded in 1888 and still active although without ocarinas (Ateneu Artístico Vilafranquense). However we found information about the European tour of the first group of Budriese ocarinists, who began a series of concerts through Europe in 1873. They called themselves Montanari dell’Appennino, or “Les Montagnards des Appenins” and wore costumes typical of the mountains. This group included: the brothers Alberto and Ercole Mezzetti, Ulisse Avoni, Davide Mignani, Giuseppe Grossi, Cesare Vicinelli and Federico Vignoli. We have news of their performances from newspaper articles that Alberto Mezzetti collected in a travel notebook now kept at the Ocarina museum in Budrio. It was precisely among these clippings that we found confirmation that the group held 10 concerts in Lisbon at the Circa Price in January 1876. In fact, most likely the first concert was held earlier, in the winter of 1875, as reported in a Portuguese book published in 1876 by the writer from Vila franca de Xira, Salvador Marques. Given this confirmation, our first assumption was to attribute the spread of the ocarina in Portuguese territory after this date, and therefore hypothesizing firstly that Mezzetti donated/sold/created his ocarina which is today preserved in Vila Franca de Xira during that year. To date we have no possibility of verifying the acquisition of the piece, although, given the more "industrial" craftmanship it seems to be a posthumous acquisition following the opening of the Mezzetti brothers' workshop, which took place after the European tour. In any case, the first certain connection between the ocarina and Portugal can be found after these concerts. In an interview with Alberto Mezzetti in 1890, on the occasion of the French Fair in London (where Mezzetti had rented a stand), on an advertising flyer whose purpose was to demonstrate the superiority of the ocarinas he produced compared to the Austrian ones, made by Heinrich Fiehn, we find the following statements:

“We decided to take a tour through Europe, starting with the 1873 Vienna Exhibition. It was in Lisbon that we first found imitators of our ocarina group: due to the vain ambition (!) of one of the members of our group, Vicinelli, who had the audacity to take credit for the invention of the ocarina and to make some in public. This gave some skilled musicians from the Lisbon Opera House the idea of creating another ocarina group. Playing instruments they built themselves, using the same name of Montanari degli Appennini” they went to play in Brazil and America while we went to Spain and France “

The latest information in which Mezzetti claims that this group of Portuguese artists copied their name is very interesting. In fact, as we have seen from several sources, this group, although dressed in the typical costumes of the Budrio players and playing some of their tunes in the lineup, was known as Sociedade de Concertos de Ocarinas and later identified in Brazil as Ocarinistas portugueses. Until now we were not aware of the name of the members of the group, so there was some speculation about the composition of the members. For example, it was believed that this new group of Portuguese ocarinists also included some Budrio members of the Montanari (hypothetically Vicinelli, Mignani and Avoni). We are also aware of the existence of an unpublished manuscript from the 1930s by the musician Casari, in which he supports a different theory, in which this second group replaced the Portuguese musicians with new and old Italian ocarina players, probably themselves from Budrio (Cupini, Stupazzoni, Bagnoli, Tassoni), and carried out a long tour in Northern Europe (Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Austria)[1]. However, we have not found any links that these last mentioned artists could have a connection with the original Montanari.  Anyway, we found a source that lists the names of the components, eliminating any doubts[2]. The names of these musicians are:  

Filippe Duarte

Cláudio Gonçalves Rosa

Henrique Plácido Cáceres

José Rodrigues de Oliveira

Júlio Teodoro da Cunha Taborda

Lourenço Dalhunty

Alexandre Ferreira

Shortly after the creation of the group, these musicians left for a series of concerts in Portugal (Porto) and South America, especially in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Parà, Maranhao, Pernambuco, Bahìa, Maceiò, Alagoas, Campinas, Santos, Rio Grande, Pelotas).

THE OCARINA IN BRAZIL

The first evidence we found relating to the public performances of the Portuguese ocarinists in Brazil dates back to 11 November 1876, when they played in the capital São Luis, in the Maranhão region, performing Pot pourri do Fausto[3]. In the source they are indicated as "rivals of the Montanari of the Apennines who they consider themselves equal to". The second evidence found dates back to a performance in Pernambuco in January 1877. Here too they are identified as rivals of the Montanari degli Appennini. Among the songs proposed we find Norma, A mandolinata, Polka do rouxignol[4]; titles already present in the repertoire of the Montanari dell’Appennino. The first concert in the capital Rio de Janeiro took place on May 17, 1877 at the Don Pedro II theater. Again the source specifies that they are rivals of the Montanari degli Apennini[5]. It is very peculiar that in all the articles found they are cited as “rivals” of the Montanari of the Apennines when they had never been to Brazil and were therefore unknown to that public. A reasonable hypothesis suggests a press release presentation distributed to the various Brazilian newspapers before their arrival in the various cities by a hypothetical “tour manager”. The experience of this group, however, lasted only a couple of years (1876-77); after that the group came back to Europe and the various members abandoned the ocarina and returned to the instrument they were playing originally[6]. Just before returning to Portugal we know that they went to Argentina too, where we have news of a concert in Buenos Aires in September 1877[7]. This tour in Brazil generated considerable interest in this terracotta instrument to the extent that it inspired other local musicians to form ocarina groups. The first we find traces of are the Ocarinistas Alagoanos and we found an article in a local newspaper about one of their concerts on June 16th 1877[8]. At the moment we do not know anything about them, apart from the fact that they came from the region of Alagoas. A second group we are aware of are the Ocarinistas Pelotenses, from the Pelotas area, already active for sure from the beginning of 1878. Their repertoire contained songs such as: Bolero da Mágica - As Três Rocas de Cristal, Aria de tenor da ópera Traviata; Great polka “Bailarina, cavatina para tenor from ópera, Ernani; Dueto para sopranos from ópera Norma, Bellini; polka “O Canto do rouxinol” (the same as the Portuguese ocarinists); Hino Nacional Brasileiro; Grande cavatina from ópera Belizário, Donizetti; A Mandolinata (from the Portuguese / Italian repertoire)[9]. The members of this group also wore costumes inspired by the original Montanari. The group that was the most successful in Brazil, however, was certainly the Ocarinistas Fluminenses, formed in 1878. This group was composed of 10 Brazilian masters and musicians of the Cassino Theater, except for one person who we suppose to be the Portuguese of Caldas da Rainha Benito Meneses. In an article in the newspaper O Cruzeiro we found some of the names of the musicians, but the list is incomplete. At the moment we know that the formation included: Miguel Pereira Normandy, Guilherme Lopes de Oliveira, Benito Meneses (?), Sr. Raymundo, Sr. Borges, Sr. Silveira[10]. We also find in the aforementioned article a review of their first concert which took place on August 30, 1878 at the Imperial Conservatorio de Musica in Rio de Janeiro and the proposed repertoire:

1° part: Overture -Corda de noiva

2° part: Pot pourri by Ernani

Songs from Somnambula and O pirata

3°part: Overture - Os emigrados da America

Invocaçao do Guaranay

Mandolinata

Hymno de D.Luiz I

Traviata

Marcha real Italiana

Adieu

Misere (Trovatore)

Danubio (Strauss)

Allons nous

A ocarinista

Linda

Rouxinol

Brasilian Anthem

It is evident that some of these songs are taken from the performances of the Portuguese ocarinists, who at the same time were inspired by the Budrio group. It is interesting to underline the fact that Benito Meneses was part also of the Caldas da Rainha ocarina group. In 1878 some of the members made a trip to Rio de Janeiro together with Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro (well-known Portuguese artist and editor of the Brazilian newspaper O Mosquito) and here Benito Meneses may have decided to join the Fluminenses. Unfortunately we were unable to retrieve any more information on this group. We would like to clarify that this latest information came from an ocarina discussion forum and it was posted by a Portuguese user who was passionate about the subject, but we have no possibility of checking the sources.

THE PORTUGUESE AND BRAZILIAN GROUPS FORMED AFTER 1875

The above mentioned blog user provides more information about the formation of ocarina groups in Portugal. Together with other sources[11], we can list the following groups formed in Portugal and Brazil after the Lisbon concerts of 1875/76 of the group of the Montanari dell’Appennino:

PORTUGAL:

- Sociedade de Concertos de Ocarinas (Ocarinistas Portugueses) (1876-1878)

- Ocarinistas of Caldas da Rainha (1876? – 1895?)

- Ocarinistas of Mafra (Troupe ocarinista 1 de dezembro) (1886 –1895)

- Ocarinistas of Sintra (1876? - 1905)

- Ocarinistas of Ericeira (1894 –??)

- Ocarinistas of the University of Coimbra (1880? - ??)

- Ateneu Artístico Vilafranquense (Fanfarra 1º de Maio) (1888 – still active without ocarinas)

- Fanfarra Ocarinista Republicana 5 de Outubro Olivalense di Lisbona (1886 – still active as Sociedade Filarmónica União e Capricho Olivalense band)[12]

- Montanhezes dos Herminios (1877? -??)

Of the latter we were only able to trace an article in the Diario Ilustrado of Lisbon on March 3, 1877, where one of their concerts is announced and was to be attended by the Italian queen Maria Pia of Savoia. The names of the components of the septet are also reported: Affonso Pereira Amor Machado, José Baptista Ribeiro, José Ribeiro Alves, Manuel Modesto Velasques, José Francisco Pires, Joao Vicente Conrado and Francisco Thedim[13]. Shortly after the Lisbon concerts of 1876, individual composers were also reported in Aveiro, Porto, Lisbon and Braga. We have evidence of a Portuguese major, João Carlo Ribeiros, who, after the concerts in Lisbon, obtained some ocarinas from the Budrio group, had others built and formed a group of ocarinists:

“When the troupe of the Italian ocarinistas appeared in Lisbon, Ribeiro obtained one or two ocarinas from them and after practicing on them, he built some and managed to organize and teach a band of ocarinistas; they were very well received by the public with much applause.”[14]

This man could be either one of these individual composers or one of those mentioned in Mezzetti's notes, where it is said that Vicinelli had shown the construction of the instrument to some locals. Ribeiros could also be the one who started the Sociedade de Concertos de Ocarinas or the Montanhezes dos Herminios, then abandoning them to leave to serve in Mozambique after August 1876.

BRAZIL:

- Ocarinistas Alagoanos (1877 - ??)

- Ocarinistas Pelotenses (1878 - 1878)

- Ocarinistas Fluminenses (1878- ??)

- Sociedade de ocarinistas Maranhenses (1878? - ??)[15]

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the most significant discovery of this research is that the musicians of Budrio have indeed had importance in the diffusion of the ocarina in the western part of the world, but in an indirect way, as it was the Portuguese ones who spread the music of this instrument, curiously wearing  the same costumes as the Budrio group and re-proposing part of their repertoire. To understand this, we filled in some gaps on the period following the Lisbon concerts of 1875/76, discovering that no ocarinist from Budrio of that period went to Brazil and that the only ones to spread the ocarina in that part of the world were the Portuguese artists. Furthermore, we noticed the great enthusiasm created in the areas where the concerts took place and the subsequent great flourishing of Portuguese and Brazilian local groups, which we were able to catalogue and order in chronological order, mapping the diffusion of the ocarina in those areas at the end of the 19th century. It is interesting to underline the speed with which musicians and people built and learned to play such a difficult instrument without ever having seen it before, and they succeeded in forming septets and playing such a vast , complex repertoire in a short time. In just 8 months (or maybe even less) the Sociedade de Concertos de Ocarinas group managed to do all this and leave for a tour in Brazil. For sure there are still many documents that contain even more information than we have been able to consult so far. The hope is to obtain access to as many sources as possible so as to more accurately trace the legacy and influence that the ocarina has left around the world, proof of its deep appreciation.                                                                                        

[1] It was not possible for us to consult this source directly. The content was reported to us directly by the owner of the manuscript.

[2] Lopes, R. C. “Duarte, Filipe”. In Castelo-Branco, S. (dir.). Enciclopédia da Música em Portugal no Século XX, Vol. 2: C – L. Lisboa: Temas e Debates / Círculo de Leitores, 2010, p. 385   

[3] Journal O PAIZ n.193, November  17th 1876   

[4] Journal GAZETA DE NOTICIAS n.21, January 22nd 1877

[5] Journal O MOSQUITO n.415, May 19th 1877

[6] Lopes, R. C. “Duarte, Filipe”. In Castelo-Branco, S. (dir.). Enciclopédia da Música em Portugal no Século XX, Vol. 2: C – L. Lisboa: Temas e Debates / Círculo de Leitores, 2010, p. 385   

[7] Journal EL MOSQUITO, September 30th 1877

[8] Journal JORNAL DO PILAR n.21, June 25th 1877

[9] Journal DIÁRIO POPULAR DE PELOTAS, July 7th 1878

[10] Journal O CRUZEIRO n.241, August 30th 1878

[11] TRADIÇÕES MUSICAIS DE ESTREMADURA, Ed. Tradisom, Vila Verde, 2000

[12] Official website of Sociedade Filarmónica União e Capricho Olivalense

[13] Journal DIARIO ILUSTRADO n. 1482,  March 3rd 1877

[14] DICIONÁRIO HISTÓRICO, COROGRÁFICO, HERÁLDICO, BIOGRÁFICO, BIBLIOGRÁFICO, NUMISMÁTICO E ARTÍSTICO; João Romano Torres Editor, 1904-1915. Volume VI, pag. 262-263

[15] The only trace found of their existence is in the Jornal O PAIZ n. 214, September 21st 1878