Immortal of Brazilian Classical Music
Chair No. 14 whose patron is Father Pedro Fonseca,
the First Official Organist of Brazil at the Sé Cathedral of Salvador, Bahia.
Effective Academic Title
AMB, in full use of its attributes, gives to Handel Cecilio the title of Immortal of Brazilian Erudite Music to occupy the Chair number 14, whose patron is Father Pedro Fonseca
Rio de Janeiro, September 5th, 2022
Brazilian Academy of Music Effective Academic Titulation AMB, in full use of its attributes, comes to confer upon Handel Cecilio the title of Comendador, Pedro I Commendation, commemorative by AMB to the 200 years of Brazil’s Independence.Rio de Janeiro, September 5th, 2022
A certificate dated May 14, 1560, confirms the inauguration of Father Pedro da Fonseca as the first official organist in the State of Brazil, in the Cathedral of the City of Salvador, according to the following document, on December 25, 1560.
“Thus I certify to Your Grace that Pedro da Fonseca began to play the organs of the said Cathedral on Christmas Day, December 25, 1560, and the Master of the Chapel on the same Christmas Day of that era, and the two Young Men of the Choir, which His Highness has now again added, as will be seen by his Procession, which Your Grace has ordered to be recorded, began to serve on December 15, 1559, years ago; and because it is true, I have given you a certificate made by me, today, May 14, 1560 years ago. […]”
However, there is a date mistake, by the scribe, in the aforementioned document, which was written and signed on May 14, 1560, when he refers the date of the beginning of the activities of Organista Padre Pedro da Fonseca as December 25, 1560. Considering the various payments of the Cabido referring to the year 1560, as can be confirmed below, it is concluded that Father Pedro da Fonseca started playing the organs in the Cathedral of Salvador on December 25, 1559.
Besides these official documents of presentation and possession in the positions of Canon and Organ Tangender, with an annual salary of 200$ Réis (two hundred thousand Réis), there are several registers of payments to ecclesiastical positions of the See of Bahia in which there are remunerations referring to Pedro da Fonseca
