Bomtempo's Mattutino di Morti - Commitment and Discipline
Holding the massive manuscript of Bomtempo’s Matuttino di morti
This is the longest piece I had to engrave (so far). Just the first violin part is 55 pages.
It's a massive work for large orchestra, choir, 7 soloists and with an estimated duration of 125 mins in a 589 page long full score. My good friend and conductor Leandro Alves when saw the picture of me holding the manuscript had 2 words: “You Crazy”
The Mattutino di Morti by Bomtempo is becoming a symbol of discipline and commitment to me. The overall progress is soooo slow and everyday seams I am still in the same place with no end in sight.
In the past two years, I found that the best way to copy a score is: “One part a day.” (Or one instrument a day). It has been my motto and how I have been structuring my project on XIX century Portuguese music. It has done wonders for me.
It gives me the feeling that every day I create something from start to finish. I feel accomplished, happy, proud, driven, positive and with the feeling that REAL progress was being made. It is still work that sucks but I feel motivated every day.
All the other works by Bomtempo (Symphonies, Concerti, and Masses) were a piece of cake, and leaving this for last was a great idea. I was not ready for what I am experiencing.
Morning of Death
That's what Mattutino di Morti means and it is a great analogy. For the past 2 years, I start my mornings with my engraving session and depending on the instrument, I might end my work around 3-5pm. I used to look forward to every morning, with my double monitors in front of me, manuscript on the right, Sibelius software in front of me, and with a large coffee that would keep a small village awake for weeks. Every day was a victory… I felt good!
Not any more!
This one is a marathon and torture every day. It’s not fun at all. Every day I face a wall. I want to give up and forget about this. Every page goes by slow as dead escargot. Its painful and I want to run away.
I think one of the reasons is the fact that there is not a cycle that I finish every day since one single part takes 3-4 days to finish. The adrenaline and fulfillment of reaching a finish line every day and see the relative page count moving faster is no longer present. It does not help to stay focus and I now had to learn how to dig into discipline and fight to keep moving. My brain wants to stop and plays tricks on me.
Until something like yesterday happens. I finish the string parts and that fulfillment sensation in the pursuit of meaning visits me again. It’s not as strong because it has been drawn out over the last 2 weeks, but I still welcome my old friend.
I will let you know more about this massive work by João Domingos Bomtempo as soon as I finish it. Vocal parts are next.
“I am not doing this because is easy or fun, but because nobody else would.”
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André Lousada is a Portuguese conductor focused on promoting XIX Portuguese Art Music. With 95% of orchestral music being still unpublished he has been creating critical editions of the 4 most representative music from Portugal.
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