Manuel Rodrigues Coelho

Rodrigues Coelho was a Portuguese composer who probably studied at Elvas Cathedral and later at Badajoz Cathedral. He is important not because of his service to the King of Portugal, but because his work comprises the first extant compositions and tabulations for keyboard printed in Portugal. He is known for his collection Flores de musica pera o instrumento de tecla & harpa, which contains 20 tientos that are imitative in nature, employ extended notes and active figurations, consonant harmonies, and full chords in contrast to broken chords. It also contains unrelated motifs between the tientos. Other works within this collection include settings for the Kyrie, Magnificat, Nunc Dimitis, the Spanish melody "Pange lingua," and tabulations for four works by Lassus. ~ Keith Johnson