Cupertinos

The small vocal ensemble Cupertinos specializes almost exclusively in Portuguese choral repertory of the 16th and 17th centuries. Working in this generally neglected repertory, the group has given more than 100 world premieres. Cupertinos was formed in 2009 in the northern Portuguese city of Vila Nova de Famalicão by the Cupertino de Miranda Foundation, an organization that promotes a wide range of cultural activities in the area, including a museum of paper money. The group has occasionally used the name Cappella Musical Cupertino de Miranda. The intention of the group's leader, Luis Toscano, and the other seven members was to present Portuguese choral repertory of the 16th and 17th centuries, a largely neglected body of music that includes works by Duarte Lobo (ca. 1565-1646), Manuel Cardoso (1566-1650), and Pedro de Cristo (ca. 1550-1618), among many other composers. Each concert tends to include music the group has not previously performed, and in all, Cupertinos has presented more than 250 works, including more than 100 contemporary premieres. The group gives 15-20 concerts annually, and these often include a component of musicological research; Toscano and scholar José Abreu have made performing editions of many of the works the choir performs. Annual concert cycles may be tied to landmarks in Portuguese music history; slated for 2021 were concerts marking the probable 450th birthday of Filipe de Magalhães and the 400th anniversary of Duarte Lobo’s First Book of Masses, published in Antwerp in 1621. Cupertinos gives concerts at various Portuguese churches, most notably the UNESCO World Heritage Basílica do Bom Jesus in Lisbon, and also appears regularly at summer music festivals in Portugal. In 2017, Cupertinos made its first major international appearance at Italy's Bolzano Festival, and in early 2020, the group appeared as part of Britain's Choral at Cadogan series; appearances at other major British venues were planned. ~ James Manheim