Publications

THE PUBLICATION

The Encyclopedia of Music in Twentieth Century Portugal (EMPXX) is the first major reference work focusing on music in twentieth century Portugal. In 4 volumes, it includes more than 1250 entries, 550 photographs, and thematic and name indexes. It covers classical, popular and traditional music, folklore, pop-rock, jazz, fado of both the Coimbra and Lisbon traditions, and music of migrant communities. It also addresses other expressive modes in which music plays a central role such as dance, film and theater. It encompasses the media that have had an impact on the musical domains under study, such as the publication of sheet music, the recording industry, radio and film. 

Research for the EMPXX was carried out for over a decade by a team consisting of researchers of INET-MD (Institute of Ethnomusicology – Center of Studies in Music and Dance), under the direction of Salwa Castelo-Branco, at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Over 150 other researchers also took part in the publication, including ethnomusicologists, musicologists, anthropologists, historians, sociologists, critics, dance experts and other researchers and faculty members in Portuguese and foreign universities. The EMPXX also benefited from the viewpoints of national and international consultants.

Within the musical domains it covers, the EMPXX focuses on composers, performers and musical groups, teachers, poets and lyricists, arrangers and producers, promoters and cultural administrators. It also examines the trajectory and work of the main researchers that, from different disciplinary perspectives, have portrayed the musical universes under study. The Encyclopedia also discusses music education (conservatories, music schools, universities, etc.), collections of written and recorded music (archives, libraries and museums) and regulatory institutions (the associative universe and state institutions). It also describes several performance spaces and significant events in the development of the musical universes under study. It characterizes both the musical instruments employed within Portugal, especially in traditional music, folklore and fado, as well as the contribution of music instrument builders, instrument factories and music stores.

The EMPXX is targeted towards a diverse readership, including the general public, musicians, critics, students and music researchers, researchers in the other Arts, the Social Sciences and Humanities.