As has long been noted, the music of the Portuguese composer João Domingos Bomtempo (1775-1842), played a prominent role in the transition from Classicism to Romanticism (Eftekhari 2012). His impact as an important musical innovator and pedagogue was felt not only in Portugal, but also in Paris and London, where he actively engaged with the Parisian musical scene (Scherpereel, 1994) as well as in the musical environment of the London Pianoforte School (Temperley, 1985).

Examination of his output demonstrates that Bomtempo's music anticipates a series of procedures that would later become emblematic of the Romantic style. Focusing on piano works by Bomtempo, this study analyzes excerpts from his works that feature contrapuntally constructed chromatic harmonies – such as augmented sixth chords, Neapolitan sixth chords, and diminished seventh chords – and modulations based on enharmonic reinterpretation and cycles of thirds, which deviate from the Classical tonal paradigm. These and other compositional strategies evident in his music will be examined through the combined theoretical frameworks of Schenkerian analysis and Neo-Riemannian theory, adopting an approach that integrates structural analysis, instrumental performance, and musicological research.

The works to be analyzed, either partially or in their entirety include: Introduction (Larghetto) and Fantasie (Largo) upon Paisiello's 'Hope Told a Flatt'ring Tale' Op. 6; Sonata Op. 13, ii (Largo con espressione); Sonata Op. 15 No. 1, ii (Andante sostenuto); Sonata Op. 15 No. 2, i (Largo assai con molto espressione); and Lessons Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 from the Methodo de tocar piano forte Op. 19. It is noteworthy that the chromatic procedures appear in a particularly concentrated form in the slow movements of Bomtempo's sonatas, which seldom present virtuosic passages of purely instrumental interest. Similar elements are also found in the Lessons and Preludes of the Elementos de Musica e Methodo de tocar piano forte Op.19, underscoring Bomtempo's pedagogical motivation to prepare his students according to "progressive" aesthetic values, closely aligned with the instrumental music cultivated in the major European centers . These values appear even more modernizing if we consider the conservative panorama of music produced in Portugal at his time, in which sacred music and Italian opera remained dominant.

All the compositions mentioned in this abstract are available at: https://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Bomtempo,_Jo%C3%A3o_Domingos

Bomtempo's Method is available at: https://purl.pt/33123

Works Cited

Bomtempo, João Domingos. (1980). Portugaliae Musica XXXV: João Domingos Bomtempo. Obras para piano. Edição fac-similada. Coligido por Filipe de Sousa. Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.

 Bomtempo, João Domingos. (1816). Elementos de música, e Methodo de tocar piano forte: com exercicios em todos os generos, seis liçoens progressivas, trinta preludios em todos os tons, e doze estúdios. London: Clementi & Co.

 Eftekhari, Ladan (2012). João Domingos Bomtempo, a composer within the romantic movement, Paris: L'Harmattan.

 Temperley, Nicholas. (1985). “The London Pianoforte School” in The Musical Times, Vol. 126, No. 1703, pp. 25-27.

 Scherpereel, Joseph. (1994). João Domingos Bomtempo: musicien portugais (XIXe siècle), Paris: Centre Culturel Calouste-Gulbenkian.