ABSTRACT
Classical—or the preferred term, "art"—music has often been defined as a learned tradition, studied and analyzed in an academic setting, transmitted in written form, performed in formal concerts for attentive audiences, and composed by known composers, as opposed to anonymous works. From a purely utilitarian point of view, music fulfilled very specific functions during the colonial period, addressing the needs of society at large. European church music at the time of the conquest consisted primarily of two types, both of which were readily transplanted to the New World. Not all colonial art music was vocal, and instrumental music quickly gained a foothold in the New World. The music of the Catholic Church also played an important part in Brazilian culture, though in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it was far less pronounced than the vigorous musical activity found in the Spanish colonies, partly due to a strongly secular Portuguese government.
