The Academia de Música S. Pio X Manuscripts Collection (the Academia Manuscripts Collection) is the largest single collection of the compositions of Áureo da Costa Nunes e Castro (1917-1993), comprising 150 music manuscripts, It also contains his student work such as contrapuntal exercises, handwritten copies of harmoney textbooks, as well as instrumental parts for works that he had arranged. In our book Áureo Catro: A Musical Portrait published in 2015¹, an attempt was made to list all known existing titles of his composition, but a subsequent more detailed examination of the scores in the academia Manuscripts Collection raised various issued which needed clarification. A number of manuscripts were not signed or dated, and it s possible a few may be wrongly attributed to him. It was also difficult to decide which manuscripts were actual autographs since his handwriting and signatures changed quite dramatically over the years. In addition, some works have been given two different titles, and there is a possibility that some “versions” of a cappella pieces are in fact the choir parts belonging to works that have accompaniment.

This catalogue is the result of a thorough re-examination of the Academia Manuscripts Collection in order to provide the most up-to-date, systematic and complete inventory of Áureo Castro’s compositional output that is held in the Academia. In doing so, we hope the catalogue will be a useful source of reference whether as a basis for the publication of critical editions of musical scores, for analysing the music itself, or for research studies on Áureo Castro’s life and work.

About the author
Graça Marques gained her BA (Phil) at the Oporto University and Dip (Music Ed) at the Oporto Music Conservatory. She worked at the Macao Cultural Institute and the Macau Poltechnic Institute from 1984 to 1999. A dedicated researcher on the history and culture of Macao, she co-authored with Margaret Lynn in 2015 the book Áureo Castro – A Musical Portrait.

Margaret Lynn studied at the Royal College of Music, London, and gained her EdD degree from the University of Bristol. She served as Associate Dean of Music and Director of Studies at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and is Honorary music consultant at the Academia de Música S. Pio X. She has recorded Fr Castro’s complete piano works and edited his keyboard and vocal/choral music.