Policarpo José
António da Silva
Tenor, composer, instrumentalist (piano-forte and harpsichord) and singing teacher, Portuguese composer Policarpo José António da Silva (1745-1803) was born in Lisbon. Miguel Ângelo Ribeiro informs that he was baptized in Lisbon, on January 26, 1745, son of Estevão José de Barros and Joaquina Clara de Santa Anna; however, neither Ribeiro nor any other biographer has been able to determine how he obtained his musical training. Policarpo joined the brotherhood of Santa Cecilia on February 19, 1761. He was a successful singer of the Patriarcal, where he was admitted in 1763, and of the Royal Chapel, from 1787 on.
