Matteo Ricci in Memoriam


The Composers


Several of the composers on this program are very minor, yet interesting figures in the history of Spanish and Portuguese music of the 16th century.

Fr. Tomás de Santa Maria, O.P. (c. 1515-c.1570) was born in Madrid and joined the Dominicans in 1536. His main interest lies in a book on keyboard improvisation, Arte de tañer fantasía (Valladolid, 1565) which remains an important source for understanding how keyboard music was played and taught at this time on the Iberian peninsula. In this sense, the three little fantasias performed tonight are merely examples (or models) of compositions, which it was expected could be improvised by any competent organist of the day.

Santa Maria’s book was plagiarized by later writers (perhaps the ultimate compliment) and he mentioned in the preface that it had been reviewed before publication by Antonio de Cabezón (1510-66), a distinguished organist who was born near Burgos, and who went blind at an early age. Isabella of Portugal, the wife of Charles V, employed Cabezón in 1526, and he spent his entire life working for the Spanish royal family. He was a tutor of the Regent, Prince Felipe, and traveled with him to England in 1544-46 on the occasion of Felipe’s marriage to Mary Tudor (“Bloody Mary”, who had previously (in 1522) been briefly engaged to his father, Charles!) Here Cabezón seems to have met Byrd and Tallis, among other English musicians. His variation style, as seen in the Fabordón del primer tono, may even have influenced them.

Through the Spanish court, Antonio also knew the vihuelist, Luis de Narváez (fl. 1526-50) whose polyphonic fantasías were intended for the organ and harpsichord as well as the vihuela. They have been preserved in his only publication, Los seys libros del delphín (Valladolid, 1538). The Fantasía de consonancia del quinto tono come from the first of the six volumes. Cabezón’s son, Hernando (1541-1602), was also a composer, and he preserved much of his father’s music in a publication (Obras de música para tecla, arpa y vihuela) in 1578. Hernando’s style, as heard in his variations on Pierre Sandrin’s popular song, Dulce memoria, was somewhat more advanced than his father’s.

Francisco Guerrero (1528-99), on the other hand, is a major figure of the Renaissance, and part of the tetrarchy that includes Palestrina, Victoria, and Orlando di Lasso. Born in Seville, he led a rather swashbuckling life. His early career was spent in Spain and Portugal, followed by a year in Italy with the Emperor Maximilian II (1581-82), where he published two books of music. He travelled to the Holy Land in 1589, and on his return his ship was attacked by pirates, who threatened his life, stole his money, and held him for ransom. (He wrote a best-selling book about his experiences on his return to Spain, which apparently influenced Cervantes.) His music was widely dispersed among the Spanish foreign missions, perhaps because he favored homophonic textures and easily-remembered melodies which appealed to non-Western converts. In manuscript and in practice, his music was then preserved well into the 19th century by the cathedrals of Latin America and the Philippines (the latter named in 1542 for the same Prince Felipe mentioned above, by then Philip II of Spain.) It is tempting to imagine that – as with several 17th century Philippine-manufactured pipe organs – Guerrero’s music made the leap of a few hundred miles from Manila to Macau and China at some point as well.

Tomas Luis de Victoria (1548-1611), born in Avila, Spain, Victoria (also known by the Italianized spelling of his name, Vittoria) came to Rome about 1563 and enrolled in the Jesuit-run Collegio Germanico. It seems certain that if he did not in fact study with Palestrina, he certainly knew him (Palestrina taught at the nearby Collegio Romano) and was the first Iberian composer to master the subtleties of his style. He wrote two settings of the Requiem mass, of which the four-part setting is performed tonight. It was published in Rome in 1583, the year in which Ricci established his mission at Zhaoqing. This year also marks the 400th anniversary of Victoria’s death.

Manuel Rodrigues Coelho (ca.1555 - ca. 1635), born in Elvas, Coelho studied at the cathedral in that city, and eventually moved to Lisbon in 1602 to become the king’s chaplain and organist. His only known publication, Flores de musica pera o instrumento de tecla & harpa (Lisbon, 1620) is the earliest known keyboard music to have been printed in Portugal. Coelho’s musical style follows the traditions established by the Cabezóns. The 24 tentos (3 for each of the eight tones, or church modes) are considered the most important of his works.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525 or 26 – 94) The greatest of all the Italian Renaissance contrapuntal composers, Palestrina taught in Rome at the Collegio Romano from 1566. Ricci entered the College in 1572, and undoubtedly knew him. Even in his lifetime, Palestrina’s music was held in awe by his contemporaries, and through his enormous body of works, continues to define the art of counterpoint to this day. The motet, Nos autem, is a work known to have been in the library of the Collegio Germanico in Ricci’s lifetime.

António Pinheiro (c1550-1617) was the first Portuguese mestre da capela to the Dukes of Bragança at Vila Viçosa with payments dating from 1584. He was described in the Biblioteca Lusitana (1741) as ‘discipulo do grande Mestre de Musica Francisco Guerreiro’, though there seems to be little evidence to support this. He became mestre da crasta at Évora Cathedral but was dismissed in 1608 after a dispute with Miguel Brava, a bass and rebec player. He continued to receive payments from Vila Viçosa until 1609 and his salary at Évora was eventually reinstated. His only surviving compositions are five psalm settings still in the Library at Vila Viçosa in manuscript volumes dating from the early eighteenth century.