Cristóbal Galán (c. 1630 – 24 September 1684) was a Spanish Baroque composer. The first record of Galán is that in 1651 he was rejected as ''maestro de capilla'' in

Sigüenza Sigüenza () is a city in the Serranía de Guadalajara comarca, Province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. History The site of the ancient ''Segontia'' ('dominating over the valley') of the Celtiberian Arevaci, now called ('old to ...

because he was married. From 1653 he was a singer and organist, then later ''maestro de capilla'' in Cagliari,

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

; then from 1656 to 1659 in Morella, Castellon. From 1660 to 1663 he worked in Madrid, in an unknown position. From 1664 to 1667 he was ''maestro de capilla'' at

Segovia Cathedral Segovia Cathedral is the Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral located in the main square ( Plaza Mayor) of the city of Segovia, in the community of Castile-Leon, Spain. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was built in the Flamboyant Go ...

, then moving to the

Convent of Las Descalzas Reales The Convent of Las Descalzas Reales ( es, Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales) is a royal monastery situated in Madrid, Spain, administered by the Patrimonio Nacional. History The ''Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales'', literally the "Monaste ...

, Madrid, where in 1680, five years after the death of

Carlos Patiño Carlos Patiño ( Cuenca 1600Madrid 5 September 1675) was a Spanish Baroque composer. Patiño was a choirboy at Seville Cathedral where he studied with Alonso Lobo. He married in 1622 but his wife's death in 1625 led to his entry into the priesth ...

, he became director of the ''capilla real.'' He died in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. In letters written in Madrid in 1675 and 1681 to

Miguel de Irízar Miguel de Irízar y Domenzain (1635–1684) was a Spanish Baroque composer. Irízar was born in Artajona and trained as a choirboy in León and Toledo. In August 1657 he became ''maestro de capilla'' in Vitoria, then in August 1671 appoin ...

, Galán is cited as Madrid's principal composer of sacred music, since

Juan Hidalgo de Polanco Juan Hidalgo de Polanco (28 September 1614 – 31 March 1685) was a Spanish composer and harpist who became the most influential composer of his time in the Hispanic world writing the music for the first two operas created in Spanish. He is cons ...

was only interested in writing ''

tonos humanos The tono humano (secular song) was one of the main genres of 17th Century Spanish and Portuguese music. :The term ''tonadas'' is also used for ''tonos humanos'' in 17th Century musical literature but the 17th Century ''tonada'' is to be distinguish ...

.'' A generation later his style was still respected by

Francisco Valls Francisco Valls or Francesc Valls (Barcelona 1665/1671 - 2 February 1747) was a Spanish composer, theorist and '' mestre de capella.'' Among his most known works are the mass ''Missa Scala Aretina'' and tract ''Mapa Armónico Práctico''. Life In 1 ...

Works

As with other Spanish Baroque composers, many works were lost in a fire at the royal archives. None of his music for ''autos sacramentales'' by Calderón survives. Complete edition by J.H. Baron and D.L. Heiple. * Missa a 12 * Missa a 9 * Magnificat a 12 * St John Passion, a 8 1672 * Litany a 6 * Lamentations a 7 * 5 Motets: Hoc est corpus a 3. Laudate Dominum a 8. O beata virgo a 9. Salve a 5. Stella coeli a 8. * Stabat mater for 3 soloists, violin and basso continuo. * ''

Villancicos The ''villancico'' ( Spanish, ) or vilancete ( Portuguese, ) was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina, P ...

'' for 1 to 13 voices. * ''Tonos divinos'': ''Atencion al retrato'' etc.Jerónimo Nieto Magdaleno, Rita Goldberg ''Tonos a lo divino y a lo humano''. * ''

Tonos humanos The tono humano (secular song) was one of the main genres of 17th Century Spanish and Portuguese music. :The term ''tonadas'' is also used for ''tonos humanos'' in 17th Century musical literature but the 17th Century ''tonada'' is to be distinguish ...

'' * Theatre music including for plays by Juan Bautista Diamante (1625–1687): ''Lides de amor y desdén. El labyrinto de Creta''.

Discography

* Cristobal Galan: Al espejo que retrata. Al Ayre Espanol dir Eduardo Lopez Banzo. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi DHM 05472 773762 Tr 10.

References

Spanish Baroque composers 1630 births 1684 deaths Spanish male classical composers 17th-century classical composers 17th-century male musicians {{Spain-composer-stub