Elízaga Prado, José Damián (27 September 1786 – 2 October 1842) was a Mexican composer,

music theorist Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and teacher. He was the

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

of emperor

Agustín I of Mexico Agustín is a Spanish given name and sometimes a surname. It is related to Augustín. People with the name include: Given name * Agustín (footballer), Spanish footballer * Agustín Calleri (born 1976), Argentine tennis player * Agustín Cár ...

and was the first great Mexican composer of the beginning of the 19th century.

Life

Elízaga was born in Valladolid (Morelia), and was a child prodigy. He played before the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo (Spanish, with variant name: ''Juan Vicente de Güemes Pacheco de Padilla y Horcasitas, segundo conde de Revillagigedo'') (April 5, 1738 in Havana – May 2, 17 ...

when he was 6. The viceroy became his main protector and sent him to the Colegio de Infantes de la Catedral. Elízaga later returned to Valladolid and in 1799 to

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and larg ...

where he worked as an organist. He acquired the best

pianoforte The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

to teach the local

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

. One of his pupils was Ana María de Huarte y Muñiz who later became the wife of

Agustín de Iturbide Agustín de Iturbide (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), full name Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu and also known as Agustín of Mexico, was a Mexican army general and politician. During the Mexican War of Independence, he built a ...

, the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of the

First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire ( es, Imperio Mexicano, ) was a constitutional monarchy, the first independent government of Mexico and the only former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence. It is one of the few modern-era, ...

. In 1822, Elízaga was appointed ¨maestro de capilla¨ (

) of the Capilla Imperial. In 1823 he published his ''Elementos de música'' in

Mexico city Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, a copy can be found in the

Biblioteca Nacional Biblioteca Nacional (Spanish or Portuguese: ''National Library'') may refer to: *Biblioteca Nacional de Chile, in Chile *Biblioteca Nacional de España, in Spain *Biblioteca Nacional del Perú, in Peru * Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, in Portugal ...

in Mexico. The end of the

damaged Elizaga's reputation but the Mexican government continued to support him. Elizaga settled the bases for the musical life of Mexico in the 19th century. He promoted the first Philharmonic Society of Mexico. In 1825 he founded the Philharmonic Academy which became the first conservatory of the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. In 1826 he founded the first

music press Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

in Mexico where he published his works and of other Mexican composers. Elízaga was soon considered the best Mexican composer of his time. In 1835 he published his

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...

''Principios de la armonía y de la melodía'' (''Principles of harmony and melody'') which was a great contribution to the Mexican

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

in the 19th century. He retired to Morelia in 1842 where he died at 56. Until today very few scores of Elízaga have survived, since 1994 many of his scores have been found like the ''Ultimas Variaciones'' (''Last variations'') for

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

which show a strong influence of

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

Works

Church music: ''Dúo de las siete palabras'', ''Lamentaciones'', ''Maitines de la transfiguración'', Misas, Miserere, Oficios. Secular music: ''El 16 de Septiembre''. ''Inclito gran Morelos'', ''Seis valses'', ''Vals con variaciones a la memoria de Rossini'', ''Ultimas variaciones''.

Sources

* ''Diccionario de la música española e hispanoamericana tomo 4'' * ''The New Grove Dictionary of music and musicians''. Second edition. 8 * ''Enciclopedia de México. 5''

External links

Mexican male classical composers Mexican Classical-period composers Mexican music theorists Mexican Romantic composers 1786 births 1842 deaths 19th-century male musicians {{Mexico-composer-stub