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 distinguished from the modern folk

tonada The ''tonada'' is a folk music style of Spain and some countries of Hispanic America (mainly Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela). In nowadays Spain, the traditional sung piece known as ''tonada'' is considered as having been originated i ...

song in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

or for guitar band in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. In the early 17th Century the main vernacular forms for Spanish and Portuguese composers were the

villancico 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, Ped ...

, usually a Christmas song, and the solo tono; tono humano if secular, tono divino if sacred. The

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

form had not yet been introduced from Italy. At this point tonos were generally strophic songs (coplas) with a refrain (estribillo). However by the end of the 17th century some tonos had begun to include recitative and aria sections, as the cantada, Spanish form of the cantata became known around 1700. The tono humano and tono divino could also have 2, 3 or 4 voices. Nearly all tonos humanos and semi-sacred villancicos were preserved only in manuscript. The best copies were in the Royal Palace in Madrid and in the nearby Buen Retiro, both of which were lost in fires. This, and the fall from fashion of the tono and villancico in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

, means that sources in Latin America are relatively important to recovery of this part of Iberian musical heritage. The Libro de tonos humanos Madrid 1656 (Biblioteca Nacional, M-1262) is the most substantial Iberian cancionero of the 17th Century with over 200 songs, almost all romances with estribillo in 4 voices. Additional surviving sources include the Mackworth manuscript. The tono was used both in theatre music, domestic music and church music. Composers active in the composition of tonos humanos include: *

Francisco Guerrero Francisco Guerrero is the name of: *Francisco Guerrero (composer) (1528–1599), Spanish composer of the Renaissance * Francisco Guerrero (politician) (1811–1851), Alcalde of San Francisco *Francisco Guerrero Marín (1951–1997), Spanish composer ...

(1528–1599) *

Juan Blas de Castro Juan Blas de Castro (1561 – August 6, 1631) was a Spanish singer, musician, and composer. Born in Barrachina, in the province of Teruel, Spain, he was the second of four brothers. In 1592, he became part of the court of the Duke of Alba in Alba ...

(1561–1631) * Pedro Ruimonte (1565–1627) *

Gaspar Fernandes Gaspar Fernandes (sometimes written ''Gaspar Fernández'', the Spanish version of his name) (1566–1629) was a Portuguese-Mexican composer and organist active in the cathedrals of Santiago de Guatemala (present-day Antigua Guatemala) and Puebla de ...

(1566–1629) * Mateo Romero ''El maestro capitán'' (1575–1647) *

Juan Arañés Juan Arañés (died c. 1649) was a Spanish baroque composer. His tonos and villancicos follow the style of those preserved in the Cancionero of Kraków. Biography Arañés was born in Aragon, at an unknown date. After studies in Alcalá de Henar ...

- ''Libro segundo de tonos y villancicos'', Rome 1624 * Manuel Machado (1590–1646) *

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 ...

(1600–1675) * Manuel Correia (1600–1653) * Bernardo Murillo ( fl. 1642-1656) - song "La pastora" *

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 ...

(1612–1685) - 21 tonos humanos, 28 tonos divinos * José Marín (1618–1699) *

Juan del Vado Juan del Vado y Gomez (1625–1691) was a Spanish composer, organist and violinist. He is noted for the enigmatic canons, symbolic musical puzzles, dedicated to his king Charles II of Spain. He came from a family of violinists. His father was a pla ...

(1625–1691) * Clemente Imaña *

Cristóbal Galán 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 because he was married. From 1653 he was a singer and organist, ...

(1630–1684) *

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 ...

(1635–1684) * Juan Romeo (fl. 1675) *

Diego Fernandez de Huete Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. E ...

(1635–1713) *

Gaspar Sanz Francisco Bartolomé Sanz Celma (April 4, 1640 (baptized) – 1710), better known as Gaspar Sanz, was a Spanish composer, guitarist, and priest born to a wealthy family in Calanda in the comarca of Bajo Aragón, Spain. He studied music, theolog ...

(1640–1710) *

Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco Sánchez (23 December 1644 – 23 April 1728) was a Spanish composer, musician and organist based in Peru, associated with the American Baroque. Life Torrejón y Velasco was born in Villarrobledo and spent his c ...

(1644–1728) *

Juan de Navas Juan de Navas (ca. 1650–1719) was a Spanish baroque composer and harpist. As court harpist to Charles II of Spain he was sought as approver of Torres y Martínez Bravo's treatise on thoroughbass. Works, editions and recordings *''villancicos ...

(1647–1709) *

Francisco Guerau Francisco Guerau (1649 – 1722) was a Spanish Baroque composer. After being born on Majorca, he entered the singing school at the Royal College in Madrid in 1659, becoming a member of the Royal Chapel as an alto singer and composer ten years l ...

(1649–c 1720) - instrumental tonos for guitar. *

Sebastián Durón Sebastián Durón (19 April (baptized) 1660 – 3 August 1716) was a Spanish composer. Life and career Sebastián Durón Picazo was, with Antonio de Literes, the greatest Spanish composer of stage music of his time. He was born in Brihuega, G ...

(1660–1716) *

José de Torres José de Torres y Martínez Bravo (16701738) was a Spanish composer, organist, music theorist and music publisher. Biography Torres was born in Madrid, where he served as organist of the ''capilla real'' from 1697. With the arrival of the Bourbo ...

(1665–1738) *

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 ...

(1665–1747) *

Juan Francés de Iribarren Juan Francés de Iribarren ( Sangüesa, 1699 – Málaga, 2 September 1767) was a Spanish late baroque composer. Life and career Iribarren was christened on 24 March 1699 at the Church of St. James the Great in Sangüesa. He was a choirboy in the ...

(1699–1767) * José de Nebra (1702–1768) In the New World the tono was taken up by: * Juan Serqueira of Lima (c.1655–1726)

Academic study

In recent years the tono humano has been the focus of intersemiotic study by musicologists. López, Cano Rubén. 2004
''De la Retórica a la Ciencia Cognitiva. Un estudio intersemiótico de los Tonos Humanos de José Marín (ca. 1618-1699.''.
Tesis doctoral.Universidad de Valladolid.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tono Humano Spanish music