Francisco de Peñalosa (c. 1470 – April 1, 1528) was a Spanish composer of the middle

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Life

He was born in

Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipalit ...

in the province of Toledo. He spent most of his career in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, serving as the ''maestro di capilla'', though he also spent time in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

, and three years in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

at the papal chapel (1518–1521). He died in Seville.

Music and influence

Peñalosa was one of the most famous Spanish composers of the generation before Cristóbal de Morales, and his compositions were highly regarded at the time. Unfortunately for him, his music was not widely distributed; he did not benefit from the invention of

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

, since he mostly remained in Spain, away from cities such as

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

which were the first centers of printed music. Later generations of Spanish composers—

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

, Morales, Victoria—went to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

for parts of their careers, where their compositions were printed and were as widely distributed as the music of the

Franco-Flemish The designation Franco-Flemish School, also called Netherlandish School, Burgundian School, Low Countries School, Flemish School, Dutch School, or Northern School, refers to the style of polyphonic vocal music composition originating from France ...

composers who dominated music in Europe in the 16th century. Peñalosa wrote

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

es,

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...

settings,

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s and

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s. Eleven secular compositions have survived, including an ensalada (a form of

quodlibet A quodlibet (; Latin for "whatever you wish" from '' quod'', "what" and '' libet'', "pleases") is a musical composition that combines several different melodies—usually popular tunes—in counterpoint, and often in a light-hearted, humorous ma ...

) ''Por las sierras de Madrid'' for six voices.Gustave Reese ''Music in the Renaissance'' 1959 "A striking example of Penalosa's virtuosity appears in a six-voice ensalada or quodlibet, ''Por las sierras'' in which four villancicos are sung simultaneously and are linked together harmonically by free outer parts.." Peñalosa was evidently fond of

contrapuntal In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous Part (music), musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and Pitch contour, melodic contour. The term ...

puzzles and canons, as evidenced by the quodlibet, and by the Agnus Dei of his ''Missa Ave Maria peregrina'', which combines a

plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ; ) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive for ...

tune with a retrograde (backwards) version of a famous secular song by Hayne van Ghizeghem. One of his motets (''Sancta mater istud agas'') was long assumed to be by

Josquin des Prez Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...

, which indicates both the stylistic similarity of their music and the high quality of Peñalosa's.

Selected recordings

* Peñalosa: Complete Motets Pro Cantione Antiqua, Bruno Turner, Hyperion/Helios * Peñalosa: Missa Nunca fue pena mayor. Sacris solemniis. Memorare Piissima. Ensemble Gilles Binchois, Les Saqueboutiers du Toulouse, Dominique Vellard, Glossa * Peñalosa: Missa Ave Maria, Missa Nunca fue pena mayor. Choir of

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

O'Donnell The O'Donnell dynasty ( or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell in Ulster in the north of medieval and early modern Ireland. Naming ...

, Hyperion * Peñalosa: Lamentationes. New York Polyphony. Bis.

Notes

References

*Article "Francisco de Peñalosa," in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. *

Gustave Reese Gustave Reese ( ; November 29, 1899 – September 7, 1977) was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is known mainly for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications ''Music in the Middle Ages'' (1940 ...

, ''Music in the Renaissance''. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penalosa, Francisco de Spanish Renaissance composers 1470s births 1528 deaths Spanish male classical composers