Gabriel Díaz Bessón (1590 - November 6, 1638) was a Spanish composer.

Life and career

Díaz Bessón was born in

Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish municipality of the Community of Madrid. Housing is primarily located on the right (north) bank of the Henares River, Henares. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municip ...

and became ''maestro de capilla'' of the

Royal Convent of La Encarnación Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

, Madrid. From 1616 he was ''capellán'' for Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma, the favourite of

Philip III of Spain Philip III (; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain and King of Portugal, Portugal (where he is known as Philip II of Portugal) during the Iberian Union. His reign lasted from 1598 until his death in 1621. He held dominion over the S ...

. The Duke maintained a musical establishment in Lerma,

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 ...

, where the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter was consecrated in 1617. On the accession of

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

in 1621 Díaz Bessón was ''capellán'' at

Granada Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Incarnation (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Granada, Spain. The cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Granada. Like many other cathedrals in Andalusia, it was built on top of the ...

, then at

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

(1624–1631), and finally at the

Convent of Las Descalzas Reales The Convent of 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 "Monastery of the Royal Discalced", resides in ...

, Madrid. Dates overlap since he was concurrently ''maestro de la Real Capilla'' in Madrid and titular ''maestro de capilla'' of various cathedrals. In 1628 he was succeeded as ''maestro de capilla'' of the Royal Convent of La Encarnación in Madrid by

Carlos Patiño Carlos Patiño ( Cuenca 1600Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population ...

who was then, five years later in 1634, chosen ahead of Díaz Bessón to succeed the Flemish-born Mateo Romero as the first Spanish-born ''maestro'' of the Flemish chapel (''capilla flamenca''). Díaz Bessón died four years later in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. Díaz Bessón "wrote music that was apostrophised as 'celestial'".Ann Livermore A short history of Spanish music 1972 p106 Díaz Bessón composed in all the major genres: masses,

requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

motets 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 Engl ...

psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

antiphons An antiphon (Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are usually taken from the Psalms or Scripture, but may also be freely composed. T ...

hymns 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'' ...

, ''

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 distinguis ...

,'' ''

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, Ped ...

.'' In all more than 700 compositions were recorded, almost all of which were lost in the

1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, All Saints' Day, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In ...

, as well as writing theoretical works.

Recordings

* ''Sanctus and Benedictus, for Palm Sunday''. on "Music for Holy Week at the Chapel of the Dukes of Braganza" A Capella Portuguesa. Owen Rees. Hyperion. * ''Lauda Jerusalem'' (for brass ensemble) on "Music Of Gabrieli" Empire Brass dir. Carl St. Clair. Telarc

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz Besson, Gabriel 1590 births 1638 deaths Spanish male classical composers Spanish Baroque composers 17th-century Spanish classical composers 17th-century Spanish male musicians