Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.
Showing posts with label Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599).. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599).. Show all posts

Monday 25 November 2013

Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599). Spanish Renaissance Composer. Motet For Six Voices From Missa Maria Magdalene.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


File:Francisco Guerrero.jpg

English: Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599).
Español: Retrato tomado de Francisco Pacheco, (1564-1644) 
El libro de descripción de verdaderos retratos, ilustres y memorables 
varones, [Sevilla, s.n., s.a.]- Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid). 
Signatura: 1/736. Date: 1599.
Author: Francisco Pacheco (1564–1644).
(Wikimedia Commons)



Francisco Guerrero's 
Motet for Six Voices from
"Missa Maria Magdalene"
by The Tallis Scholars.
Available on YouTube at


Francisco Guerrero (1528 – 1599) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He was born, and died in, Seville, Spain.

Guerrero's early musical education was with his older brother, Pedro. He must have been an astonishing prodigy, for at the age of seventeen he was already appointed maestro de capilla (singing master, i.e. music director) at Jaén Cathedral. A few years later he accepted a position in Seville, Spain. Apparently, during this time, he was much in demand as a singer and composer, establishing an exceptional reputation before his thirtieth birthday; in addition, he published several collections of his music abroad, an unusual event for a young composer.


File:Jaén Cathedral.png

English: A view of the Cathedral of the Assumption (Jaén Cathedral) 
taken from Saint Catalina's Castle.
Español: Una vista del Catedral de la Asunción de Jaén, 
tomada del Castillo de Santa Catalina.
Photo: 17 October 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Wjmclain.
(Wikimedia Commons)


After several decades of working and travelling throughout Spain and Portugal, sometimes in the employ of Emperor Maximilian II, he went to Italy for a year (1581–1582), where he published two books of his music. After returning to Spain for several years, he decided to travel to the Holy Land, which he finally was able to do in 1589. His adventure included visits to Damascus, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem; on the return trip his ship was twice attacked by pirates, who threatened his life, stole his money, and held him for ransom. His ransom must have been paid, for he was able to return to Spain; unfortunately he had no money, and endured a series of misfortunes including some time spent in debtor's prison; at last his old employer at Seville Cathedral extricated him, and he resumed working for them. 

His book on his adventurous visit to the Holy Land was published in 1590 and was a popular success (it is reasonable to suppose that Cervantes knew it). At the end of the decade, he planned one more trip to the Holy Land but unfortunately he died in the plague of 1599 in Seville, before he was able to depart.


Monday 16 September 2013

Petre, Ego Pro Te Rogavi. Salve Regina. Francisco Guerrero (1528 - 1599).


Petre, Ego Pro Te Rogavi can be found on ATRIUM MUSICOLOGICUM


File:Kathedraal van Sevilla 1.JPG


English: Seville Cathedral, Spain.
Kathedraal van Sevilla.
Photo: 10 March 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: pepijntje.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Catedral de Santa María de la Sede. Interior.jpg


English: Seville Cathedral.
Español: Once mil metros cuadrados, un sueño imposible, 
de arte en la catedral que Inocencio IV la tituló Santa María de la Sede.
Photo: September 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: José Luis Filpo Cabana.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Sevilla2005July 043.jpg


English: Façade of Seville Cathedral.
Español: Una de las fachadas de la Catedral, 
vista desde el Patio de los Naranjos.
Photo: 7 July 2005.
Source: Own work.
Author: Source: dubaduba.
(Wikimedia Commons)




Petre Ego Pro Te Rogavi
by
Francisco Guerrero.
Available on YouTube at


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Latin text.

Ego pro te rogavi Petre, ut non deficiat fides tua:
Sed tu aliquando conversus confirma fratres tuos.
Et tibi dabo claves regni coelorum.


English translation.

I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not:
But thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren.
And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He was born and died in Seville, Spain.

Guerrero's early musical education was with his older brother, Pedro. He must have been an astonishing prodigy, for, at the age of 17, he was already appointed maestro de capilla (singing master, i.e. music director) at Jaén Cathedral, Spain. A few years later, he accepted a position in Seville. Apparently, during this time, he was much in demand as a singer and composer, establishing an exceptional reputation before his thirtieth birthday; in addition, he published several collections of his music abroad, an unusual event for a young composer.

After several decades of working and travelling throughout Spain and Portugal, sometimes in the employ of Emperor Maximilian II, he went to Italy for a year (1581–1582), where he published two books of his music. After returning to Spain for several years, he decided to travel to the Holy Land, which he finally was able to do in 1589. His adventure included visits to Damascus, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem; on the return trip, his ship was twice attacked by pirates, who threatened his life, stole his money, and held him for ransom. 

His ransom must have been paid, for he was able to return to Spain; unfortunately he had no money, and endured a series of misfortunes, including some time spent in debtor's prison; at last his old employer at Seville Cathedral extricated him, and he resumed working. His book on his adventurous visit to the Holy Land was published in 1590 and was a popular success (it is reasonable to suppose that Cervantes knew it). At the end of the decade, he planned one more trip to the Holy Land, but, unfortunately, he died in the plague of 1599 in Seville, before he was able to depart.




Salve Regina
by
Francisco Guerrero.
Available on YouTube at


Of all the Spanish Renaissance composers, he was the one who lived and worked the most in Spain. Others, for example, Morales and Victoria, spent large portions of their careers in Italy (though, unlike many Franco-Flemish composers of the time, Spanish composers usually returned home later in life).

Guerrero's music was both sacred and secular, unlike that of Victoria and Morales, the two other Spanish 16th-Century composers of the First Rank. He wrote numerous secular songs and instrumental pieces, in addition to Masses, Motets, and Passions. He was able to capture an astonishing variety of moods in his music, from ecstasy to despair, longing, joy, and devotional stillness; his music remained popular for hundreds of years, especially in Cathedrals in Latin America. 

Stylistically he preferred homophonic textures, rather like his Spanish contemporaries, and he wrote memorable, singable, lines. One interesting feature of his style is how he anticipated functional harmonic usage: There is a case of a Magnificat, discovered in Lima, Peru, once thought to be an anonymous 18th-Century work, which turned out to be a work of his.


Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...