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A Census of Monk Musicians at El Escorial during the Reigns of Philip II and Philip IIIAuthor(s): Michael NooneSource: Early Music, Vol. 22, No. 2, Iberian Discoveries II (May, 1994), pp. 221-234+236Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3128136 .
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MichaelNoone
A c e n s u s o f m o n k musicians a t E l E s c o r i a l
d u r i n g t h e r e i g n s o f P h i l i p I I a n d P h i l i p I I I
N411 ??
ril
1 Interior f thebasilica f ElEsco-rial:Francisco e PaulaVanHalen,
Espaiiapintoresca artistica n.p.,n.d.)
MichaelNoone is UniversityResearch
Fellowat theUniversity fNewSouth
Wales Sydney)and editorof the
journalMusicologyAustralia. n 1990ohis research n ElEscorialwon the
annualprize or musicresearchromtheSociedadEspaiholaeMusicologia.He iscurrentlyVisitingFulbrightFellow n theDepartment fMusic
at CornellUniversity.
At11 a.m. on 23 April 1563 the foundation stone of the royal
monasteryof San Lorenzo el Real de El Escorialwas laidby the
architectJuanBautista de Toledo in a simple ceremonybefore a few
workmen and monks.' The entirecomplex,sitedin the rockyfoothills
of the Sierrade Guadarrama,48 kilometres north-west of Madrid,
waseventually
tocomprise
amonastery,
basilica,dynastic
mauso-
leum, library,seminary,college and a royal palace. By1586elaborate
preparationswere under way for the dedication of the newly com-
pleted basilica,which was intended by Philip II to be the actual and
symbolic centrepiece of a minutely planned Counter-Reformation
strategy n which liturgicalmusicplayedan essential role.Despite the
unquestioned politicalandsymbolic importanceof ElEscorialand its
liturgy,however,and notwithstandingPhilipII'sstatus as 'theleadinginternationalmusic patron of his age', no systematicstudy of the
musicians who worked at the monastery-palaceonce known as the
'eighthwonder of the world'3hasyet appeared.4
This articlepresentsthe findingsof recent archivalresearch nto themusical personnel at El Escorial during the reigns of Philip II
(1556-98)and Philip III (1598-1621).The names and tenure of all the
musicians who are known to have worked thereduringtheseyearsare
given in tabular form. Forconvenience, they are divided into three
periods:(1) 1571-86,coincidingwith the earlygrowthof El Escorial's
monastic community; (2) 1586-98,takingus from the completion of
the basilicato PhilipII'sdeath;and (3)1598-1621,mbracing he entire
reign of Philip III. I shall also presenthere some information about
the musicalresponsibilitiesof El Escorial'smonk musicians.Import-ant questionsremainingto be addressed nclude the repertoriesculti-
vated and performedat El Escorial,the ways in which the music ofthese repertorieswas performed,the performanceof music at El Es-
corialby visiting musicians,and biographiesof the monk musicians
namedhere: these issues I shall address n a forthcomingstudy.In the foundation statutes for El Escorial,Philip II ordered that
Mass and the divine office be celebrated n plainsong;he prohibited
polyphony 'in anymanner,neither on any daynor feast'5Tothis end
EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994 221
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he commissioned the largest and most expensiveset of plainsongchoirbooks evercopied. Neverthe-
less, and in spite of the restatementof the prohibi-tion of polyphony in 1592,6 there is strongevidence
to suggestthat a simple kind of polyphony-prob-
ably improvised and consisting of the addition of
contrapuntallines over a plainsong-was permit-ted. Indeed, it seems likely that this style of poly-
phony was developed at El Escorialby Martin de
Villanuevain direct responseto the king'swishes.7
It was also the king'swish that no salaried musi-
cians be employedat ElEscorial.
Justas PhilipII createda unique synthesisof po-
litical, courtly, monastic, dynastic and symbolicfunctions in ElEscorial,so too he promotedwithin
it a musical foundation whose dual function as
chapel royal and as monastery in the service of a
Counter-Reformationmonarchwas unique.Sucha
function demanded a particular organizationalstructurewhich has not alwaysbeen recognizedin
previous studies of El Escorial'smusical founda-
tion.8The determinationof this structure,however,
poses specialproblemsforthe musichistorian,who
is denied the kind of precision afforded by the
records of payment kept by such non-monastic
musicalinstitutionsaschapels royal,privatehouse-
holds, cathedrals and collegiate churches. In theabsence of payrollsand registersof personnel, the
scholarmust turn to a wide varietyof archival,eco-
nomic, liturgical and historical documents, both
published and unpublished, which illuminate,
often only tangentially, he musicallife of the insti-
tution.
The sources for evidence concerning the musi-
cianswho wereresponsiblefor the selection, main-
tenance and performanceof El Escorial'smusical
repertoryfall into three classes.The first and most
importantof these embracesthe followingprimary
manuscript sources: the monastery necrology
(commonly referred to as the Memorias sepul-
crales),the Actascapitulares, he so-called Pruebas
de limpiezade sangreand the Familia religiosaof
Francisco de Paula Rodriguez (1756).9 A second
class,the primary publishedsources,comprisesthe
writings of contemporary chroniclers and histor-
ians.Becauseof its central rolein PhilipII'sgovern-
ment, and because of the ready availability of
monkswillingand able to undertake he task,ElEs-
corial, especiallyduring its founder'sreign, is well
served by a good number of such sources. Theworks of the monks Sigiienza, Villacastin, San
Jer6nimo,Santos and Sepuilvedaogetherwith the
chronicles of the layhistorianCabrerade C6rdoba,
are the most important.1'Of these, only Sigfienzahas previouslyattractedthe attention of musicol-
ogy.' Finally, n a classby itself, as a recentlypub-lished secondary source, is the collection of bio-
graphicalnotes on Spanishmusicians that forms a
partof the extraordinary egacyof the indefatigable
19th-century musicologist Francisco Barbieri
(1823-94)held in the BibliotecaNacional,Madrid."
The monastery's musicians
The duties and responsibilitiesof the key musical
offices at El Escorialare set out in some detail in
the Librode las costumbres nd the Quadernode las
costumbres.13inceboth these manuscriptsare tire-
somely repetitious and prolix-even by the stan-
dards of the age-summaries, rather than trans-
lations of the sections dealing with the key offices
(cantor,succentor,chorister,corrector el canto andorganist)are offeredin the followingparagraphs.
The cantor and the succentor exchange roles
once aweek andoccupythe highestof the low choir
stalls, from which they intone the hymns and
psalms. Other intonations are made in the middle
of the choir. The cantor and the succentor are re-
sponsible for the placing, arrangement,manage-ment and removal of books on the lectern. The
cantor intones the responsesand the first Kyrie n
processions.'4
The term 'chorister' s applicable o all who par-
ticipate in the celebrationof the divine offices in
choir,whetherlaybrothers,ordainedmonks, sem-
inariansor novices.When singingresponsorially a
choros)no one may sing with the opposite choir,
and care mustbe taken so thatthe manyvoicessingas one. The correctordel canto conducts the choir
222 EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994
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and his direction must be followed diligently.Decorum is to be maintained in the choir at all
times.15
The officeof the corrector el canto s of great m-
portanceas much for the divineoffice,which is the
principal occupation of the JeronymiteOrder, asfor the monastery.The prelateand his deputies al-
wayschoose for this office a personwell informed,
discreet,modest,elderlyand skilledin the chant. In
order that the choir neverbe without a corrector,
second and a third who possess the same qualitiesare to be appointed. In the absence of the prior or
the vicar, the correctors responsible for granting
permissionto those who for various reasons must
absent themselves from the divine offices. At all
times,but especiallywhen the office is not familiar,
the correctormust examine all that is to be said or
done in the choir, since in all that which is said in
common, be it chant or word, the errors must be
eliminated. He is not, however,permitted to alter
anybooks without the authorityof the prior.The corrector el canto must also takethe dura-
tion of the office into consideration,and he must
beat time in the choir in such a waythat the divine
office finishes at the appropriate ime for meals and
for sleepaccordingto the rules of the keeperof the
clocks. In the alterationwhich he makes from slow
to fast, or from fast to slow, he should be mindfulthat it is done gradually,and in such a manner that
it will not be sudden, because if possible it is to be
altered without causing disorder,and so that the
people will remain unawareof it. He beats time in
the same mannerin the Offertory,Sanctus,Agnusand Postcommunion so therewill alwaysbe song in
the church, and so that it begins and ends exactlywith the actions and movements of the priests at
the altar.The corrector lso ensures that in proces-sions the choir does not losepitch and, if it does, he
corrects t.
The organistmust take care to observe unanim-
ity with the choir,as much in the sound and conso-
nance and melody of the choir's chant, which
sounds as one voice, as in observing the beat and
tempo keptby the choir.
.z.:??
....~
/.. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ::,• :• t'?" ..........b ••, .l
2 Perspectiveendering f ElEscorialwestbynorth):Francisco elosSantos,Adescriptionftheroyal alace, nd
monastery fStLaurence,alled heEscurial,ndofthechapel oyalof thePantheon.TranslatedromtheSpanish yG. Thompson(London, 1760)
EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994 223
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Musical personnel, 1571-86
El Escorial was organized, like every Jeronymitehouse, along strictly monastic lines. Almost every
aspect of life within the monastery precincts,from
the performanceof music to the baking of bread,
was entrusted to monks under the jurisdiction of
the prior. Although no documents listing its mu-
sical personnel as such have thus far been uncov-
ered, the surviving documentation is nevertheless
full enough to allow anapproximatereconstruction
of such a list. Tables to 3 detail all those members
of the musical establishment who are known to
have been active at El Escorial between 1571and
1586.16 Because of the nature of the documentation
upon which these andsubsequentsimilartablesare
based, no attempthas been made to account for amonk'spossible temporaryabsence from the mon-
astery.For the purpose of the tables, it has been
assumed that each monk lived continuously at El
Escorialuntil his death.
Singers The 12 monks named as singers duringthis firstperiod arelisted in table i. Since the entire
Jeronymitecommunity joined in singingthe plain-
song for Mass and the divine office, it may be
assumed that those monks singled out as singersmust have performed music over and above that
required of all members of the community. The
fact that three of them are named as basses and
three as altos further suggests that their services
were calledupon when there was a need for music
more elaborate than plainsong. Indeed, many are
named in the chroniclers'accountsof the singingof
sacred polyphony, fabordones and recreational
villanescas.No evidence has yet come to light,
however,to suggestthat these singersconstituteda
formal capilla with its own maestro and a clearlydefined liturgicalrole. At leasttwo of the singers-
PedroMarinandAgustindeValencia,andprobably
others-were brought to the Escorialcommunity
specifically because of their musical skills. Al-
though no documents have been found which refer
specificallyto the unbroken voices of the semin-
arians,we know that they sang a daily dawn Mass
on theirown.
Keyboard musicians Of the 11 keyboard musi-
cians who were active in the firstperiod (see table
2), the majoritywere members of the Jeronymite
community.'7In addition to their keyboardskills,
four of them were also active as singers,and one,
Diego de la Concepci6n, taught the seminarians
to sing.
Other musicians The three correctores el canto
who served in this period are listed in table3. We
know thatthey
were all skilledsingers
ofpoly-phony. It seems that, apart from keyboardinstru-
ments, the monastery carillon was the only other
instrument to be played by a member of the
Jeronymitecommunity.The presenceat ElEscorial
of Andres de San Lorenzo,who is known to have
playedthe carillon,is firstreportedin 1575.He died
in 16o8 (see table 12). There was only one monk
with any aptitude for composition during this
period, FrayHernando de Ciudad Real; f he com-
posed anyworksat ElEscorialthey are not known
to havesurvived.
Note on the tablesHorizontal arsrepresenthepresence f an individual.The ermini fthebarsare o beinterpreteds follows:
i - Definite ateof arrival
? Uncertaindateof arrival- - -
Dateatwhichpresence s firstdocu-
mented anearlier ateof arrivalslikely)
Dateof arrivalrecedingtart f table-
]Definite dateof departure
? Uncertaindateof departure
Date atwhichpresence s lastdocu-
mented alaterdateofdepartures likely)
) Dateofdepartureostdatingndoftable
224 EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994
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Tablei Singersat ElEscorial,1571-86
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
Hernandoe CiudadReal singer 1
Diego de Toledo singer
MiguelRomero singer 1Gasparde la Torre alto
Gasparde Le6n bass
Pedrode Navarra singer
Agustinde Valencia alto
Bartholomede SantoDomingo alto ]Matheode Avila bass
PedroMarin bass
Pedro de Buendia singer |
Nicolisde SanLorenzo singer )
Table 2 Keyboard players at El Escorial, 1571-86
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
Lorenzo e Sevilla tecla' 1Hernandoe CiudadReal tecla
Diego de Toledo organ
Jer6nimode Zaragoza organ
MiguelRomero organ 1Franciscode SantaAna tecla
Pedro de Buendia organ
Crist6baldeAguila organ ]
Diegode aConcepci6n teclalorganPedro de Orche teclalorgan
Carlosde Lila organ
'The sourcesoften reporta monk playingkeyboard tecla)withoutofferingfurtherdetails.
Table3 Correctores el cantoat ElEscorial,1571-86
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
Gasparde Le6n
Pedro de Navarra
PedroMarin
EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994 225
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Musical personnel, 1586-98
In the absence ofannual(or even less frequent) ists
of the monastery's nhabitants and the offices they
held, especiallyvaluable is the census of 1597,the
earliest census of its inhabitants thus far uncov-
ered.'8Although it specifies no musical posts or
responsibilities,we know from documents such as
the monastery necrology that at least 16 of those
mentioned in the census performed some sort of
musical role. The names of these 16appear n table
4, togetherwith a brief summaryof what is known
of their contribution to the music at ElEscorial.
Table4 is the closest approximationwe haveto a
list of the JeronymitemusiciansworkingatElEsco-
rial in the penultimateyearof Philip II'sreign.The
list maybe broken down to give, accordingto theirmusical roles, the number of musical personnelavailablein 1597.There were 14singers-of whom
we know that four werebasses,one wasa tenor and
another was an alto-six correctoresel canto,four
organists,one carillonist,one playerof the vihuela
del arco,one keyboard player,two scribesand one
composer.
Table Escorialmusiciansisted n the censusof1597
GaspareLe6n singerbass), orrectorel
canto
Diegode Toledo singer, rganistJosedeSigtienza musician,ingerMatheo e Avila singerbass)PedroMarin singerbass), orrectorel
canto
Ginds e Olmedo singertenor), rganistPedro de Navarra singer,correctorel canto
Martin e Villanueva singer, omposer, rganist,corrector elcanto
BartholomeeSantiago singeralto),correctorelcanto
Nicolasde SanLorenzo singerPedrode
Alcali singerCarlos eLila organistPedrode Estremera singerbass), orrectorel
canto,scribe
Juande aFuente singerbass),keyboard layer,correctorel canto
Andres e SanLorenzo carillonistFrancisco eAlcalh singer, ihuela layer,cribe
Singers Table5,which liststhose monk musicians
active assingers n the secondperiod, shows a small
numerical augmentation over the period 1571-86.
Qualitatively,here is an increasetoo, for this is the
first period in which we find the presence of the
adult tiple. Our listings for 1586-98 seem to show
the results of a consciouseffortto improvethe mu-
sical calibreof ElEscorial.Monks such as the tenor
and organistGines de Olmedo, the bassand correc-
tor delcanto PedroMarin,and the altoBartholome
de Santiago,for instance, were brought from the
monasteriesof their firstprofessionon account of
their musical skill.An acquisitionof particularsig-nificancefor the developmentof music at El Escor-
ial was Martin de Villanueva,who similarly was
brought from the Jeronymitemonastery
of San
Ger6nimo in Granada.As well as being a skilled
singer,he was both an organistand composer,and
he served for some years as correctormayor del
canto.'9
Correctores del canto The seven monks who
served as correctores el cantoin the second period
(see table6) representa significant ncreaseoverthe
four monks who served in the period 1571-86.All
seven are also listed as singers: he fact that so manymonks wereengagedin this office is a reflection of
the heavyburden of Masses,offices and commem-
orations borne by the Jeronymitecommunity. As
the Librode costumbresmakesclear,a second and a
third corrector el canto wereappointedin addition
to the principal correctormayor del canto.20 The
obligationsof this office wereclearlyundertakenbythe most skilledand experiencedmusicians.
Keyboard musicians and other instrumentalists
The seven keyboardplayersactive during the sec-
ond period are listed in table7. Fourof them were
also active as singers,and six were organists.Juande la Fuente s describedsolelyasa keyboardplayer.
In 1587,when Septilveda ells us that all the organs
wereplayed together,2'ive organistswere available
from the monastic community. During the entire
perioda singlemonk,Andris de SanLorenzo,must
have takensolechargeof the playingof the carillon.
226 EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994
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Table5 Singersat ElEscorial,1586-98
86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98
Gasparde la Torre alto C
Diego de Toledo singer (
Gasparde Le6n bass (Pedrode Navarra singer (Matheo de Avila bass
(PedroMarin bass (
Nicolhsde SanLorenzo singer (MartindeVillanueva singer |
Pedro deAlcal•'
singer
Pedro de Estremera bass
Bartholomede Santiago alto
Josede Sigtienza singer
Gindsde Olmedo tenor
Diego de SantaMaria tiplelalto ?
Juande la Fuente bass
Francisco eAlcali singer
1Nothing is known of this monk's ife apart romthe fact that in HolyWeekof 1587he sangpolyphonicPassionswith Martinde Villanueva,Bartholom6de Santiago,PedroMarinand Gasparde Le6n.
Table 6 Correctores el canto at ElEscorial,1586-98
86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98
Gasparde Le6n
Pedro de Navarra
Pedro Marin
Martinde Villanueva
Pedrode Estremera
Bartholomede Santiago
Juande la Fuente
Table7 Keyboardplayersat ElEscorial,1586-98
86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98
DiegodelaConcepci6n tecla/organPedrode Orche teclalorgan
Diegode Toledo organCarlos e Lila organMartin eVillanueva organ
Ginds e Olmedo organ
Juande laFuente tecla
EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994 227
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/-01?
co
~~?~anx?
r?;- Yfr~?~;1'PT~t:':
3 Viewof monks'choir: F. Brambilla],Colecci6nelas vistasdelr[ea]litiodes[a]nLorenzoMadrid, 832)
Althoughit is known that for certainmajorcere-
monies both the capillasrealesand, less frequently,the capillas of the cathedrals of both Avila and
Toledo travelled to El Escorial to sing and play forimportantceremonies,there is no evidence to sug-
gestthatsecularmusiciansparticipated n liturgicalmusic at El Escorialduringthe latterpartof Philip
II'sreign.Neither is there evidence to documentthe
regularuse of anyinstruments other thanthe organ
by the Jeronymitecommunity. The one slender
piece of evidenceconcerningthe playingof instru-
ments other than the organ which we do have
concerns the monk Alonso de Vaeza who 'playedthe baj6nand other instruments' and who came to
El Escorialfrom the monasteryof SanJer6nimoat
Yuste or the feast of StLawrence.22isitingchapels,of course,brought their own instrumentalistswith
them.23Only one monk whose nameappears n the
1597census is known to haveplayedan instrument
other than the organ or carillon (see table 8). But
the obituary notice of Francisco de Alcala states
nothing more than that''heplayedthe vihuela del
arco'.24The participation of such an instrumentin the strictly controlled and regulated musical
Table Other nstrumentalistst ElEscorial,586-98
86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98
Andres e SanLorenzo carillon (Alonsode Baezal dulcian
Francisco eAlcala vihuela elarco
'This musician,who 'played he dulcian andother instruments', ravelled oEl Escorial or the feast of St Lawrencen 1587; e fell ill soon afteranddied.
228 EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994
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environment of El Escorial during the reign of
PhilipII seems unlikely.Even as late as 1630 he Es-
corial monk Martin de la Vera voiced the Order's
disapproval, in principle, of the intervention of
instruments other than the organ in liturgical
music.25For the 17 years 1586-1603Villanueva was the
only composerworkingat El Escorial,and it is his
musicalstylethat is characteristicof the royalmon-
asteryduringthe lateryearsof the reignof PhilipII
and the early yearsof that of Philip III.26
At Philip II's death El Escorialcomprised three
mutually dependent foundations. The largestand
most importantwas the monastery,with a popula-tion of over150.Under the jurisdictionof the mon-
asterystood the collegeand the seminary,the pop-ulations of which stood at about40 each.
In the governanceand execution of its day-to-
day functions, El Escorial was essentially like anyother Jeronymitemonastery.Twofactors,however,
distinguish it in a decisiveway from other monas-
teries of the Order.First,as both structureandsym-
bol, it embodied a unique synthesis of the roles
which its founder perceived as inseparable. No
otherJeronymitemonastery-indeed, no otherRe-
naissance institution-combined the functions of
dynasticmausoleum, centre of the governmentofan empire, defender of the faith againstthe Refor-
mation and showcase of Catholic orthodoxy.The
other significant factor distinguishing El Escorial
from other Jeronymitehouses is a corollaryof the
first: t is the extraordinarywealth withwhichitwas
endowed.
In any other even vaguely comparable royalor
ecclesiastical oundationof the time, the best musi-
cians were actively sought in order to add splen-
dour, magnificence and, indirectly, legitimacy to
the foundation. In the same way as other Renais-sance princes lavishly endowed their palaces and
chapels, PhilipIIsparedno expensein equippingEl
Escorial musically. In fact the sums paid for the
copyingof the plainsongchoirbooksand the build-
ing of the organswere unprecedentedanywhere n
the world. Yet he insisted, in paragraph38 of the
letter of foundation,that the personnelresponsiblefor the music be drawn entirely from the monas-
tery. As a musical institution, then, El Escorial
functioned within a strictly monastic framework.
No secular musicians were employed and it was
therefore not possible for the monastery to com-
pete for musicianswith such institutions as cathed-
rals and chapels royal which advertised salaried
positions on their musical staffs. In addition, the
participationof instrumentalists,one of the most
characteristic features of 16th-century Spanishchurch music, was expresslyforbidden. And since
there was no formallyconstitutedcapilla,there was
no need of a position such as a maestrode capilla.While all the monks were involved in the perfor-mance of plainsong, a smaller number of skilled
singerswas available o perform polyphony.These
were often the same monks who, as correctores el
canto,directedthe community in itsplainsong.The
ill
t c u c
ccn
n i c i s r c o i n
4 Plainsonghoirbookno.76,writtenbythe scribeJose
Rodriguezn 1579 nd corrected y FranciscoHernan-dezin 1580
EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994 229
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polyphony heysangwas of a typedeveloped tEl
Escorialn directresponse o theexpressedwishes
of PhilipII.Inlegislatingor a strict nterpretationof Tridentinerthodoxy n theliturgical nd mu-
sicalobservance f hismonastery-palace,he 'most
Catholic ing'asPhilip tyledhimself, reated on-ditionswhich nurturedpracticesmorerigidlyor-
thodox than those embracedanywhereelse in
CatholicChristendom.
Musicalpersonnel, 1598-1621
Bythetime of Philip's eath n1598he musical s-
tablishment f El Escorialhaddevelopedts own
momentum, ince, n addition o itssecure ndow-
ments, t couldboast several killedmusicians. ts
development long ineswhichmighthavebeenex-
pectedof a typical16th-centurymusical ounda-
tion, though,had been checkedby the founder's
scrupulousproscriptions. he reignof PhilipIII,
however,was o seequitedifferentorcesatwork n
thecompositionandperformancef music,since
Philip I'sdeath ignalledhebeginning f a decline
in the observance f the restrictionswhichhe so
carefullynshrinednthefoundationtatutes.
Singers During hereignofPhilip II henumber
of adultmonkswho wereknownwithinthecom-munity or theirsingingability anged romabout
11 n 1611o about17 n 1620.Theyare listedin table
9. For15of these singers he documentsdo not
specifyvoicetypes.Of the remainder,ix are de-
scribed sbasses,one asa tenor,oneas analto,an-
otherasa tiplelalto ndthreeas tiples.Oneof the
singers escribed satiplewas hecastrato edrode
Antequera.Unfortunately,t is not known how
longthismonkremained tthemonastery,utit is
certainhatcastratoswererarely ncounteredtEl
Escorial.27uringthis thirdperiod,nine singersdiedor left thecommunity nd11newsingerswere
admitted. Many of them undertook other musical
responsibilities, and some, such as Baltasar de
Fuenlabrada,who served as prior 1642-8, rose to
high rank within the monastery.
The presence of the young Pedro de Hubscar,
who probably entered the Escorial seminary in
about1602,heraldsa new developmentin the mon-
astery's musical establishment. According to his
obituarynotice, Pedro de Hu scaroccupied 'one of
the two places which His Majesty [Philip III] as-
signed for those who would know polyphony andwould be able to assist in the capilla'.28 his is the
first referencethus far uncovered to a specificallymusicaldecision madeby Philip III.It is a decision,
moreover,which contrastsdirectlywith his father's
prohibition of polyphony, although there is no
evidence to suggestthat the two placesreserved or
singers of polyphony were open to any but monk
musicians.It seems likelythat the founder'sprohi-bition of polyphonywasinterpreted,atthis time, as
a prohibition of polyphony sung by secular musi-
cians. If something of an informal polyphonic
capillawas functioning from this time, as the evid-
ence suggests, it was one which existed entirelywithin a monastic framework.
It is probablethatMiguelde Talaverawas admit-
ted to just sucha placein 1614.Froman entryin the
Actascapitulares f 16o1, t is clearthat the abilityto
sing was one of the criteriaemployed in the selec-
tion of novices.29 An entry of 16o8 in the same
document, for instance,statessimply that 'Joande
Cuenca was admitted to the habit for being verycapableand havinga
voice'.3?As earlyas 1594,JuanAlonso de Almela informs
us, a position of maestrode la masicaexistedin the
Escorial seminary.3'The first monk we know to
have held this post was JuanBaptista,who received
the habit at ElEscorialin 1605.32By 1617,however,
theremust have been some dissatisfactionwith the
musical tuitionbeing providedfor the seminarians,
since in Mayof that year the Jeronymiteswere in-
formed of the king'sapprovalfor the creationof a
salariedpost of maestro de canto in the seminary.The incumbent of this new position was to be oc-
cupied solely in teaching the seminariansto sing
and would be requiredto be able to playthe baj6n
in the choir."33lthoughthe proposalwassupported
by the community, no recordof a subsequent ap-
pointment has been found.
230 EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994
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Table9 Singersat ElEscorial,1598-1621
98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Gasparde Le6n bass(
Martinde Villanueva singer (Pedrode Navarra singer (PedroMarin bass (Josede Sigtienza singer (
Diego de Toledo singer
Ginesde Olmedo tenor (Franciscode Alcali singer (Matheo de Avila bass (Nicolasde SanLorenzo singer (Pedrode Estremera bass (Bartholomede Santiago alto (
Diego de SantaMaria tiplelalto (
Juande la Fuente bass
(Pedro de Huescar tiple ?
Faustinode Santorcaz singer
JuanBaptista singerBaltasarde Fuenlabrada singerPedro de Antequera castrato
Pedrode Balconete singerPedro de Tafalla singer
Miguelde Talavera tipleFranciscode Colmenar singerMartinde la Cruz bass 1
Diego de Colmenar singer
Juande SanMiguel singerPedro de Castellon' singer
Thedatesof this monk's shortstayat ElEscorialare not known.
Tableto Correctores el cantoat ElEscorial,1598-1621
98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Gasparde Le6n
Martinde Villanueva
PedroMarin
Pedro de Navarra (Pedro de Estremera
Bartholomede Santiago
Juande la Fuente
JuanBaptistaBaltasarde Fuenlabrada
Pedro de Balconete
EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994 231
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Correctoresdel canto Those monks who held the
officeof corrector elcanto some time during PhilipIII'sreign are listed in tableio. During this periodfour of the monks who held this office in PhilipII's
reigndied and werereplacedby threeothers.Three
monks who had held the office in Philip II'sreignoutlived Philip III. The office was evidentlyan im-
portant and burdensome one, and the minimum
number of monks available o fulfil its duties dur-
ing this period was four. From 1612onwards, six
monks wereavailable.The fact thatPedro de Tafalla
was the first importantmusician at El Escorialnot
to have served this office suggests that he devoted
his energies to the direction of the polyphonywhich was sung by the informalcapilla.
Keyboard musicians The keyboard musicians
resident some time during the third period are
listed in table 11.During this time, five new key-board musicians are found. About Pedrode Castel-
16n,Juande la Cruz (d 1605)and his homonym (d
1612) virtually nothing is known. The other two
newcomers were the composers Crist6bal de San
Jer6nimo and Pedro de Tafalla,many of whose
works survive. Three of those organists who had
served during Philip II's reign-Martin de Villa-
nueva (d 1605),Diego de Toledo(d 1608)and Ginesde Olmedo (d 16o8)-died duringthis period. The
Flemish organist Carlos de Lila and the keyboard
player Juan de la Fuente, however, outlived both
Philip IIand Philip III.
Other instrumentalists Table12 lists those musi-
cians who playedinstrumentsother thankeyboardinstruments.Andres de San Lorenzocontinued to
playthe carillon until his death in 16o8,and the vi-
huelista del arcoFrancisco de Alcalalived at El Es-
cdrial until his death in 1611.For most of PhilipIII's
reign (1603-21) El Escorial was served by two bajon-
istas,Pedrode Huescarand Faustinode Santorcaz.
For a brief time a thirdbajonista,Juande la Cruz(d
1605), was available. This contrasts significantlywith the situation during the reign of Philip II,
when only one bajonista,Alonso de Baeza, was
available or a mere twoyears.SincePedro de Hues-
caractually earnt the baj6nat ElEscorial, t seems
that there was a growing requirementwithin the
community's music-making for the participationof such an instrument.
Composers Martin de Villanuevawas the lastand
most important composerto write atand forElEs-
corialduring PhilipII'slifetime. Whereas he latter
part of Philip II's reign was characterizedby an
idiosyncratically conservative style of liturgicalpolyphony,exemplifiedmost clearly n the worksof
Table11 Keyboardplayersat ElEscorial,1598-1621
98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Martinde Villanueva organ "
Diego de Toledo organ
Ginesde Olmedo organ
Carlosde Lila organ (
Juande la Fuente tecla (Juande la Cruz(d 1612) organ
Crist6baleSanJer6nimoorgan ? jJuande la Cruz(d 1605) tecla
.-'Pedrode Tafalla organ )Pedro de Castellon1 organ
1The dates of this monk's shortstayat El Escorialarenot known.
232 EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994
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Table 12 Otherinstrumentalistsat ElEscorial,1598-1621
98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Andres e SanLorenzo carillon (Franciscode Alcala vihueladelarco (
Pedrode Huescar dulcian ?FaustinoeSantorcaz dulcian
Juande la Cruz(d 1605) dulcian ?-
Table13 Composersat ElEscorial,1598-1621
98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Martin eVillanueva
Crist6bale SanJer6nimo 111
JuanBaptistaPedrode Tafalla
Villanueva,the reignof PhilipIIIwascharacterized,f the evidence of
the monastery'schoirbooks is to be considered,by the works of such
composers of internationalreputationas Palestrina,Morales,Rogierand Guerrero,as well as manylesser-known Iberiancomposers.34
During PhilipIII'sreignthree new composersreceived the habit at
El Escorial(see table13).The first to arrivewas Crist6balde SanJer6-
nimo, who was professedin 1605. Very ittle is known about him, al-though it is assumed that the threeorganworks and fourvillancicos35that survive (attributedto a Crist6balde San Jer6nimo) are of his
composition.36A little later Juan Baptista received the habit and
entered the community,which he served until his death in 1653.The
third composer was Pedro de Tafalla,who, like Baptista,lived longinto the reign of Philip IV (1621-65).
he curious musical history of Spanish monasteries during the
GoldenAgeis one thatremains to be told. Until at leastone other
such institutionhas been studied, it will not be possibleto determine,on the one hand, the preciseextent to which ElEscorial'smusicallife
conformed to a typicallymonasticpattern,and, on the other,how far
it was conditioned by its unique status.What is certain,however,is
that music-making within the confines of the monastery precinctscannot be assumedto have replicatedthat of cathedralsand chapels
royal.
It is apleasureoacknowledgeheassis-tanceofthestaffs f the ibrariesnd
archivesnwhichmuchoftheresearch
forthispaperwascarriedut. Tothearchivistf theRealBibliotecafSanLorenzo elEscorial, . Teodoro lonso
Turienzo,ndhisassistant,DonJosedePradoHerranz, amespeciallyndebted.In
Spainalsoreceived
elpromthe
Biblioteca acional,heArchivoGeneraldelPalacioReal, heArchivoHistoricoNacional,heArchivoGeneraltSimancas nd theArchivoHistoricoProvincialn Toledo. n the USA was
generouslyssisted t theHispanic oci-
etyofAmerican New YorkCityandbyLenoreCoral ndJimCassaro t Cornell
University.amgratefulotheAlfredS.WhiteBequest,heI. B. Trend und, heWilliamBarclay quireFundandthe
SpanishMinistry fForeign ffairsorgrantswhich nabledme toundertakeresearchnSpainand the USA.Ofthe
many ndividuals hoofferedupportandcriticism,wish o thank speciallyJuanCarlosAsensio,Cristina ordas,PaulinoCapdep6n,MartinCer6n, ainFenlon,Louis ambou,TessKnighton,PaulLaird,BegohaLolo, oseL6pez-Calo,HisExcellencyntonioNtifez,LuisRobledo,orge dnchez,oseSierra,AntonioSoler ndAlfonso eVicente.
EARLY MUSIC MAY 1994 233
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Finally, my thanksgo to Paul and Beat-
riceBeckett,whoseinspiredcreationoftheFundaci6nValparaisoprovidedan
idyllicenvironmentor the completion ofthis article.
1 J.deSanJer6nimo,Librode memo-
riasdesteMonasterio e SantLorencioel Real',Colecci6nde documentos nedi-
tospara la historiade Espaiia,vii
(Madrid,1845),p.23.
2 R. Stevenson, Spanishcathedral
music in the GoldenAge (Berkeley,1961),p.241.
3 The termwas firstused n Paolo
Morigia, Historiabrievedell'augustis-sima casa d'Austria(Bergamo, 1593),and wasquicklyakenupbyJ.Alonsode Almela n Spain n his'Descripci6nde la octavamaravilla elmundo',Documentospara la historia del Monas-
terio de San Lorenzoel Real de ElEscorial,vi, pp.2-98.
4 The mostcomprehensivetudy husfarpublished is La mt'sica en el Monas-
terio del Escorial:actas del simposium(Madrid, 1993).The symposium was
dedicated o thememoryof P. Samuel
Rubio, o whosepioneeringworkallEscorial cholars redeeply ndebted.Seeespecially .Rubio, Lacapillade
mtisicadel Monasterio eElEscorial',
La Ciudad de Dios, clxiii (1951),
pp.59-117,and S. Rubio, Catdlogodel
archivo e mutsicaelMonasterio e SanLorenzol Realde ElEscorialCuenca,1976).Thedistinguished ugustinianscholarLuisHernandez as announcedhisintention o publishadocumentarystudyof musicand iturgy tElEscor-ialin the near uture.
5 'Nohayaenningunamanera,ni en
ningtindia,ni fiesta, antode6rgano',Documentosara ahistoria elMonas-teriode SanLorenzo l Realde El Escor-
ial, ii, p.102.
6 'Enel capitulo 8,quetratadel oficiodivinoy queno hayacantode 6rgano,se podniafiadir uesehagay serececonforme l nuevobreviario misaldelpapaPioQuinto',Documentosarala historia elMonasterioe San
Lorenzo lRealdeElEscorial,i, p.178.
7 M.Noone,'Thepoliticsof austerity
and musical tyle n Philip I'sEscor-ial',GordonAndersonMemorialLec-ture(University f NewEngland,Armidale,NSW,1991).
8 B.Lolo, Aproximaci6nlacapillade
mtisicadel Monasterio eElEscor-
ial',Lamutsican el MonasterioelEscorial:ctasdelsimposium,PP-343-90.
9 Memoriasepulcrales LIBROMEMORIAL DE LOS RELIGIOSOS
HIIOS PROFFESOS DE ESTE MONAS-
TERIO DE S. LAVRENCIO EL REAL,
ArchivoGeneral elPalacioReal,Madrid,Legajo 791. hemanuscriptmeasures 70x 240 mm,andis boundin two volumeswithonesystemoffoliation.
Actas apitulares Libro e losActos
CapitularesesteMonesterioe Sanct
LorenciolReal, lqualcomienga esdelaprimera undagi6nel dichoMones-
terio,Archivodela RealBiblioteca elMonasterio eElEscorial,MSs.s.
Pruebas e impieza esangreMadrid,ArchivoGeneral el PalacioReal,Patronato. . Lorenzo,Legajos ,2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 31,33,34, 35,36, 37,38,39,40, 41,42, 44, 45,46, 99, 136,149,1,686,1,69o,1,816, ,995.
Familia eligiosae elr[ea]lmonas-teriodeS[an]Lor[en]zoistribuidaorsusclasses scrita orFran[cis]coePaulaRodriguez.. Ahode1756,New
York,TheHispanicSocietyLibrary,MSHC380/527.
o10J.deSigiienza, undaci6n elMonasterio e ElEscorialMadrid,1963) reprint f books3-4 of Historiade la Orden eSanJer6nimo, uevaBiblioteca eAutoresEspafioles(Madrid, 907-9)].
'Memorias e Fr.Antoniode Villa-
castin', d.J.ZarcoCuevas,Documen-tospara aHistoria elMonasterio eSanLorenzol Realde ElEscorial,(Madrid, 916).
SanJer6nimo,Librode memorias
desteMonasterio e SantLorencio lReal'.F. delosSantos,Qvarta artedela
historia elaordende SanGer6nimo(Madrid, 680).
'Sucesosdel reinadodeFelipe I(Historianeditadel P. Fr.Jer6nimo e
Septlveda,religiosode la Ordende San
Jeronimo n el monasterio e SanLorenzo l Real)', d.J.ZarcoCuevas,LaCiudad eDios,cxi(1917), P-358-64, 488-500; xii(1918), p.54-62; xiv(1918), p.127-37,00-15; xv(1918),pp.122-36,02-13, 94-306,464-78;cxvi(1919), p.227-44, 96-412;xvii
(1919), p.101-12;xix(1919), p.14-28,104-24,198-211,90-304; xxviii 1922),
PP.33-47,oo-11, 208-17, 259-70,338-53,413-21;cxxix(1922),PP-32-40, 5-105, 175-84, 253-62, 413-21; CXXX (1922),
pp.15-25, 174-85,346-56. See also J.ZarcoCuevas,El P. Fr.Jer6nimo e
Sepilveda:monjee historiador eSanLorenzo lReal',La Ciudad eDios,cxi
OTcOTinCilll
t u d o In l i c e n t
5 Plainsonghoirbook o.43, lluminatedy Fray ulian elaFuentedel Saz
234 EARLY MUSIC MAY1994
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(1917),pp.358-64, and J.de Sepuilveda,'Historia de varios sucesos y de las
cosas notables que han acaecido en
Espafia y otras naciones desde el afiode 1584hasta el de 1603',Documentos
para la Historia delMonasterio de
San Lorenzoel Real de ElEscorial, v
(Madrid, 1924).L.Cabrera de C6rdoba, Historia
de FelipeII, reyde Espaha,2 vols.
(Madrid, 1876-7), and L. Cabrera de
C6rdoba, Relacionesde las cosas sucedi-
das en la C6rtedeEspaha,
desde1599hasta1614(Madrid, 1857).
11 J. Sierra,'Lamtisica en El Escorial,
segun el P. Josede Sigiienza',Revista
de musicologia,vi (1983),PP-497-520o.
12 FranciscoAsenjoBarbieri:Biografias
y documentossobremaisica maisicosespaholes (LegadoBarbieri),ed. E.
Casares,2
vols. (Madrid, 1986).13 Archivo Generaldel Palacio Real,
Madrid, Legajo137.The Librode las
costumbreswas draftedin 1567and sus-
pended by the Jeronymitecommunityin 16o8.
14 Librode las costumbres,pp.46-9.
15 Librode las costumbres,pp.59-62.
16 Briefbiographies for the majorityof the monks listed here and in subse-
quent tables aregiven in M. Noone,
Music and musiciansat theEscorial,
1563 o 1665 (PhD diss., CambridgeU.,
1990), app. 4.17 Only one keyboardmusician,
Crist6balde Aguila,was not a
Jeronymite.From the Actascapitularesof 1582,we know that he served the
community for many years and taughtthe organ to some of the monks. See
Noone, Music and musicians,app. 3,
doc.3.4.
18 Archivo de la Real Biblioteca del
Monasterio de El Escorial,MS caja14,no. 13:Lista de laspersonas.Fora tran-
scription of the entire census, see
Noone, Musicand musicians,app. 3,
doc. 3.2.
19 A concise biographical sketch of
FrayMartin de Villanueva can befound in Noone, Musicand musicians,
PP.344-5. See also Franciscode los
Santos, Qvartapartede la historiade la
ordende San Ger6nimo,pp.693b-694,
724;Memoriassepulcrales, f.515v-516v;Madrid, BibliotecaNacional, MS
14084,PP.756-7;Rubio, 'Lacapilla de
muisicadel Monasterio de El Escorial',
p.115;San Jer6nimo,'Librode memo-
rias deste Monasterio de Sant Lorencio
el Real',p.419;Rubio, Catdlogo,
pp.650-51;A. de LarreaPalacin,'Catail-
ogo de monjesmtisicos
en El Escorial',
Revista de archivos,bibliotecasy museos,lxxi (1963),P.378;Stevenson, Spanishcathedralmusic,p.33o,n.34 and Lon-
don, BritishLibrary,Add. 28,423,no.153, f.384r.
20 See Librode las costumbres,
PP-59-62.
21 'Desputs entrando por la puerta de
la iglesia, tocaron todos los 6rganos',J.de Sepuilveda, Sucesos del reinado de
Felipe II', La Ciudad de Dios, cxii
(1918), p.310.
22 See Memoriassepulcrales, .178r.It is
not even known whether or not hispresence was requiredbecause of his
instrumental skill, let alone whether or
not he joined in the liturgicalmusic-
making associatedwith the patronalfestival.
23 The sound of the dulcians and cor-
nets of the capillarealin El Escorialon
the feast of St Lawrence(io August)
1586,for example, is reported in
Sepilveda, 'Sucesos del reinado de
Felipe II', p.132.See also Cabrerade
C6rdoba, Relacionesde las cosas sucedi-
das en la C6rtede Espaha, p.199.
24 Memoriassepulcrales, .378r.Fora
transcription, see Noone, Music and
musicians,app. 2, doc. 2.2.
25 M. de la Vera,Instruc[c]i6nde Ecle-
siasticos(Madrid, 1630),pp.195-6.
26 See M. Noone, 'FelipeII, Martin de
Villanuevay el estilo desornamentado
musical de El Escorial',La musicaen el
Monasteriodel Escorial:actas del simpo-
slum, pp.427-85.
27 A Moroccan ambassadorvisiting
Spain in 1690-91 reported seeing cas-
tratos in Madridand at the Royal
Palace.See GarciaMercadal,Viajesdeextranjerospor Espaday Portugal, i,
p.1231. On the wider issue of Spanish
castrati, see R. Sherr, Guglielmo Gon-
zaga and the Castrati',Renaissance
quarterly,xxxiii (1980), pp.33-56.
28 See Memoriassepulcrales, f.525r-v.Fora transcription,see Noone, Music
and musicians,app. 2, doc. 2.22.
J.Zarco Cuevas, LosJer6nimosde San
Lorenzoel Real de ElEscorial El Escor-
ial, 1930),p.8o, statesthat 'it is even
said that he was the [Escorial's]first
maestrode capilla'.Such an interpreta-tion, however, seems to be based upona misreading of this document.
29 See Actas capitulares, .99v, tran-
scribed in Noone, Music and musicians,
p.318,doc. 3.5.
30 'En4 de Julio [1608] fue Recibido al
Habito fr. Joan de cuenca por ser muydiestro y tener voz', Actascapitulares,f.125r.
31 No such position is mentioned in
either the Librode las costumbresor the
Quadernosde las costumbres.
32 See Noone, Music and musicians,
app. 2, doc. 2.7.
33 See Noone, Music and musicians,
app. 3, doc. 3.7.
34 A detailed study of the polyphonic
manuscript choirbooks, including
physical descriptions, inventories and
transcriptionsof the original tables of
contents will be found in my forth-
coming article in Revista de
musicologia.
35 The Corpus Christi villancico, Al
pan de los cielosis transcribedin P.
Laird,Thevillancicorepertory t San
LorenzoElReal del Escorial,c.163o-
c.i715,2 vols. (PhD diss., U. of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1986), ii,
pp.127-53.
36 See Rubio, Catdlogo,pp.626-8.
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