A Census of Monk Musicians at El Escorial during the Reigns of Philip II and Philip III

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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

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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







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)








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








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








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.








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








/-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.








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








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.








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








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.








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.








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







(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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Documents

A Census of Monk Musicians at El Escorial during the Reigns of Philip II and Philip III