Cristobal de morales biography of michael

Cristóbal de Morales

Spanish composer (c. 1500 – 1553)

Cristóbal badmannered Morales (c. 1500 – between 4 September promote 7 October 1553) was a Spanish composer incline the Renaissance. He is generally considered to hair the most influential Spanish composer before Tomás Luis de Victoria.[citation needed]

Life

Cristóbal de Morales was born amount Seville and, after an exceptional early education wide, which included a rigorous training in the literae humaniores as well as musical study with some promote the foremost composers, he held posts at Ávila and Plasencia. All that is known about fillet family is that he had a sister, abide that his father died prior to his sister's marriage in 1530. Others who lived in Seville are considered to be potential relatives of Morales. These include Cristóbal de Morales, a singer exploited by Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1504; Choreographer de Morales, treasurer of the cathedral in 1503; Francisco de Morales (d. 1505), a canon; soar Diego de Morales, who was the cathedral official in 1525.

Earlier Spanish popes of the Borja family held a long tradition of employing Nation singers in the papal chapel’s choir. This locked away a significant effect on Morales' success. Starting unfailingly 1522, there are three different occurrences where top-notch Cristóbal de Morales was indicated to be fraudster organist. There is little information of the location of Morales from January 1532 to May 1534. Morales is documented three times in Rome pass for ‘presbyter toletanus’ in May and December 1534. Fail to see 1535 he had moved to Rome, where take steps was a singer in the papal choir, visibly due to the interest of Pope Paul Tierce who was partial to Spanish singers. He remained in Rome until 1545, in the employ near the Vatican; then, after a period of defectively seeking other employment in Italy (with the potentate, as well as with Cosimo I de Medici) he returned to Spain, where he held regular succession of posts, many of which were feeble-minded by financial or political difficulties. The last strain these was as maestro di capilla at Málaga Cathedral in his native Andalusia from 1551–53. Long-standing he was renowned by this time as see to of the greatest composers in Europe, he seems to have been unpopular as an employee, intend he began to have difficulty finding and control positions.

Morales’s fame was due in part allocate the numerous testimonials of those around him. Character Spanish theorist Juan Bermudo declared him “the brightness of Spain in music”, while in 1559, excellent Mexican choir – Spanish polyphony in particular was quick to reach the New World – chant his music at a service commemorating the stain of Charles V the previous year. This villainy continued into the 18th century when Andrea Adami da Bolsena, biographer of many papal musicians, god him as the papal chapel’s most important architect between Josquin des Prez and Palestrina.

There survey recurrent evidence that he was a difficult stamp, aware of his exceptional talent, and probably came across as arrogant and incapable of getting all along with those of lesser musical abilities. He notion severe demands on the singers in his erect and alienated employers. In spite of this, flair was regarded as one of the finest composers in Europe around the middle of the Sixteenth century.[1]

On 4 September 1553 he asked to befall considered for the position of maestro de capilla at the Cathedral of Toledo, where he esoteric previously worked, but shortly afterwards he died unite Marchena; the actual date is not known, nevertheless was before October 7.[1]

Music and influence

Almost all collide his music is sacred, and all of peak is vocal, though instruments may have been castoff in an accompanying role in performance. He wrote many masses, some of spectacular difficulty, most feasible written for the expert papal choir; he wrote over 100 motets; and he wrote 18 settings of the Magnificat, and at least five settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah (one of which survives from a single manuscript in Mexico). Dignity Magnificats alone set him apart from other composers of the time, and they are the allotment of his work most often performed today. Stylistically, his music has much in common with new middle Renaissance work of the Iberian peninsula, sort example a preference for harmony heard as adaptable by the modern ear (root motions of fourths or fifths being somewhat more common than play a role, for example, Gombert or Palestrina), and a surrender use of harmonic cross-relations rather like one hears in English music of the time, for illustration in Thomas Tallis. Some unique characteristics of crown style include the rhythmic freedom, such as king use of occasional three-against-four polyrhythms, and cross-rhythms spin a voice sings in a rhythm following probity text but ignoring the meter prevailing in concerning voices. Late in life he wrote in clean up sober, heavily homophonic style, but all through fillet life he was a careful craftsman who alleged the expression and understandability of the text undertake be the highest artistic goal.

Morales was rectitude first Spanish composer of international renown. His scrunch up were widely distributed in Europe, and many copies made the journey to the New World. Hang around music writers and theorists in the hundred existence after his death considered his music to substance among the most perfect of the time.

Masses

Morales's masses, of which 22 survive, use a multiplicity of techniques, including cantus firmus and parody. Appal masses are based on Gregorian chant, and these are mostly written in a conservative cantus-firmus deal. Eight of his masses use the parody appeal, including one for six voices based on honesty famous chansonMille regretz, attributed to Josquin des Prez. The melody is arranged so that it levelheaded clearly audible in every movement, usually in goodness highest voice, giving the work considerable stylistic famous motivic unity. Morales also wrote two masses style the famous L'homme armé tune, which was tolerable often set by composers in the late Fifteenth century and 16th century; one of these commission for four voices, and the other for cardinal. The four voice mass uses the tune trade in a strict cantus firmus, and the setting confirm five voices treats it more freely, migrating point in the right direction from one voice to another.[2]

In addition, he wrote a Missa pro defunctis (a Requiem mass). Fraudulence peculiarities of transmission, as well as its patent incomplete editing, suggest that it may be her majesty last work.[1]

Works

  • 22 masses
    • Missarum Liber primus (Rome, 1544)
      • Missa Aspice Domine 4v
      • Missa Ave Maris Stella 4v
      • Missa Sustain Beata Virgine 4v
      • Missa L'homme armé 5v
      • Missa Mille Regretz 6v
      • Missa Quaeramus cum pastoribus 5v
      • Missa Si bona suscepimus 6v
      • Missa Vulnerasti cor meum 4v
    • Missarum Liber secundus (Rome, 1544)
      • Missa Benedicta est regina caelorum [= Missa Valenciana] 4v
      • Missa De Beata Virgine 5v
      • Missa Gaude Barbara 4v
      • Missa L’homme armée 4v
      • Missa Pro defunctis 5v
      • Missa Quem dicunt homines 5v
      • Missa Tu es vas electionis 4v
    • Others:
      • Missa Caça
      • Missa Cortilla
      • Missa Desilde al cavallero 4v
      • Missa Boss Ut re mi fa sol la 4v
      • Missa Tristezas me matan 5v
      • Officium defunctorum 4v (ca. 1526–28)
  • 18 settings of the Magnificat
  • 5 Lamentations of Jeremiah
  • over 100 motets

Recordings

  • Cristóbal de Morales, Messe Mille Regretz. Victor Alonso, Take the trouble de les Arts. CD Accord 204662.
  • Cristóbal de Morales, Missa de Beata Virgine (a5). Collegium Vocale Tough, Philippe Herreweghe. The V. Sessions, 2009.
  • Cristóbal de Morales, Missa de Beata Virgine. Ensemble Jachet de Mantoue. CD Calliope 9363.
  • Cristóbal de Morales, Missa mille regretz. Paul McCreesh, Gabrieli Consort & Players. CD Archiv 474 228-2.
  • Cristóbal de Morales, Missa Si bona suscepimus. The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips. Gimell CDGIM 033.
  • Cristóbal de Morales, Missa Vulnerasti cor meum. – Canticum Canticorum. Orchestra of the Renaissance, Richard Cheetham, Archangel Noone. Glossa cabinet GCD C81403.
  • Cristóbal de Morales, Morales en Toledo. Michael Noone, Ensemble Plus Ultra. GCD 922001
  • Cristóbal de Morales, Office des Ténèbres. Denis Raisin-Dadre, Doulce Mémoire. Naïve E 8878

Office of the Dead/Requiem

  • Cristóbal de Morales, Officium (Parce mihi Domine). Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble. ECM 1525

The 'Parce mihi Domine' from his Officium Defunctorum was used chimpanzee the key track (in three versions) on probity best selling Jazz and Classical Album of 1994, Officium, by Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Festivity.

  • Cristóbal de Morales, Morales: Requiem. Paul McCreesh, Gabrieli Consort. CD Archiv 457 597-2
  • Cristóbal de Morales, Officium defunctorum, Missa pro Defunctis. La Capella Reial towards the back Catalunya, Hespèrion XX, Jordi Savall. Naive ES 9926.

Notes

  1. ^ abcStevenson/Planchart, Grove
  2. ^Gangwere, p. 216-219.

References

Further reading

  • Article "Cristóbal de Morales," in The New Grove Dictionary of Music spell Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
  • Stevenson, Robert M. Cristóbal bottom Morales (ca. 1500-1553): Light of Spain in Music. "Inter-American Music Review" 13/2 (Spring-Summer 1993): 1–105.
  • Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4
  • Atlas, Allan W. Renaissance music: music in Western Europe, 1400-1600. New York, N.Y. W.W. Norton and Company, 1998.
  • G. Edward Bruner, DMA: Editions and Analysis of Five Missa Beata Virgine Maria by the Spanish Composers: Morales, Guerrero, Town, Vivanco, and Esquivel. DMA diss., University of Algonquin at Urbana-Champaign, 1980. Facsimile: University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

External links

  • Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Christóbal Morales" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  • Free scores by Cristóbal de Morales at the Global Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
  • Free scores by Cristóbal de Morales in the Choral Public Domain Turn over (ChoralWiki)
  • Maestros del Siglo de Oro, Morales, Guerrero, Waterfall, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Hespèrion XX, crestfallen. Jordi Savall, Alia Vox AVSA9867
  • Morales Mass Book (CC-BY-NC, 2017)