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Francisco Guerrero (composer)

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Not to be confused withFrancisco Guerau.
Francisco Guerrero

Francisco Guerrero(October 4 (?), 1528 – November 8, 1599) was a Spanish Catholic priest and composer of theRenaissance.He was born and died inSeville.

Life and career

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Guerrero's early musical education was with his older brother Pedro and after that with the famous composerCristóbal de Morales.At the age of 18 he was appointedmaestro de capilla(i.e. music director) atJaén Cathedral.Three years later he accepted a position of singer atSeville Cathedral.During this time he was much in demand as a singer and composer, establishing an exceptional reputation before his thirtieth birthday; in addition he published several collections of his music abroad, an unusual event for a young composer.

After several decades of working and traveling throughout Spain and Portugal, sometimes in the employ of emperorMaximilian II,he went to Italy for a year (1581–1582) where he published two books of his music. After returning to Spain for several years, he decided to travel to the Holy Land, which he finally was able to do in 1589. His adventure included visits toDamascus,Bethlehem,andJerusalem;on the return trip his ship was twice attacked by pirates, who threatened his life, stole his money, and held him for ransom. He was able to return to Spain; unfortunately he had no money, and endured a series of misfortunes, including some time spent indebtors' prison.At last his old employer at Seville Cathedral extricated Guerrero and he resumed working for them. His book on his adventurous visit to the Holy Land was published in 1590 and was a popular success (it is reasonable to suppose thatCervantesknew it). At the end of the decade he planned one more trip to the Holy Land but died in theplagueof 1599 in Seville before he was able to depart.

Of all the Spanish Renaissance composers, he lived and worked the most in Spain. Others—for exampleMoralesandVictoria—spent large portions of their careers in Italy (though, unlike manyFranco-Flemishcomposers of the time, Spanish composers usually returned home later in life).

Guerrero's music was both sacred and secular, unlike that of Victoria and Morales, the two other Spanish 16th-century composers of the first rank. He wrote numerous secular songs and instrumental pieces, in addition tomasses,motets,andPassions.He was able to capture an astonishing variety of moods in his music, from ecstasy to despair, longing, joy, and devotional stillness; his music remained popular for hundreds of years, especially in cathedrals in Latin America. Stylistically he preferredhomophonictextures, rather like his Spanish contemporaries, and he wrote memorable, singable lines. One interesting feature of his style is how he anticipatedfunctional harmonicusage: there is a case of aMagnificatdiscovered inLima, Peru,once thought to be an anonymous 18th century work, which turned out to be a work of his.[1]

Recordings

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Notes

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  1. ^Stevenson, Grove, vol. 7 p. 789

References

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  • Robert Stevenson, "Francisco Guerrero."The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980.ISBN1-56159-174-2

Further reading

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  • Gustave Reese,Music in the Renaissance.New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954.ISBN0-393-09530-4
  • G. Edward Bruner, DMA: "Editions and Analysis of Five Missa Beata Virgine Maria by the Spanish Composers: Morales, Guerrero, Victoria, Vivanco, and Esquivel." DMA diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1980. Facsimile: University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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