Alonso Mudarra (c. 1510 – April 1, 1580) was a Spanish composer of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

, and also played the

vihuela The vihuela () is a 15th-century fretted plucked Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar (figure-of-eight form offering strength and portability) but tuned like a lute. It was used in 15th- and 16th-century Spain as the equivalent of t ...

, a

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

-shaped string instrument. He was an innovative composer of instrumental music as well as songs, and was the composer of the earliest surviving music for the guitar.

Biography

The place of his birth is not recorded, but he grew up in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

, and probably received his musical training there. He most likely went to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 1529 with

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, in the company of the fourth

Duke of the Infantado Duke of the Infantado ( es, Duque del Infantado) is a Spanish peerage title that was granted to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Figueroa, son of Íñigo López de Mendoza, 1st Marquis of Santillana, by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon a ...

, Íñigo López de Mendoza, marqués de Santillana. When he returned to Spain he became a priest, receiving the post of canon at the cathedral in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

in 1546, where he remained for the rest of his life. While at the cathedral, he directed all of the musical activities; many records remain of his musical activities there, which included hiring instrumentalists, buying and assembling a new organ, and working closely with composer

Francisco Guerrero Francisco Guerrero is the name of: *Francisco Guerrero (composer) (1528–1599), Spanish composer of the Renaissance *Francisco Guerrero (politician) (1811–1851), Alcalde of San Francisco *Francisco Guerrero Marín (1951–1997), Spanish composer ...

for various festivities. Mudarra died in Seville, and his sizable fortune was distributed to the poor of the city according to his will. Tres libros de música en cifra para vihuela

Tres libros de música en cifra para vihuela

Mudarra wrote numerous pieces for the

and the four-course guitar, all contained in the collection ''Tres libros de musica en cifras para vihuela'' ("Three books of music in numbers for vihuela"), which he published on December 7, 1546 in Seville. These three books contain the first music ever published for the four-course guitar, which was then a relatively new instrument. The second book is noteworthy in that it contains eight multi-movement works, all arranged by "tono", or mode. Compositions represented in this publication include

fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcor ...

s, variations (including a set on La Folia),

tiento ''Tiento'' (, pt, Tento ) is a musical genre originating in Spain in the mid-15th century. It is formally analogous to the fantasia (fantasy), found in England, Germany, and the Low Countries, and also the ricercare, first found in Italy. By t ...

s, pavanes and

galliard The ''galliard'' (; french: gaillarde; it, gagliarda) was a form of Renaissance dance and music popular all over Europe in the 16th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from England, Portugal, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. Dance f ...

s, and songs. Modern listeners are probably most familiar with his Fantasia X, which has been a concert and recording mainstay for many years. The songs are in Latin, Spanish and Italian, and include romances, canciones (songs),

villancico The ''villancico'' (Spanish, ) or vilancete ( Portuguese, ) was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina, Ped ...

s, (popular songs) and sonetos (sonnets). Another innovation was the use of different signs for different

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

s: slow, medium, and fast.

References and further reading

*John Griffiths: "Alonso Mudarra", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed March 24, 2005)
(subscription access)
* Gustave Reese, ''Music in the Renaissance''. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. *Guitar Music of the Sixteenth Century, Mel Bay Publications (transcribed by Keith Calmes) *The Eight Masterpieces of Alonso Mudarra, Mel Bay Publications (transcribed by Keith Calmes)
Fantasia VI
in hypermedia (Shockwave Player required) at th
BinAural Collaborative Hypertext
*Jacob Heringman and Catherine King: "Alonso Mudarra songs and solos". Magnatune.com (http://www.magnatune.com/artists/albums/heringman-mudarra/hifi_play)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mudarra, Alonso Renaissance composers Composers for the classical guitar 1510s births 1580 deaths People from Guadalajara, Spain Spanish classical composers Spanish male classical composers Spanish guitarists Spanish male guitarists 16th-century classical composers 16th-century Spanish people