Gaspar Fernandes (sometimes written ''Gaspar Fernández'', the Spanish version of his name) (1566–1629) was a Portuguese-

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

active in the cathedrals of Santiago de Guatemala (present-day

Antigua Guatemala Antigua Guatemala (), commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the Guatemalan Highlands, central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque- ...

) and

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

de los Ángeles, New Spain (present-day

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Life

Most scholars agree that the Gaspar Fernandes listed as a singer in the cathedral of

Évora Évora ( , ), officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Évora (), is a city and a municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo reg ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, is the same person as the Gaspar Fernández who was hired on 16 July 1599 as organist and organ tuner of the cathedral of Santiago de

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. In 1606, Fernandes was approached by the dignitaries of the cathedral of

, inviting him to become the successor of his recently deceased friend

Pedro Bermúdez Pedro Bermúdez (1558–1605) was a Spanish composer and chapel master, who has been recognised as one of the most outstanding polyphonists in the New World, and who was active in Granada, Antequera, Cusco, Santiago de Guatemala (present-day Anti ...

as chapel master. He left Santiago de

on 12 July 1606, and began his tenure in

on 15 September. He remained there until his death in 1629.

Work

One of his most important achievements for posterity was the compilation and binding in 1602 of various choir books containing

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

liturgical

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chord ...

, several of which are extant in

. These manuscripts contain music by Spanish composers

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 ...

Cristóbal de Morales Cristóbal de Morales (c. 1500 – between 4 September and 7 October 1553) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He is generally considered to be the most influential Spanish composer before Tomás Luis de Victoria. Life Cristóbal de Mor ...

, and

; the latter was with Fernandes at the time in the cathedral of

. To complete these books, Fernandes composed a cycle of 8 ''Benedicamus Domino'', the

versicle A versicle (from Latin , ) is a short two- or four-line verse that is sung or recited in the liturgy alternating between the celebrant, hebdomadarian or cantor and the congregation. It is usually a psalm verse in two parts. A series of versicl ...

that follows the

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...

vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

and certain

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

es, one in each of the 8 ecclesiastical tones or modes. He also added his own setting of the

in the fifth tone, some ''faux bordon'' versicles without text, and a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

for the Feast of the Guardian Angels. During his Puebla tenure, rather than focusing on the composition of Latin liturgical music, he contributed a sizable amount of vernacular ''

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, P ...

s'' for

matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn). The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...

. This part of his output shows great variety in the handling of texts, which are in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

but also in pseudo- African dialects and

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

languages and occasionally Portuguese. One of these ''villancicos,'' "

Xicochi "Xicochi" is a 17th-century motet, written by Gaspar Fernandes while he was organist of Puebla Cathedral. It serves as an example of the influence of indigenous Nahua culture, dominant in Mesoamerica at the time, on colonial Spanish music. In 200 ...

," is notable for its use of

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

, the language of the indigenous Nahua people. The music departs from 16th century

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

and reflects the new

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

search for textual expression. The main collection of these ''villancicos'' is extant in the ''

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

Codex,'' and has been studied, edited, and published by

Robert Stevenson Robert, Rob, or Bob Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), Scottish writer ("Treasure Island"), grandson of lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenso ...

and especially by Aurelio Tello.

References

*Aurelio Tello. ''El Archivo Musical de la Catedral de Oaxaca''. México, D.F.: CENIDIM, 1990. *

Dieter Lehnhoff Dieter Lehnhoff Temme (born 27 May 1955) is a German Guatemalan, German-Guatemalan composer, conductor and musicologist. Life Dieter Lehnhoff Temme was born in Guatemala City to German settlers in 1955. He has been a pupil of Klaus Ager, Gerhard ...

. ''Creación musical en Guatemala''. Guatemala City: Editorial Galería Guatemala, 2005. *

. ''Antología de la Música Coral en Guatemala''. Guatemala City: Editorial Cultura, 2005. *Gaspar Fernández.

, ed.

(1986), ''Antología de la Música Sacra en Guatemala'', vol. II. Guatemala: Universidad Rafael Landívar, 2002.

External links

* 1566 births 1629 deaths 16th-century Portuguese people 17th-century classical composers 17th-century male musicians Guatemalan composers Guatemalan people of Portuguese descent Male composers Mexican classical composers Mexican male classical composers Mexican people of Portuguese descent Portuguese Baroque composers Renaissance composers {{Portugal-composer-stub