Juan del Encina (12 July 1468 – 1529/1530)
was a Spanish composer, poet, priest, and playwright,
often credited as the joint-father (even "founder" or "patriarch") of Spanish drama, alongside
Gil Vicente. His birth name was Juan de Fermoselle.
He spelled his name Enzina, but this is not a significant difference; it is two spellings of the same sound, in a time when "correct spelling" as we know it barely existed.
Life
He was born in 1468 near
Salamanca
Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...
,
probably at
Encina de San Silvestre, one of at least 7 known children of Juan de Fermoselle, a shoemaker, and his wife.
He was of
Jewish converso descent.
After leaving
Salamanca University sometime in 1492
he became a member of the household of Don Fadrique de Toledo, the second
Duke of Alba, although some sources believe that he did not work for the Duke until 1495. A plausible argument is that his first post was as a
''corregidor'' in northern Spain.
Fermoselle was a chaplain at
Salamanca Cathedral
The Catedral de la Asunción de la Virgen (Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary), popularly known as New Cathedral () is, together with the Old Cathedral, Salamanca, Old Cathedral, one of the two cathedrals of Salamanca, Castile and Le ...
in the early 1490s. It was here that he changed his name from Juan de Fermoselle to Juan del Enzina, or Encina (meaning
holm oak). He was later forced to resign as chaplain because he was not ordained.
Works

In 1492 Encina entertained his patron with a dramatic piece, the ''Triunfo de la fama'', written to commemorate the
fall of Granada. In 1496 he published his ''Cancionero'', a collection of dramatic and lyrical poems. He then applied for the
cantor
A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...
post at
Salamanca Cathedral
The Catedral de la Asunción de la Virgen (Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary), popularly known as New Cathedral () is, together with the Old Cathedral, Salamanca, Old Cathedral, one of the two cathedrals of Salamanca, Castile and Le ...
, but the position was divided among three singers, including his rival
Lucas Fernández.
While working for the Duke of Alba, Encina was the program director, along with Fernández.
Here Encina wrote pastoral
eclogues
The ''Eclogues'' (; , ), also called the ''Bucolics'', is the first of the three major works of the Latin poet Virgil.
Background
Taking as his generic model the Greek bucolic poetry of Theocritus, Virgil created a Roman version partly by o ...
, the foundation of Spanish secular drama.
Encina's plays are predominantly based on shepherds and unrequited love.
Encina was ambitious, looking to be promoted based on preferment,
so around 1500 he relocated to Rome, where he apparently served in the musical establishments of several cardinals or noblemen.
Encina was appointed to the Archdiaconate of
Málaga Cathedral by
Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...
in 1508.
In 1518 he resigned from position at Málaga for a simple
benefice
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
at
Morón, and the following year he went to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, where he sang his first
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 ...
.
He wrote about the events during his pilgrimage to Jerusalem in ''Tribagia o Via Sacra de Hierusalem''.
In 1509 he had held a lay
canonry
Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an canon law, ecclesiastical rule.
Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the p ...
at Málaga;
in 1519 he was appointed to the priorship of
León Cathedral.
His last job was recorded as being in León, where he is thought to have died towards the end of 1529.
His ''Cancionero'' is preceded by a prose treatise (''Arte de trobar'') on the condition of the poetic art in Spain. His fourteen dramatic pieces mark the transition from the purely ecclesiastical to the secular stage.
The ''Aucto del Repelón'' and the ''Égloga de Fileno'' dramatize the adventures of shepherds;
the latter, like ''Plácida y Vitoriano'', is strongly influenced by the ''
Celestina''. Several of his writings had pastoral themes as those first two, romanticizing rural life. The intrinsic interest of Encina's plays is slight, but they are important from the historical point of view, for the lay pieces form a new departure, and the devout eclogues prepare the way for the ''
autos'' of the 17th century. Moreover, his lyrical poems are remarkable for their intense sincerity and devout grace.
Even though Encina's works were dedicated to royal families, he never served as a member of a royal chapel.
Further, although he worked in many cathedrals and was ordained as a priest, no religious musical works of his are known to still exist.
Most of his works were done by his mid-30s: these include some 60 or more songs attributed to Encina, and another 9 settings of texts to which the music could also be added, but this is not for certain. Many of the surviving pieces are
''villancicos'' (the Spanish equivalent of the Italian
frottola
The frottola (; plural frottole) was the predominant type of Italian popular secular song of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. It was the most important and widespread predecessor to the madrigal. The peak of activity in composit ...
), of which he was a leading composer. There are three and four voice settings that offer a variety of styles depending on the kind of text, with very limited movements in the voices in preparation for the
cadence
In Classical music, Western musical theory, a cadence () is the end of a Phrase (music), phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution (music), resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don ...
points. To make the text heard clearly, Encina used varied and flexible rhythms that are patterned on the accents of the verse, and used simple yet strong
harmonic progressions.
Leonese times
Encina held the priorship of León Cathedral from November 1523 until his final illness in December 1529.
His will was presented on 14 January 1530, so the exact date of his death is not known, but it is thought to be in late 1529 or early 1530. In his will he noted that he wanted to be buried beneath the choir of Salamanca Cathedral,
and in 1534 his remains were taken to the cathedral.
Leonese language influence
Juan del Encina wrote in Castillian with
Leonese language
Leonese (''llionés, ḷḷionés, lionés'') is a set of vernacular Romance languages, Romance language varieties spoken in northern and western portions of the historical region of León (historical region), León in Spain (the modern provi ...
influences
in his pastoral eclogues. He was from Salamanca, a Leonese-speaking region, and eventually arrived at the capital of the long-vanished
Kingdom of León
The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias along the Bay of Biscay, northern coast of the peninsula ...
, where he died.
He was also a songwriter for the church.
Selected works
*''Una sañosa porfía'' (1486)
*''Triunfo de la fama'' (1492)
*''Cancionero'' (1496)
*''Tan buen ganadico'' (1496)
*''Más vale trocar'' (1496)
*''Triste España sin ventura'' (1504)
*''Plácida y Victoriano'' (1513)
*''Églogas''
*''Oy comamos y bebamos'' (late 15th century)
*''Tribagia o Via Sacra de Hierusalem'' (1521)
Ensemble performances of his work
* Date unknown
''Mayrat - El Viaje del Agua.''Grupo Odres.
* 1960
Ars Musicae de Barcelona and
Victoria de los Ángeles. Conducted by José Maria Lamaña.
* 1968
''Music from the Time of Christopher Columbus.'' Musica Reservata. Directed by John Beckett.
* 1970
''Pleasures of the Royal Courts.'' Early Music Consort of London and
David Munrow.
* 1971
''El Camino de Santiago.''Escolanía and Capilla Musical de la
Abadía
Abadía () is a Spanish municipality located at an altitude of 442 metres above sea-level in the Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Extremadura, Estremadura, province of Cáceres (province), Cáceres. In 2001 its populati ...
del
Valle de los Caídos and Cuarteto y Grupo de Instrumentos Antiguos Renacimiento. Directed by Leoncio Diéguez, Laurentino Saenz de Buruaga, and Ramón Perales de la Cal.
* 1973
''Music from the court of Ferdinand and Isabella.''Early Music Consort of London and David Munrow.
* 1974
Teresa Berganza and
Narciso Yepes
Narciso Yepes (14 November 19273 May 1997) was a Spanish classical guitar, guitarist. He is considered one of the finest virtuoso classical guitarists of the twentieth century.
Biography
Yepes was born into a family of humble origin in Lorca, ...
.
* 1974
''Antik Musik på Wik - Early Music at Wik.''Joculatores Upsaliensis.
* 1976
Hespèrion XX and
Jordi Savall
Jordi Savall i Bernadet (; born 1 August 1941) is a Spanish Conducting, conductor, composer and viol player. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for popularizing the viol ...
.
* 1977
''Ars Antiqua de Paris à la Sainte Chapelle.''Ars Antiqua de Paris.
* 1979
Atrium Musicae de Madrid. Directed by
Gregorio Paniagua.
* 1980
''La Spagna.''Atrium Musicae de Madrid. Directed by Gregorio Paniagua.
* 1981
''Obra Musical Completa de Juan del Enzina.''Miguel Á. Tallante and Pro Mvsica Antiqva de Madrid y solistas.
* 1984
Grupo Universitario de Cámara de Compostela. Directed by Carlos Villanueva.
* 1986
Boston Camerata. Directed by
Joel Cohen.
* 1987
''Music from the Spanish Kingdoms.''Circa 1500.
* 1988
The Yorks Waits.
* 1988
I Madrigalisti di Genova. Directed by L. Gamberini.
* 1989
Ensemble Danserye.
* 1991
''Segovia Songbook.''Ensemble Daedalus
Ensemble may refer to:
Art
* Architectural ensemble
* Ensemble (Kendji Girac album), ''Ensemble'' (Kendji Girac album), 2015
* Ensemble (Ensemble album), ''Ensemble'' (Ensemble album), 2006
* Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary
* Ensem ...
. Directed by
Roberto Festa.
* 1991
''del Encina.''Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XX.
* 1991
Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XX.
* 1991
Margaret Philpot,
Shirley Rumsey, and
Christopher Wilson.
* 1991
''Chansons - Danses - Musiques.''Ensemble Jehan de Channey.
* 1992
La Nef and
Sylvain Bergeron.
* 1992
''Music from the age of discovery.'' Waverly Consort and
Michael Jaffee.
* 1993
''In Gottes Namen fahren wir.''Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
Ensemble for Old Music.
* 1993
''Spanish songs & motets.'' Gothic Voices and
Christopher Page.
* 1993 - ''Amando e Desiando.'' Alice Musik Produktion.
* 1994
''Sephardic Songs.'' Sarband. Directed by Vladimir Ivanoff.
* 1995
''Canciones, Romances, Sonetos.''La Colombina.
* 1995
La Romanesca and
José Miguel Moreno.
* 1995
''Songs and dances from the Spanish Renaissance.''Camerata Iberia.
* 1995
Musica Antiqua of London. Directed by Philip Thorby.
* 1995
Bellugi Ensemble and David Bellugi.
* 1995
La Rondinella.
* 1995
New World Renaissance Band.
* 1995
Ensemble vocal et instrumental Arabesque. Directed by Domitille de Bienassis.
* 1996
Ensemble Accentus. Directed by
Thomas Wimmer.
* 1996
''Sola m'ire.'' Ensemble Gilles Binchois and
Dominique Vellard.
* 1996
''All the King's Men.'' I Fagiolini, Robert Hollingworth, Concordia, Mark Levy.
* 1996
''Los Ministriles.'' Piffaro, The Renaissance Band, directed by Joan Kimball and Robert Wiemken.
* 1996
''Resonanzen '96.''Musik aus den Habsburgerlanden.
* 1997
Bob, Frank en Zussen.
* 1998
Concentus Musicus Minnesota, directed by
Arthur Maud.
* 1998
''Sephardic Journey.''La Rondinella.
* 1998
Ensemble Música Ficta. Directed by
Carlos Serrano.
* 1998
''Cartas al Rey Moro.'' Begoña Olavide.
* 1998 - ''Música no tempo das Caravelas''.
Música Antiga da UFF.
* 1999
''La Música en la Corte de los Reyes Católicos y Carlos I.''Capella Virelai and Jordi Reguant
* 1999
Corelli, Marais, Martín y Coll, Ortiz, & Anónimos; Jordi Savall; Rolf Lislevand; Michael Behringer; Arianna Savall; Bruno Cocset; Pedro Estevan; and Adela Gonzalez-Campa.
* 1999
Ex Umbris.
* 2000
Live Oak
Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are generally not more closely related to each other than they are to o ...
.
* 2000
''Diferencias.''Codex Huelgas, Villancicos, Ensemble Differencias, and Conrad Steinmann.
* 2000
Capella de Ministrers. Directed by Carles Magraner.
* 2000
La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Hespèrion XXI, and Jordi Savall.
* 2000
''Pilgerwege.'' Freiburger Spielleyt.
* 2000
''Nunca fue pena mayor.'' Capella de Ministrers and Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana. Directed by
Carles Magraner.
* 2001
''Constantinople.''Kiya Tabassian and Ensemble Constantinople.
* 2001
Duos i Exercicis sobre els vuit tons and In Canto.
* 2001
The Terra Nova Consort.
* 2001
Orlando Consort The Orlando Consort was a British vocal consort which is best known for performing Renaissance choral music one voice to a part. The Consort was founded in 1988 as part of the activities of the Early Music Network of Great Britain, a forerunner of t ...
.
* 2002
''A las puertas de Granada.''Begoña Olavide and Mudéjar.
* 2002
The Dufay Collective.
* 2002
''Misteris de Dolor.'' Accentus Austria. Directed by
Thomas Wimmer.
* 2002 - ''Hoy comamos y bebamos.'' Coro Justicia de Aragón and
Susana Sarfson.
* 2003
''La Conquista de Granada.'' Música Antigua. Directed by
Eduardo Paniagua
Eduardo Paniagua (born 1952 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish architect and musician, specializing in medieval Spanish music.
Between 1966 and 1983, he was a member of the group Atrium Musicae de Madrid, led by his older brother Gregorio, playing wi ...
.
* 2003 - ''El Fuego.'' Eduardo Notrica.
* 2004
''Isabel I, Reina de Castilla.''La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Hespèrion XXI, and Jordi Savall.
* 2004
Capella de Ministrers. Directed by Carles Magraner.
* 2005
Musica Antigua. Directed by Eduardo Paniagua.
* 2005
La Rossignol.
* 2006
Hespèrion XXI, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, and Jordi Savall.
* 2006
Capella de Ministrers. Directed by Carles Magraner.
* 2006 - ''La Spagna.'' Camerata Iberia. Juan Carlos de Mulder.
Recordings
* 2021: ''Todos los bienes del mundo: Juan del Encina and Musical Traits in Spanish Renaissance'' — ContrArco Consort (Da Vinci C00526)
References
Bibliography
*''Teatro completo de Juan del Encina'' (Madrid, 1893), edited by F. Asenjo Barbieri.
*''Cancionero musical de los siglos XV y XVI'' (Madrid, 1894), edited by F. Asenjo Barbieri,
*R. Mitjana, ''Sobre Juan del Encina, musico y poeta'' (Malaga, 1895).
*
M. Menendez y Pelayo, ''Antologia de poetas liricos castellanos'' (Madrid, 1890–1903), Vol. VII
*
*Morais, Manuel (ed.), ''La obra musical de Juan del Encina'' (Salamanca: Centro de Cultura Tradicional, 1997).
*Buekholder, J. Peter, Claude V Palisca. "Norton Anthology of Western Music: volume 1" fifth edition. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2006
* Gómez, Maricarmen (ed.), ''Historia de la Música en España e Hispanoamérica 2. De los Reyes Católicos a Felipe II'' (Madrid-México D.F., Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2012).
*Pastor Comín, Juan José, "La escritura musical de Juan del Encina" poetics más allá de la palabra," in F.B. Pedraza Jiménez, R. González Cañal, and E.E. Marcello (coords.) ''El teatro en tiempos de Isabel y Juana (1474-1517): XXXIX Jornadas de teatro clásico'' (Ciudad Real: Univ. de Castilla-La Mancha, 2017), pp. 159–75.
External links
Juan Ruiz Jiménez, Juan del Encina, Goldberg, 39 (2006)*
*
*Listen t
fro
Juan dell Enzina a
Cancioneros Musicales Españoles"Ay triste que vengo" at Wikisource
{{DEFAULTSORT:Encina, Juan del
Spanish dramatists and playwrights
Spanish Golden Age
1469 births
1530s deaths
Conversos
Spanish Renaissance composers
People from the Province of Salamanca
University of Salamanca alumni
Spanish male classical composers
Spanish male dramatists and playwrights
15th-century dramatists and playwrights
16th-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights
15th-century Spanish writers
16th-century Spanish writers
16th-century Spanish male writers
Spanish people of Jewish descent