Manuel José de Quirós (died 1765) was an 18th-century

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 ...

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 ...

Life

Born in 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- ...

, towards the end of the 17th century, Quirós had a religious education while pursuing his musical apprenticeship and reaching the level of a journeyman. Having taken

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

orders, he was put in charge of the Franciscan press, where he served until 1738, when he was appointed chapel master of the cathedral choir and orchestra. He served in this capacity for 27 years, until his death in 1765. As chapel master, he was in charge of the education of choir boys and apprentices, besides conducting the cathedral

liturgical music Liturgical music originated as a part of religious ceremony, and includes a number of traditions, both ancient and modern. Liturgical music is well known as a part of Catholic Mass, the Anglican Holy Communion service (or Eucharist) and Evensong, ...

. Among his pupils, the most outstanding was Rafael Antonio Castellanos. Quirós is the first musician in the New World to receive a critical review. On the occasion of the ceremonies that elevated the

Bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

of Guatemala to the rank of an

Archbishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

, Quirós provided liturgical music during the nine days of celebration in November, 1745. Writer Antonio de Paz y Salgado, a high official in the Spanish colonial government, published his enthusiastic review of these musical performances two years later in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. A considerable number of Quirós' works are contained in the archive at

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Works

Besides arranging a sizable amount of music sent from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, and

, Quirós also provided a number of original

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, sacred songs, and

cantatas A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning ...

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 ...

of different feasts of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

year: * ''Cándidos cisnes'', solo voice, continuo * ''Oigan una xacarilla'', solo voice, continuo
''Una escuela de muchachos''
4 voices, horns, violins and continuo * ''Venid, venid a las aras de Dios y de Juan'', solo voice, continuo * ''Yo la tengo de cantar'', solo voice, continuo * ''Cantad, gilguerillos'', 2 treble voices, continuo * ''Clarines suaves'', 2 treble voices, continuo * ''Jesús, Jesús, y lo que subes'' (1743), 2 treble voices, continuo * ''Hoy que en las sacras aras'', 2 voices, continuo * ''Oh admirable sacramento'', 2 voices, continuo * ''Vagelillo que al viento'', 2 voices, 2 violins, continuo * ''Ay niña bella'', 2 voices, continuo * ''Joseph Antonio, tus dos nombres'', 2 voices, continuo * ''Oigan los triunfos de Domingo Santo'', 2 voices, continuo * ''Qué bien'', chorus, continuo * ''Ay Jesús'', chorus, continuo * ''A el pan de los cielos den adoraciones'', chorus, continuo * ''Lucid fragante rosa'', chorus, continuo (1741) * ''Un hombre Dios'', 4 voices, continuo * ''Luz a luz, y gracia a gracia'' * ''El baratillo'' (1758) ;Liturgical works on Latin texts * ''Cor mundum'', voice, two violins, continuo * ''Liberame'', voice, two violins, continuo * ''Auditi meo'', two choirs, continuo * ''Ne recorderis'', chorus, continuo * ''Iod manum suam'', solo voice, continuo * ''Parce mihi Domine'', two choirs, continuo * ''Laudate pueri Dominum'', SATB chorus, 2 violins, continuo * ''Sanctus Deus'' (1760), chorus, continuo ;''Negrillos'' * ''Digo a Siola Negla'' (1736) * ''Pues que de pascuas estamos'' (1745) * ''Amotinados los negros'' * ''Jesuclisa Magdalena'' (1745) * ''Vengo turo flanciquillo'' (1746)

References

* Dieter Lehnhoff, ''Creación musical en Guatemala''. Guatemala City: Editorial Galería Guatemala, 2005, pp. 69–8

* Alfred E. Lemmon, ''Music from Eighteenth-Century Guatemala''. South Woodstock, Vermont: Plumsock Mesoamerican Studies, 1984. * Robert M. Stevenson, "Guatemala Cathedral to 1803." ''Inter-American Music Review'' II/2 (Spring-Summer 1980):27-72.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quiros, Manuel Jose De People from Sacatepéquez Department Male composers Guatemalan Baroque composers Classical composers of church music Guatemalan Franciscans Year of birth unknown 1765 deaths 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians Male classical composers