Sebastián Raval (c. 15501604) was a Spanish

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 ...

of vocal and instrumental music. Born in Cartagena, he served as a soldier of the

Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders (; ) was a field army of the Spanish Army based in the Spanish Netherlands between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was one of the longest-serving field armies of the early modern era, being founded in 1567 and disbanded in 170 ...

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

and

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. He joined the order of St. John of Jerusalem after being wounded in the siege of

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

. He moved to Italy where he served as a musician in the court of

Francesco Maria II della Rovere Francesco Maria II della Rovere (20 February 1549 – 23 April 1631) was the last Duke of Urbino. Biography Born at Pesaro, Francesco Maria was the son of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Count of Montefeltro and Vittoria Farnese ...

Urbino Urbino ( , ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially und ...

, of the

viceroy of Sicily A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

Bernardino de Cárdenas Bernardino de Cárdenas y Ponce, O.F.M., (1579?–1668) was a friar of the Franciscan order and Bishop of Asunción and later Santa Cruz de la Sierra. He served as Governor of Paraguay from March 4, 1649 – October 1, 1649. He ordered ...

, and of the cardinals Peretti and Colonna in Rome. In Rome, he declared himself the "best musician in the world", on account of which he was challenged to a musical contest first by

Giovanni Maria Nanino Giovanni Maria Nanino (also Nanini; 1543 or 1544 – 11 March 1607) was an Italian composer and teacher of the late Renaissance. He was a member of the Roman School of composers, and was the most influential music teacher in Rome in the late 16t ...

and shortly afterwards by

Francesco Soriano Francesco Soriano (1548 or 1549, in Soriano nel Cimino – 19 July 1621, in Rome) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance music, Renaissance. He was one of the most skilled members of the Roman School in the first generation after Giovanni ...

. Raval was defeated in both cases. On 28 April 1595 he succeeded Luis Ruiz as the last Spanish ''

maestro di cappella ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

'' of the viceroyal chapel of the Spanish viceroys in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

.Maurice Esses ''History and background, music and dance 1992 p21 "For example, Sebastian Raval succeeded Luis Ruiz as maestro of the royal chapel in 1595 and worked there until his death in 1604-46 Thereafter, however, Italians held the position of chapel-master at Palermo."'' In Sicily, he again challenged a musician,

Achille Falcone Achille Falcone (ca. 1570-75 – 9 November 1600) was an Italian composer. Born in Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has ...

, to a contest; it was first decided in Falcone's favour but, after some appeals, in Raval's. After Falcone's death in 1600, Antonio Falcone, father of Achille, published all the process of this musical duel in his ''Relazione del successo'' and took Raval and Falcone's pieces (the object of this competition) to print including several canons, madrigals, motets and ricercari. This edition of both Falcone and Raval's pieces is available in a modern edition. Sebastián Raval died in Palermo in 1604. In 2004, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his death, his birth city, Cartagena, paid homage to him with a concert performed on the viola da gamba by Pere Ros.

Works

Raval composed religious polyphonic music, madrigals and instrumental ricercari. Raval's oeuvre has not yet been studied in depth. Only a few pieces have been published in modern times; the rest await the musicological research they deserve. Sacred: * Motectorum liber primus. 5 vv (Rome 1593) * Lamentationes Hieremiae Prophetae. 5 vv Rome 1594 * Motecta Selecta organo Accommodata. 3-8 vv. org. (Palermo 1600) Secular: * Il Primo Libro de Madrigali. 5vv (Venice 1593) * Il Pimo Libro di Canzonette. 4 VV (Venice 1593) * Madrigali 3, 5, 8 vv (Rome 1595) * Il Primo Libro di Ricercari (Palermo 1596) * 2 Madrigals in "Infidi Lumi" (Palermo 1603) (lost)

Editions

*"Achile Falcone-Madrigali, Mottetti e Ricercari" (Includes pieces of Raval). Leo S. Olschki Editore. (Firenze, 2000) *"Sebastián Raval. 6 Canones (IL Primo Libro di Ricercari. Palermo 1596)" Sociedad Española de Musicología, Madrid 1985. *"Sebastián Raval. Il Primo Libro di Ricercari a Quatro Voci Cantabili, per liuti, cimbali et viole d'arco. Palermo, 1596." Edited by Andrés Cea Galán. Patrimonio Musical Español, Fundación Caja Madrid (Madrid, 2008). * "Three ensemble ricercars in four parts from Il primo libro de canzonette, 1593" edited by Milton Swenson.Ottawa: Dovehouse Editions, 1981.

Recordings

* ''Da Pacem Domine'' Motete a 8 voces en dos coros a canon. La Lyra Hispana

References

External links

*
''Usciva homai'' sheet music

Raval's ''Da Pacem Domine'' on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raval, Sebastian 1550s births 1604 deaths Spanish Renaissance composers People from Cartagena, Spain Spanish male classical composers