The tono humano (secular song) was one of the main genres of 17th Century Spanish and Portuguese music.
:The term ''tonadas'' is also used for ''tonos humanos'' in 17th Century musical literature but the 17th Century ''tonada'' is to be distinguished from the modern folk
tonada song in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
or for guitar band in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
.
In the early 17th Century the main vernacular forms for Spanish and Portuguese composers were the
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 ...
, usually a Christmas song, and the solo tono; tono humano if secular, tono divino if sacred. The
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
form had not yet been introduced from Italy. At this point tonos were generally strophic songs (coplas) with a refrain (estribillo). However by the end of the 17th century some tonos had begun to include recitative and aria sections, as the cantada, Spanish form of the cantata became known around 1700. The tono humano and tono divino could also have 2, 3 or 4 voices.
Nearly all tonos humanos and semi-sacred villancicos were preserved only in manuscript. The best copies were in the Royal Palace in Madrid and in the nearby Buen Retiro, both of which were lost in fires. This, and the fall from fashion of the tono and villancico in the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
, means that sources in
Ibero-America
Ibero-America (, ) or Iberian America is generally considered to be the region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish or Portuguese are predominant languages (usually former colony, territories of Spain or Portugal). Sp ...
are relatively important to recovery of this part of Iberian musical heritage.
The Libro de tonos humanos Madrid 1656 (Biblioteca Nacional, M-1262) is the most substantial Iberian cancionero of the 17th Century with over 200 songs, almost all romances with estribillo in 4 voices. Additional surviving sources include the Mackworth manuscript.
The tono was used both in theatre music, domestic music and church music. Composers active in the composition of tonos humanos include:
*
Francisco Guerrero (1528–1599)
*
Juan Blas de Castro (1561–1631)
*
Pedro Ruimonte (1565–1627)
*
Gaspar Fernandes
Gaspar Fernandes (sometimes written ''Gaspar Fernández'', the Spanish version of his name) (1566–1629) was a Portugal, Portuguese-Mexico, Mexican composer and organist active in the cathedrals of Santiago de Guatemala (present-day Antigua Guatem ...
(1566–1629)
*
Mateo Romero ''El maestro capitán'' (1575–1647)
*
Juan Arañés
Juan Arañés (died c. 1649) was a Spanish baroque composer. His tonos and villancicos follow the style of those preserved in the Cancionero of Kraków.
Biography
Arañés was born in Aragon, at an unknown date. After studies in Alcalá de Henar ...
- ''Libro segundo de tonos y villancicos'', Rome 1624
*
Manuel Machado (1590–1646)
*
Carlos Patiño (1600–1675)
*
Manuel Correia (1600–1653)
* Bernardo Murillo (
fl.
''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...
1642-1656) - song "La pastora"
*
Juan Hidalgo de Polanco (1612–1685) - 21 tonos humanos, 28 tonos divinos
*
José Marín (1618–1699)
*
Juan del Vado (1625–1691)
* Clemente Imaña
*
Cristóbal Galán (1630–1684)
*
Miguel de Irízar (1635–1684)
* Juan Romeo (fl. 1675)
*
Diego Fernandez de Huete (1635–1713)
*
Gaspar Sanz
Francisco Bartolomé Sanz Celma (April 4, 1640 ( baptized) – 1710), better known as Gaspar Sanz, was a Spanish composer, guitarist, and priest born to a wealthy family in Calanda in the comarca of Bajo Aragón, Spain. He studied music, theo ...
(1640–1710)
*
Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco (1644–1728)
*
Juan de Navas (1647–1709)
*
Francisco Guerau (1649–c 1720) - instrumental tonos for guitar.
*
Sebastián Durón
Sebastián Durón (19 April (baptized) 1660 – 3 August 1716) was a Spanish composer.
Life and career
Sebastián Durón Picazo was, with Antonio de Literes, the greatest Spanish composer of stage music of his time. He was born in Brihuega, ...
(1660–1716)
*
José de Torres
José de Torres y Martínez Bravo (16701738) was a Spanish composer, organist, music theorist and music publisher.
Biography
Torres was born in Madrid, where he served as organist of the ''capilla real'' from 1697. With the arrival of the House ...
(1665–1738)
*
Francisco Valls (1665–1747)
*
Juan Francés de Iribarren (1699–1767)
*
José de Nebra (1702–1768)
In the New World the tono was taken up by:
*
Juan Serqueira of Lima (c.1655–1726)
Academic study
In recent years the tono humano has been the focus of intersemiotic study by musicologists.
[López, Cano Rubén. 2004]
''De la Retórica a la Ciencia Cognitiva. Un estudio intersemiótico de los Tonos Humanos de José Marín (ca. 1618-1699.''.
Tesis doctoral.Universidad de Valladolid.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tono Humano
Music of Spain