Guatemala city choirbook
Encyclopedia
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 , the Lutheran Divine Service, the Orthodox liturgy and other Christian services...
used in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
's main cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
in the 16th and early 17th centuries. During that time, the cathedral (eventually demolished in 1669 after deterioration caused by several earthquakes) was an important center of Spanish culture in the Americas
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
, with polyphonic music
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
already in use in the 1540s. The choirbook
Choirbook
A Choirbook is a large format manuscript used by choirs in churches or cathedrals during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The book is large enough for the entire choir to read from one book. Often for polyphonic works all the musical parts or voices of a piece of music are presented on a single...
s were copied and bound in 1602 by Gaspar Fernandes
Gaspar Fernandes
Gaspar Fernandes was a Portuguese composer and organist active in the cathedrals of Santiago de Guatemala and Puebla de los Ángeles, New Spain .-Life:Most scholars agree that the Gaspar Fernandes listed as a singer in the cathedral of Évora,...
who was the cathedral's choirmaster and organist from 1599 until 1606. Several of the books are still in existence and held in the archives of the current Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
cathedral.
One of the choirbooks, previously thought to be lost, was discovered in the Guatemala City cathedral following an earthquake in 1976
1976 Guatemala earthquake
The 1976 Guatemala earthquake struck on February 4, 1976 at 03:01:43 local time . It was a 7.5 Mw earthquake, centered in the Motagua Fault, about 160 km northeast of Guatemala City, Guatemala...
. In 1996, it was published by University of Chicago Press
University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
in a complete modern edition with an accompanying study by the musicologist, Robert J. Snow (1926-1998), under the title A New-World collection of polyphony for Holy Week; Guatemala City Cathedral Archive, Music Ms. 4. Dedicated to Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson (musicologist)
Robert Murrell Stevenson is an American musicologist. He studied at the college of mines and metallurgy of the University of Texas at El Paso]] , the Juilliard School of Music , Yale University and the University of Rochester ; further study took him to Harvard University , Princeton...
, the book contains music for Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
and Lenten
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
Salve services and includes four settings of the Passion
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
and two unique settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet. Amongst the composers represented are Francisco Guerrero, Cristóbal de Morales
Cristóbal de Morales
Cristóbal de Morales was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He is generally considered to be the most influential Spanish composer before Victoria.- Life :...
, Hernando Franco
Hernando Franco
Hernando Franco was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance, who was mainly active in Guatemala and Mexico.- Life :Franco was born in Galizuela in Extremadura, a source region for many people who came to the New World in the 16th century...
and Pedro Bermúdez
Pedro Bermúdez
Pedro Bermúdez 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 , and Puebla.-Life:Pedro Bermúdez was born 1558 in Granada, Spain...
. In order to encourage the use and spread of this music the University of Chicago Press rescinded their copyright for performance purposes.