Francisco de Peñalosa

Spanish composer(b Talavera de la Reina, c1470; d Seville, 1 April 1528). More works by him survive than by any of his Spanish contemporaries, even though it is also clear that quite a considerable number of his compositions have been lost. Six complete masses, six Magnificat settings, five hymns, three Lamentation settings, over 20 motets and 11 songs are attributed to him in Iberian or New World sources; surprisingly, it appears that none of his music has been preserved elsewhere. Relatively little is known about his life before his appointment to the Aragonese royal chapel on 11 May 1498; the document recording his appointment gives only his place of birth. He served there until the death of King Ferdinand in 1516, his salary having been increased in May 1501 to 30,000 maravedís, the maximum paid to a singer-chaplain in that household. Although Cristóbal de Villalón described him as maestro de capilla (Ingeniosa comparación entre lo antigua y lo presente, Valladolid, 1539), he is not referred to elsewhere under this title. He was, however, ‘maestro de música’ (music teacher) to the king’s grandson, Ferdinand, who was brought up and educated in Burgos; Peñalosa held this position from 1511. In December 1505 he had been presented, at royal request, to a canonry at Seville Cathedral, but the position was contested and it was several years before the case was decided in his favour. He visited Seville from time to time while continuing to se rve at court, but he took up residence there following the king’s death. In the autumn of 1517 he received an invitation to go to Rome, and he served as a member of the papal choir until the death of Leo X (December 1521). Even the high esteem of the pope was insufficient to convince the chapter of Seville Cathedral to allow Peñalosa to receive the income from the canonry in absentia, and in the summer of 1518 he renounced it for the position of Archdeacon of Carmona. After the pope’s death he returned to Seville, resumed his canonry and in March 1525 was granted the rights to the post of treasurer. He died in Seville on 1 April 1528 and was buried in the cathedral. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.