Antonio de Cabezón (30 March 1510 – 26 March 1566) was a Spanish Renaissance composer and organist . Blind from childhood, he quickly rose to prominence as a performer and was eventually employed by the royal family. He was among the most important composers of his time and the first major Iberian keyboard composer.
29-580: Cabezón was born in Castrillo Mota de Judíos , a municipality near Burgos , in the north of Spain . Nothing is known about his formative years. He became blind in early childhood, and he may have been educated at the Palencia Cathedral by the organist there, García de Baeza. At the time, the country was slowly entering its Golden Age . On 14 March 1516, Charles V was proclaimed King of Castile and of Aragon jointly with his mother,
58-519: A diocese in 1183, and work began to build the cathedral on the foundations of the main Muslim mosque. Like several other cathedrals built in Castile in the same period, Cuenca Cathedral is said to have been inspired by Eleanor Plantagenet of England , wife of King Alfonso VIII and daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor's Norman influence left its mark on the building, one of
87-516: A portative organ for Felipe on his journeys. On 19 July 1546 Cabezón's brother Juan, also an organist and composer, was appointed musician in the royal chapel of Prince Felipe. Since the late 1540s Antonio and Juan both accompanied Felipe on his various trips, and visited Italy , the Netherlands , Germany (in 1548–49), and England (in 1554–56), where Antonio's variations may have influenced William Byrd and Thomas Tallis , who later took up
116-478: A la letanía , in the Cancionero de la Casa de Medinaceli . A mention of a mass by Cabezón is contained in a 1611 inventory of music from Cuenca Cathedral , but the actual music is lost, as are, presumably, many other works by the composer. A good keyboard improviser, many works by Antonio de Cabezón transcribed by his son Hernando were "mere crumbs from my father's table". While French and Italian organists of
145-406: A length of 120 meters and 36 meters of height, in its internal central area, occupying an area of 10,000 square meters. In the 15th century, the eastern end was rebuilt to create a double ambulatory . In the 17th century, the cathedral chapter retained architect Ventura Rodríguez to build the altar of Saint Julian, also known as el Transparente for the stained glass illuminating and decorating
174-624: A period of religious persecution of non-Christians in Spain (the Jews had been expelled from Spain in 1492 during the Spanish Inquisition ). In June 2015 the name was changed back to Castrillo Mota de Judíos following a campaign led by mayor Lorenzo Rodríguez leading to a vote among the villagers in May 2014. There have been several anti-Jewish incidents since the name change. In 2022,
203-591: A tendency towards longer and more characteristic subjects, and many of their features anticipate the music of the Baroque period. Nine sets of variations (in Spanish tradition called discantes , diferencias , or glosas ) are included in Obras de musica : Cabezón's variations are one of the earliest high points of the genre, and presumably influenced English composers such as Thomas Tallis and William Byrd . All of
232-571: The Iberian Peninsula . In particular, the cathedral is characteristic of the Norman and Anglo-Norman architecture of the 12th century, of which Soissons Cathedral , Laon Cathedral and Notre-Dame de Paris are representative examples. Work began in 1182 and was largely completed by 1257, although further renovations continued. In the 15th century, the Gothic chevet of the cathedral
261-748: The psalms and for the Magnificats : The tiento was a polyphonic form of instrumental music that originated in the Iberian peninsula, and has been linked to both tastar de corde (an improvisatory prelude) and the ricercar (an improvisatory prelude or, at a later stage of development, a strict imitative composition). Twenty-nine tientos by Cabezón survive. Fourteen appeared in Libro de cifra nueva : these works are all written out in long note values , alternating between imitative counterpoint and non-imitative sections. Usually there are three or four themes, and
290-472: The Giraldo tower (seen to the left of the façade in early photographs) collapsed after a direct lightning strike which also destroyed much of the façade. Several children were killed. Initial restoration of the façade was done in the neo-Gothic style. There are plans to restore the destroyed sections. Romanesque features of the cathedral date from its origins in the late Romanesque period. Characteristic of
319-476: The Romanesque style, there were initially five staggered apses , a single transept and three naves in the main body of the building. Thirteenth-century developments include the clerestory , with moulded windows, statues of angels and an oculus . The Anglo-Norman architectural influence can be seen, among other places, in the cathedral's sexpartite rib vaulting . The temple is of great dimensions, has
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#1732791188351348-490: The background of the altarpiece. It rivalled altarpieces with similar features by Narciso Tomé in Toledo Cathedral . A new altar was built in the eighteenth century, with altarpiece statues by Italian sculptor Pasquale Bocciardo . The collapse of Giraldo tower in 1902 caused widespread damage to the cathedral. The reconstruction of the facade by architect Vicente Lampérez , completed in 1910, partially repaired
377-409: The bulk of his compositions was published posthumously by his son Hernando in a volume titled Obras de música para tecla, arpa y vihuela (Madrid, 1578). Together these collections contain some 275 pieces, most for organ or other keyboard instruments. Cabezón also composed instrumental music for plucked string instruments and ensembles, and vocal music, but only a single vocal piece survives: Invocación
406-497: The damage. Most recently, the 16th-century cloister has been fully restored. The iconography of Cuenca Cathedral is largely fantastical, with mythological and human figures interspersed amongst plant leaves, stems, fruits and meandering streams. Cuenca Cathedral is distinguished from many other cathedrals by sculptures representing animals unknown to the West, such as the armadillo, puffer fish or turtle, in its Gothic arches dating from
435-458: The earliest Gothic cathedrals of Castile along with the cathedral in Avila . French stonemasons began work between 1182 and 1189, with work continuing in the 13th century. The cathedral was consecrated in 1196 by Saint Julian of Cuenca , second bishop of Cuenca, when only the chevet had been built. The high altar was consecrated in 1208 by Bishop Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada . On 13 April 1902,
464-622: The final revelation. He identifies the cathedral with the description of the New Jerusalem of the Book of Revelation, on the strength of its 12 gates in shape of bows, each with 12 angels. Each stone angel has a sombre expression and holds a book with the exception of one, who is smiling and holding a goblet. This is interpreted as a hidden reference to the legend of the Holy Grail. It has been claimed that there are other hidden messages in
493-596: The first time the crowns of Castile and Aragon were united under the same king. After the death of his paternal grandfather, Maximilian , in 1519, Charles also inherited the Habsburg lands in Austria , and later went on to become Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and one of the most powerful monarchs in the world. In 1525, Charles married Isabella of Portugal , further strengthening his position in Spain. It
522-512: The first to be presented is also the most developed. The non-imitative parts frequently employ techniques unusual for the genre at the time: extended duets, motifs transforming into ostinato patterns. Twelve more tientos appear in Obras de música : six from an earlier period in Cabezón's career, and six late works. While the earlier pieces are similar in many respects to the Libro de cifra pieces, Cabezón's late tientos use smaller note values, have
551-734: The form. Practically nothing is known about Cabezón's personal life. He married one Luisa Nuñez de Mocos from Ávila , and the couple had five children. One of Antonio's sons, Hernando de Cabezón (1541–1602) became a composer, and it was through his efforts that the bulk of Antonio's oeuvre was preserved. Another son, Agustín de Cabezón (who died before 1564), became a chorister of the royal chapel. Cabezón died in Madrid on 26 March 1566. A few of Cabezón's works appeared in print during his lifetime in Luis Venegas de Henestrosa 's compilation Libro de cifra nueva (Alcalá de Henares, 1557). However,
580-676: The late 15th century, a period in the history of its construction that coincided with the European colonization of the Americas after 1492. From readings of the Book of Revelation and the "Centuries" in Les Propheties by Nostradamus, the scholar and architect Rodrigo de Luz concluded that the Holy Grail was saved and preserved in this cathedral. As a consequence, Cuenca Cathedral and all those who take refuge within it would be spared in
609-469: The municipality had a population of 71 inhabitants. The town is located on a plain area, near the river Odra , 51 km (32 mi) west of Burgos and 54 km (34 mi) northeast of Palencia . It is crossed by the roads BU-400 and BU-403. The town was originally named Castrillo Motajudíos ("Jew hill camp") in 1035 when Jews fleeing from a nearby pogrom settled there; it was changed to Castrillo Matajudíos ("Jew-killer camp") in 1627 during
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#1732791188351638-412: The simpler four-part pieces and culminating with six-part ones. They are based on works by composers such as Josquin des Prez and Orlande de Lassus and are more or less similar to most such compositions of the period. Castrillo Mota de Jud%C3%ADos Castrillo Mota de Judíos is a municipality located in the province of Burgos , Castile and León , Spain. The 2004 census ( INE ) indicated
667-562: The time frequently composed organ masses , in Spain this practice was limited to versos on the Kyrie . Consequently, most of Cabezón's liturgical music was intended for the Daily Offices —prescribed prayers of the daily round. Music for Mass is represented by the nine sets of Kyrie verses for organ. These fall into the following groups: Cabezón's music for the Daily Offices comprises 32 hymns and three collections of versets for
696-501: The town inaugurated a Sephardic Jewish memorial center to pay tribute to its history of Sephardic Jewry. Castrillo Mota de Judíos is twinned with: Cuenca Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Mary and Saint Julian is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Cuenca , Spain. The building is one of the earliest Spanish examples of Gothic architecture , built at a time when the Romanesque style still predominated in
725-531: The variation sets begin with the first variation, assuming the theme is already known to the listener, and connects individual variations using free transitions, thus frequently making analysis of the structure complicated. Cabezón uses numerous techniques, such as a migrating and/or heavily ornamented cantus firmus . The models are taken from popular Spanish songs, dance forms, and established melodic-harmonic frameworks. The intabulations in Obras de música are ordered according to polyphonic complexity, starting with
754-583: The work once a technical consensus is reached. The cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cuenca . It is dedicated to Mary and to Saint Julian of Cuenca , the second bishop of the Diocese and patron saint of the city. On 21 September 1177, Alfonso VIII of Castile , "The Noble", defeated the Moors after a nine-month siege and conquered the city of Cuenca. The city was made
783-551: Was Isabella who employed Cabezón into her service in 1526. His duties included playing the clavichord and the organ, and he also assumed the position of organist at the chapel Isabella organized soon after her wedding. The composer remained with the royal family for the rest of his life. Through the court, he met such important composers as vihuelist Luis de Narváez , known today for his advanced polyphonic fantasias, and Tomás de Santa María , theorist and composer whose important treatise on instrumental music, Arte de tañer fantasía ,
812-537: Was examined and approved by Cabezón. In 1538, Cabezón was made músico de la cámara (chamber musician) to Charles (who as a child was educated in music by the noted organist Henry Bredemers ). After Isabella's death in 1539, Cabezón was appointed music teacher to her children: Prince Felipe and his sisters Maria and Joan (Maria would later become the most important patron of composer Tomás Luis de Victoria ). In 1543 Felipe became Regent of Spain, and he made Cabezón his court organist. Cabezón's duties included playing
841-488: Was reconstructed. The exterior was almost renovated in the 16th century. In the 17th century, the tabernacle chapel ( capilla del Sagrario ) was built, and the facade and the towers were reformed. The facade was partially reconstructed in the neo-Gothic style in 1910 to repair damage caused when the bell tower (the Giraldo) collapsed in 1902 after being struck by a lightning. However, there are plans and projects to complete
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