From musician of a viceroy to succentor in the Cathedral of Lima: Cristóbal de León (fl. 1561-1608) and other cleric musicians of his time

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62230/antec.v6i2.141

Keywords:

Lima, 16th century, 17th century, Cristóbal de León, cleric, musician, cathedral, convents

Abstract

Despite the increase in recent decades in our knowledge of colonial music, significant gaps remain about specific periods and places. Lima is perhaps the most striking of all of them because, despite being a colonial seat, we know relatively little about its musical life. This gap, however, is even more marked before 1612, when the constitutions of the music chapel of Lima Cathedral were promulgated. Since then, there is more information, at least in this institution, but we only have incomplete data for the previous period. Intending to help to remedy, in part, this lack, this paper studies a virtually unknown musician named Cristóbal de León. Through archival sources, we shall see that this subject developed a relevant musical activity in Lima from 1561 to 1608, which included the composition of chanzonetas and other works. In addition, he managed to enter the priesthood largely thanks to his musical profession, just as other cleric musicians did at the time. And he was probably related to the relevant musical activity of the monasteries of nuns in Lima during the 17th century.

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Author Biography

  • Alejandro Vera Aguilera, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

    He works as a professor at the Music Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He has a Doctor in History and Sciences of Music from the Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain) and a Bachelor's degree in Education, with a mention in Music from the University of Concepción (Chile).
    He has participated in international conferences in various countries in Europe, North America and Latin America, and published articles in prestigious magazines (Acta Musicológica, Early Music, Latin American Music Review and others). His latest book has been published in Spanish by Casa de las Américas and Ediciones UC, with the title El dulce reato de la música. La vida musical en Santiago de Chile durante el período colonial and in English by Oxford University Press as The Sweet Penance of Music. Musical Life in Colonial Santiago de Chile (2020). Since 2013 he is director of Resonancias, a musical research magazine (www.resonancias.uc.cl).
    Among other distinctions, he has obtained the XV “Emilio Pujol” Musical Research Award from Spain (2002), the “Otto Mayer - Serra” International Award for Musical Research in Mexico (2008), the “Casa de las Américas” Musicology Award from Cuba (2018), the “Lothar Siemens 2020” Musicology Prize from the Spanish Society of Musicology in Spain (2021, in conjunction with David Andrés Fernández), and the “Robert Stevenson” Prize from the American Musicological Society (2022).

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Published

2022-12-29

How to Cite

Vera Aguilera, A. (2022). From musician of a viceroy to succentor in the Cathedral of Lima: Cristóbal de León (fl. 1561-1608) and other cleric musicians of his time. Antec: Revista Peruana De Investigación Musical, 6(2), 12-29. https://doi.org/10.62230/antec.v6i2.141

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