Composer of the day: Francisco de Peñalosa
The time has finally come to highlight one of Seville's key figures. Composer Francisco de Peñalosa (c. 1470-1528) belongs to the first generation of Spanish polyphonists. His regular appearance on the programme is partly due to the fact that an awful lot of his works have survived, more than of his contemporaries.
Peñalosa therefore had a very active life. He was born in the province of Toledo. Unfortunately, that is all we know about his youth: Peñalosa's name does not appear in a document until 1498, when he was appointed to the royal chapel of Aragon by King Ferdinand II. Later, he also worked at the papal chapel in Rome, as well as being chapel master in Burgos. But in the end, it was the cathedral of Seville where he spent the most and longest time.
Peñalosa was a jack of all trades, at least for his time. He wrote masses, several settings of the Magnificat, motets, and hymns. Besides religious works, 11 secular compositions of his have also survived.
That Josquin Desprez was Peñalosa's greatest inspiration can be heard from the very similar stylistic choices. For years it was even claimed that the motet Sancta mater istud agas was written by Josquin, rather than Peñalosa. This one of the motets that Cantica Symphonia plays today, interspersed with the mass Adieu mes amours. The latter work shows even more clearly how much Peñalosa appreciated Josquin and took him as an example: he based it on the Franco-Flemish master's chanson of the same name.
