Composer of the day: Francisco Peraza
Also composers who are not so often on the programme, but do have an interesting history, deserve to be composer of the day for once. Francisco de Peraza (c. 1564-1598) is rarely played. Very rarely. But today is the day of a breakthrough.
De Peraza was born into a musical family. His elder brother Jéronimo was an organist and his father played shawm in the cathedrals of Toledo and Seville. At the time, it will have come as no surprise that Francisco also started earning his living as a musician. He too played the organ, and in a very impressive way. So impressive that he left chapel master Francisco Guerrero astonished at his prelude to becoming permanent organist of Seville Cathedral. The latter is even reported to have said that Peraza had an angel in every finger.
The Peraza is the subject of one of the portraits that painter Francisco Pacheco made of famous Sevillians in the late 16th century. The painter wrote that the organist also composed a lot, including keyboard works, theatre music and even folk songs. But only one organ work is still known. Today, this Tiento de medio registro is on the programme at Accademia del Piacere's concert. But Menno van Delft comes with a breakthrough at the end of the day. While doing research for his concert programme on the music that Peraza would have heard, he discovered a handwritten composition in a dusty manuscript, with ‘Peraza’ scrawled on it. And it is very likely that this is Francesco. Today, at least, we assume so: at 22:30 you will experience it in the Gertrudis Chapel!
