Composer of the day: Francisco Correa de Arauxo
While we have mostly discussed Renaissance composers in this daily column (after all, the theme of this festival is dedicated to a city that flourished in the sixteenth century), today we move towards the Baroque. Again it is a Francisco, this time Correa de Arauxo (1584-1654). This Francisco also spent most of his life in Seville. At a young age, he started out as a choirboy and received organ lessons with which his love for the organ was born. He would later become organist of the church of San Salvador in Seville, and of the cathedrals of Jaén and Segovia.
The only work we still have by Arauxo is his Libro de tientos y discursos de música practica, y theorica de organo intitulado Facultad organica from 1626. Quite a mouthful, so usually abbreviated to Facultad organica. This is a theoretically important work, as well as compositionally. It contains 69 compositions, leading the shift from the Renaissance to the Baroque. Arauxo also discusses at length the possibilities and use of ornamentation and (slight) dissonance.
The type of composition that makes up the bulk of the Facultad is the so-called tiento. This is a typically Spanish musical form that originated in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and, with the help of Correa, would continue to develop into an important genre during the Baroque period. It is a free, often polyphonic composition that uses imitative techniques and variations. It balances between counterpoint and improvisation, making the performance particularly expressive.
Arauxo's tientos pass frequently this festival edition. Bernard Foccroulle has fully immersed himself in his compositions and will be playing the organ in the Tuindorpkerk at 11:00 this morning. Foccroulle continues his exploration of Arauxo's work with InAlto, tomorrow in the Hertz.
