Much of today’s research into the nature of musical pleasure can be divided into two distinct areas – the study of the overtone spectra of musical consonance and the study of human physiological responses to musical sounds. The former is largely focused on adult participatory responses and the latter on the detection of biochemical activity.…[Read more]

Recent studies of consonance combined with related neurological studies of musical pleasure both point to the prenatal exposure to the human voice as the origin of our affinity for harmonics sounds. The response of a neonate to the maternal voice is compared to the adult response to music, and the physical components of tonal sounds provide an…[Read more]

In 1927, Madrid experienced a great musical activity to celebrate the first anniversary of Beethoven’s death. This chapter focuses on the activities organized by orchestras, societies, associations, etc., and their reflection in the press of that time. Critics from the main Madrid newspapers such as Adolfo Salazar, Juan José Mantecón, Víctor Es…[Read more]

The premiere in 1882 of the Ninth Symphony by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) at the Teatro Principal in Madrid marked a significant historical and musical milestone for the history of Spanish symphonic music. Until then, the reception of the great German composer in Spain had been limited since the 1840s to individual…[Read more]

This work won the ‘XX Premio de Investigación Fernando Jiménez de Gregorio’, awarded by the City Council of Talavera de la Reina in 2011. Reviews: 1) Reseña de Josep Maria Gregori Cifré en Critica Bibliographica (vol. C, febrero 2013): http://www.academiaeditorial.com/web/talavera 2) Reseña de Leticia Yustos en DoceNotas. Revista de Música y Danza…[Read more]

Study and edition of the Complete Villancicos of Padre Antonio Soler (1729-1783), Chapel Master of Escorial Monastery in Spain

Study and edition of the Complete Villancicos of Padre Antonio Soler (1729-1783), Chapel Master of Escorial Monastery in Spain

Without fail a study in any depth of our fondness for music must eventually address the issue of consonance and dissonance. Past approaches to this issue have been bounded by a limited knowledge base and, further, marred by logical flaws, occasional hand waving, and the myopia of reductionism. Despite the explosion of progress in the last few…[Read more]

Eighteenth-century Spanish music experienced a golden age thanks, especially, to the proliferation of centers such as the chapels, which articulated and structured the musical life of our cities: the main sound activity was centered on ecclesiastical music, both liturgical and paraliturgical, with which religious festivities were solemnized.…[Read more]

Without fail a study in any depth of our fondness for music must eventually address the issue of consonance and dissonance. Past approaches to this issue have been bounded by a limited knowledge base and, further, marred by logical flaws, occasional hand waving, and the myopia of reductionism. Despite the explosion of progress in the last few…[Read more]

This article focuses on Spanish music in the 18th century, which experienced one of the most brilliant periods in its history. This was undoubtedly due to the splendour achieved by keyboard music, which reached an extraordinary level of development after the arrival in Spain of the Neapolitan composer Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757), harpsichord…[Read more]

The musical chapel of the Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor in Talavera de la Reina is a significant case of how an ecclesiastical institution articulates the musical life of a city: in this sense, it can be stated that the main musical activity in the aforementioned Toledan city has revolved around the chapel of the Collegiate Church…[Read more]

The publication of Cervantes’ Don Quixote served as inspiration from the very moment of its creation for a whole series of artistic manifestations, among which those related to the art of sound stand out. Among the famous Spanish composers of Romanticism, the Sevillian composer Manuel del Pópulo García shines and stands out with his own light. H…[Read more]

This article focuses on the personal and artistic career of one of the most representative composers of Spain in the second half of the 18th century and the first third of the 19th century. Ramón Garay, born in 1761 in Asturias, held the post of Chapel Master of Jaén Cathedral for 36 fruitful years, which saw the birth of an extraordinary p…[Read more]

This article focuses on the decline of Spanish ecclesiastical music from the beginning of the 19th century, coinciding with the outbreak of the War of Independence. This decline worsened as a result of the application of successive disentailments by the various liberal governments and the signing of the Concordat of 1851. To remedy this situation,…[Read more]

The music chapel of the Cathedral of Segorbe has historically played a primordial role in the history of Spanish music, constituting a focus of musical activity that attracted a numerous group of singers, instrumentalists, organists and chapel masters who formed part of the aforementioned chapel, whose antecedents date back to the mid-13th…[Read more]

The celebration of the “Beethoven Year” in Madrid in 1927 resulted in a whole series of celebrations of all kinds that extended throughout that emblematic year to honour the German composer. This resulted in the public performance of numerous concerts by Madrid’s leading orchestral and choral groups, including the Orquesta Filarmónica de Madrid,…[Read more]

This article focuses on the study of the different musical periods that make up the Modern Age in Europe, taking into account from a critical point of view the current state of the art in bibliography. Each period is previously defined according to the chronological problem and according to its technical, aesthetic and stylistic characteristics.

The biographical trajectory of the Franco-Flemish composer Josquin des Prez can be described as exciting and his musical contribution as transcendent in an era of sublime creativity that coincided with the artistic and intellectual rediscovery of the values of classical Greco-Latin antiquity. A contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo,…[Read more]

Article about the biography and musical output of the Italian composer Doomenico Scarlatti