- Pedro de Escobar
Pedro de Escobar (c. 1465 – after 1535), a.k.a. "Pedro do Porto", was a Portuguese composer of the Renaissance, mostly active in
Spain . He was one of the earliest and most skilled composers ofpolyphony in theIberian Peninsula , whose music has survived.Life
He was born at
Oporto , Portugal, but nothing is known of his life until he entered the service ofIsabella of Castile in 1489. His surname is of Castilian origin, and maybe he was born to Castilian immigrants, or descendants, established inPorto . But Castilians regarded him as Portuguese.He was a singer in the Catholic Queen chapel for ten years, and clearly was working as a composer as well; in addition he was the only member of her chapel described in court records as Portuguese. In 1499 he returned to his native Portugal, but in 1507 received an offer of employment, which he accepted, as the "maestro de capilla" (chapel master in castilian language) at the cathedral in
Seville .While there he had charge of the choirboys, having to take care of their room and board in addition to having to teach them to sing; he complained of low pay, and eventually resigned. In 1521 he was working in Portugal, as "
mestre de capela " (kapellmeister in Portuguese) for prince Dom Afonso, Cardinal-Infante of Portugal, son ofManuel I of Portugal . His career seems to have ended badly, however, for the final record of his life there is a mention in a document of 1535 that he was an alcoholic and living in squalor. He died inÉvora .Music and influence
Two complete masses of Escobar have survived, including a
Requiem ("Missa pro defunctis"), the earliest by a composer from theIberian peninsula . His known work also includes a setting of theMagnificat , 7motet s (including one "Stabat Mater "), 4antiphon s, 8hymn s, and 18villancico s, but it is highly probable that his authorship is hidden among the many anonymous works of the Portuguese renaissance manuscripts. His music was popular, as attested by the appearance of copies in far-off places; for example native scribes copied two of his manuscripts inGuatemala . His motet "Clamabat autem mulier Cananea" was particularly praised by his contemporaries, and served as the source for instrumental pieces by later composers.References and further reading
*NewGrove1980|Escobar, Pedro de|Robert Stevenson|vi|243-244
* ____. "Escobar, Pedro de", "Grove Music Online", ed. L. Macy (accessedJanuary 14 2005 ), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).
*Gustave Reese , "Music in the Renaissance". New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4External links
*ChoralWiki
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