- Gaspar Fernandes
Gaspar Fernandes (or "Gaspar Fernández", the Spanish version of his name) (1566-1629) was a Portuguese
composer andorganist active in the cathedrals of Santiago de Guatemala (present-dayAntigua Guatemala ) andPuebla de los Ángeles, New Spain (present-dayMexico ).Life
Most scholars agree that the Gaspar Fernandes listed as a singer in the cathedral of
Evora ,Portugal , is the same person as the Gaspar Fernández who was hired on 16 July, 1599 as organist and organ tuner of the cathedral of Santiago deGuatemala . In1606 , Fernandes was approached by the dignataries of the cathedral ofPuebla , inviting him to become the successor of his recently deceased friendPedro Bermúdez as chapel master. He left Santiago deGuatemala on 12 July, 1606, and began his tenure inPuebla on 15 September. He remained there until his death in1629 .Work
One of his most important achievements for posterity was the compilation and binding in
1602 of various choir books containingRoman Catholic liturgicalpolyphony , several of which are extant inGuatemala . These manuscripts contain music by Spanish composersFrancisco Guerrero ,Cristóbal de Morales , andPedro Bermúdez ; the latter was with Fernandes at the time in the cathedral ofGuatemala . To complete these books, Fernandes composed a cycle of 8 "Benedicamus Domino", theversicle that follows theMagnificat atvespers and certainMass es, one in each of the 8 ecclesiastical tones or modes. He also added his own setting of theMagnificat in the fifth tone, some "faux bordon" versicles without text, and avespers hymn for the Feast of the Guardian Angels.During his Puebla tenure, rather than focusing on the composition of Latin liturgical music, he contributed a sizable amount of vernacular
villancico s formatins . This part of his output shows great variety in the handling of texts, which are in Spanish but also in pseudo-African dialects and occasionally Portuguese. One of thesevillancico s, "Xicochi ," is notable for its use of Nahuatl, the language of the indigenous Nahua people. The music departs from16th century counterpoint and reflects the newbaroque search for text expression. The main collection of thesevillancico s is extant in theOaxaca Codex, and has been studied, edited, and published byRobert Stevenson and especially by Aurelio Tello.References
Aurelio Tello. "El Archivo Musical de la Catedral de Oaxaca". México, D.F.: CENIDIM, 1990.
Dieter Lehnhoff . "Creación musical en Guatemala". Guatemala City: Editorial Galería Guatemala, 2005. ISBN 99922704-7-0Dieter Lehnhoff . "Antología de la Música Coral en Guatemala". Guatemala City: Editorial Cultura, 2005.Gaspar Fernández.
Magnificat , ed.Dieter Lehnhoff (1986), "Antología de la Música Sacra en Guatemala", vol. II. Guatemala: Universidad Rafael Landívar, 2002. ISBN 99922-67-08-9
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