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Church of the Monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste. On 21^st September 2024

“Ave Virgo” – Francisco Guerrero (1527-1599)

Along with Tomás Luis de Victoria and Cristóbal de Morales, Francisco Guerrero is considered one of the greatest Spanish composers of the Renaissance. He is the only one who worked in Seville almost throughout his life, which contributed to making him the most popular and esteemed composer of his generation in Spain. Despite this deep-rootedness, he travelled periodically, and aware of the power of Flemish, French, and Italian printing presses, he did not hesitate to use them for the publication of most of his musical output. In fact, this programme is drawn from several of those publications: “Sacrae cantiones” (1555), “Motecta” (1570), “Canciones y Villanescas Espirituales” (1589), and “Cantus Motecta” (1597).

The work of Francisco Guerrero encompasses almost all the genres of religious and secular music of his time. His production illustrates the expressive achievements attained in the mid-16^th century; they were translated into the harmonisation of text and music, and were widely praised by his contemporary Juan Vázquez. His youthful works include madrigal-like pieces, performed in court circles and Sevillian academies. Alongside these, and derived from his duties at the cathedral, he composed numerous canzonets for the main festivities of the annual liturgical cycle. Only a select few of these, “transformed into the divine”, would see the light of day later when he decided to print them in the aforementioned “Canciones y Villanescas Espirituales” (Venice, 1589), motivated by the errors in their manuscript transmission. All the compositions in Spanish in this programme belong to this collection.

His work made its way into the repertoire of the Cathedral of Seville, displacing that of other masters, sometimes monopolising the solemnisation of ceremonies held at this institution. Additionally, Guerrero’s musical production occupies a privileged place in the manuscript books preserved for the use of 16^th-century wind instrumentalists. This fact was likely favoured by the tradition of wind ensembles participating in the Cathedral of Seville, a pioneer in their stable employment since 1526, as well as by the composer’s own musical training, as he was a player of the seven-course vihuela, harp, cornett, and other instruments.

The composer’s prestige helped spread his handwritten and printed work throughout Spain, both in the metropolis (Toledo Cathedral) and in the colonised territories (Cathedrals in Mexico, Guatemala, and Lima). Over the fifty years serving the Cathedral of Seville, a significant portion of Francisco Guerrero’s musical production became canonised in the institution’s musical repertoire. After his death, various mechanisms were put in place to ensure his legacy continued well into the 19^th century, a further testament to the respect Francisco Guerrero was held in for centuries at his Cathedral. With this collection of works for 5 voices, and the recording of these pieces presented in March 2022 at the Cathedral of Seville (specifically in the Chapel of La Antigua, where Maestro Guerrero’s remains are buried), A5 Vocal Ensemble aims to pay tribute to the most renowned Sevillian composer. As befits the deeply Marian city of Seville, some of the chosen pieces revolve around the figure of the Virgin, reflected in the monumental works that begin and end the programme: “Ave Virgo sanctissima” and “O Virgo benedicta.”