Santiago de Murcia
Encyclopedia
Santiago de Murcia was a Spanish
guitarist and composer
.
In his printed collection of guitar music "Resumen de acompanar" Murcia describes himself as Master of Guitar to the Spanish Queen Maria Luisa Gabriela de Savoy. She was the first wife of the first Bourbon king of Spain, Felipe V, a grandson of Louis XIV of France
who succeeded to the Spanish throne on the death of Carlos II in November 1700. The marriage took place by proxy in Turin on 11 September 1701. On 3 November marriage was re-celebrated in Figueras in Catalunya. In April 1702, Felipe V left on a tour of his Italian possessions appointing Maria Luisa as regent in his absence. There is no reason to suppose that Murcia travelled with him to Naples
, Italy
, or met the composers Arcangelo Corelli
and Alessandro Scarlatti
. Maria Luisa arrived in Madrid on 30 June and Murcia is not likely to have been appointed as her Master of Guitar before this date. It is assumed that he held the post until her death in 1714. Antonio de Murcia was appointed instrument maker to the Queen in 1704.
Later in his life, in 1729, he signed a declaration of poverty. He died in Madrid in 1739.
Although two of the surviving manuscript collections of Murcia's music - "Passacalles y obras" and "Codice Saldivar no. 4" - came to light in Mexico in modern times, they were most probably taken there at a later date by subsequent owners. It now seems unlikely that Santiago de Murcia actually travelled to Mexico himself. "Passacalles y obras" is dedicated to a certain Joseph Alvarez de Saavedra, but it is not known whether this is the same "Joseph Alvarez" who died in Puebla in 1737.
Apparently Andriani had trading links with the Latin America, especially with Chile and Mexico. The most likely scenario is that Murcia made manuscript copies of his music for patrons which were exported to the New World.
One of the important aspects of the music of Murcia is his interest in a wide range of pre-existing music for guitar, including that by Spanish, French and Italian composers, and in popular dance forms which probably originated in Africa (rather than Mexico). Thus the collections offer works of different styles grouped next to one another, which certainly offers a rich and varied panorama of the baroque repertoire for guitar.
On 18 September, 2006, it was reported in the newspaper El Mercurio that the manuscript of music by Santiago de Murcia Cifras selectas de guitarra dating from 1722 had been discovered in Chile
. The discovery was made by the musicologist Alejandro Vera from the Music Institute at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. The music consists of French and Spanish dances.
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
guitarist and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Biography
Until new research was published in 2008, few details about the life of Santiago de Murcia were known. However it is now known that he was born in Madrid and that his parents were Juan de Murcia and Magdalena Hernandez. He married Josefa Garcia in May 1695.In his printed collection of guitar music "Resumen de acompanar" Murcia describes himself as Master of Guitar to the Spanish Queen Maria Luisa Gabriela de Savoy. She was the first wife of the first Bourbon king of Spain, Felipe V, a grandson of Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
who succeeded to the Spanish throne on the death of Carlos II in November 1700. The marriage took place by proxy in Turin on 11 September 1701. On 3 November marriage was re-celebrated in Figueras in Catalunya. In April 1702, Felipe V left on a tour of his Italian possessions appointing Maria Luisa as regent in his absence. There is no reason to suppose that Murcia travelled with him to Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, or met the composers Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer of Baroque music.-Biography:Corelli was born at Fusignano, in the current-day province of Ravenna, although at the time it was in the province of Ferrara. Little is known about his early life...
and Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...
. Maria Luisa arrived in Madrid on 30 June and Murcia is not likely to have been appointed as her Master of Guitar before this date. It is assumed that he held the post until her death in 1714. Antonio de Murcia was appointed instrument maker to the Queen in 1704.
Later in his life, in 1729, he signed a declaration of poverty. He died in Madrid in 1739.
Although two of the surviving manuscript collections of Murcia's music - "Passacalles y obras" and "Codice Saldivar no. 4" - came to light in Mexico in modern times, they were most probably taken there at a later date by subsequent owners. It now seems unlikely that Santiago de Murcia actually travelled to Mexico himself. "Passacalles y obras" is dedicated to a certain Joseph Alvarez de Saavedra, but it is not known whether this is the same "Joseph Alvarez" who died in Puebla in 1737.
Apparently Andriani had trading links with the Latin America, especially with Chile and Mexico. The most likely scenario is that Murcia made manuscript copies of his music for patrons which were exported to the New World.
One of the important aspects of the music of Murcia is his interest in a wide range of pre-existing music for guitar, including that by Spanish, French and Italian composers, and in popular dance forms which probably originated in Africa (rather than Mexico). Thus the collections offer works of different styles grouped next to one another, which certainly offers a rich and varied panorama of the baroque repertoire for guitar.
On 18 September, 2006, it was reported in the newspaper El Mercurio that the manuscript of music by Santiago de Murcia Cifras selectas de guitarra dating from 1722 had been discovered in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. The discovery was made by the musicologist Alejandro Vera from the Music Institute at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. The music consists of French and Spanish dances.
Works
- 1714: Resumen de acompañar la parte con la guitarraResumen de acompañarResumen de acompañar la parte con la guitarra, printed in 1714, is the earliest of three collections of music for five-course guitar composed and arranged by Santiago de Murcia. "Resumen de acompañar" is dedicated to Jacome Francisco Andriani, knight of the Order of St...
- 1722: Cifras selectas de guitarra
- ca. 1730: Codice Saldivar no. 4
- 1732: Passacalles y obras
Sources
- Monica Hall: Guitar anthologies of Santiago de Murcia. Open University dissertation. English : Book, Milton Keynes : Open University, 1983. OCLC: 59292792. British Library Reference number D50374-84
- Craig H Russell: Santiago De Murcia: Spanish theorist and guitarist of the early eighteenth century. English: Book : Thesis/dissertation/manuscript, Microform. 1981. OCLC: 25778189
- Craig H. Russell (edited) : Santiago de Murcia's Codice Saldivar no. 4. English: Book - 2 vols. University of Illinois Press. 1995.
- Elena Machado Lowenfeld: Santiago de Murcia's thorough-bass treatise for the baroque guitar (1714) Engels : Book : Thesis/dissertation/manuscript.1974. OCLC: 8075098
- Neil Douglas Pennington: The development of baroque guitar music in Spain, including a commentary on and transcription of Santiago de Murcia's 'Passacalles y obras' (1732) Engels : Book. Publisher: [S.l. : s.n.], 1979. OCLC: 66179517
- Alejandro Vera: Una nueva fuente para la música del siglo XVIII: el manuscrito Cifras Selectas de Guitarra de Santiago de Murcia (1722). Revista Resonancias Nº 18, Mayo 2006 . Facultad de Artes . Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
- Alejandro Vera: Santiago de Murcia's "Cifras Selectas de Guitarra (1722) : a new source of music for the baroque guitar" in Early Music, Vol 15, No.2, May 2007, pp 251–269.
- Alejandro Vera: Santiago de Murcia (1673–1739): new contributions on his life and works. Published in Early Music, Vol 36 No 4, 2008, pp 597–608.
External links
- Santiago of Murcia on Baroqueguitar.net (looks like server is crushed!)