MAESTROS DE CAPILLA OF THE BAROQUE
The selection of important manuscripts shows the intense output of the greatest Catalan composers of the 17th and 18th centuries: Joan Pau Pujol, closely connected to the cathedral of Barcelona, and Miguel López, to the Escolania of Montserrat.
Miguel López. Obras de Fr. Miguel López, Mtro. De Capilla. [Between 1720 and 1723]. Holograph. Manuscript music, 600 p. [i.e. 580 p.] (35 x 24 cm)
Miscellaneous music by Miguel López
Acquired by the Orfeó Català in 1909, this autograph manuscript of Miguel López (Villaroya de la Sierra, 1669 – Zaragoza, 1723), organist and composer, whose name is linked to one of the most outstanding periods of the Escolania of Montserrat, is essential for several reasons. It represents the entire output of the composer, compiled by the composer himself in the last years of his life: sacred music, villancicos and pieces for the organ. Due to the destruction of the musical archives of the monastery of Montserrat in 1812 during the French occupation, this manuscript is one of the rare testimonies to the repertoire of this choral foundation during the baroque period. Pablo López (who became Father Miguel López upon taking orders) received all of his musical education, from 1678 to 1684, at the monastery. He lived in the monastery of San Martín in Madrid (1689 – 1696) and carried out his theological studies at the University of Salamanca. Many works of the manuscript date to the period (1697 – 1704) in which he first held the position of Maestro de capilla of the Escolania, which he left for some years for Valladolid (from 1715 to 1718). During these years, he composed his most brilliant works for double choir and instrumental ensemble. Several organ pieces date to 1719, the year in which he was staying in the monastery of San Juan de la Peña in Aragon.
The brilliant writing of the motet Congratulamini, composed in 1703 (p. 163 – 166), demonstrates the remarkable mastery in the regrouping of voices, creating the effect of a double choir, as well as the rhythmic inventiveness of Miguel López, in the service of a text expressing the joy of gratitude.
