Joan Pau Pujol
Encyclopedia
Joan Pau Pujol (baptized 18 June 1570 – 17 May 1626) was a Catalan
and Spanish
composer and organist
of the late Renaissance
and early Baroque
. While best known for his sacred music, he also wrote popular secular music.
. In 1593 he became the assistant maestro de capilla at the cathedral in Barcelona, but he only held this post for a few months, taking the post of maestro de capilla (master of the chapel) at the cathedral in Tarragona
, and then in 1595 at Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Zaragoza
, a post which he kept for 17 years. While in Zaragoza, in 1600, he became a priest
. In 1612 he returned to Barcelona, becoming maestro de capilla at the cathedral, a distinguished post which he held until his death. Most of his music dates from the time he was in Barcelona. Evidently a condition of his employment was to produce a fixed quantity of new liturgical music each year. Unusually for many composers of the time, most of it has survived.
Also while in Barcelona he served as an organ consultant, and helped in various organ building projects in Catalonia. He died in Barcelona.
. He was a prolific composer, writing 13 mass
es, 8 settings of the Magnificat
, 6 settings of the Nunc dimittis, 12 antiphon
s, 12 responsories, 9 complete settings of the Passion, litanies
, lamentations
, sequences, motet
s, hymn
s, and no less than 74 psalm settings. In addition he wrote 19 sacred villancico
s, a form unique to the Iberian peninsula
. Surviving secular music includes romances, letrillas, liras, novena
s, tono
s, a folia, and 16 other works, some of which were collected in groups of madrigal
s of the time; they were evidently popular in Spain in the early part of the 17th century.
His missa pro defunctis—the Requiem
mass—is a formal and staid setting, contrasting to the intensely emotional setting by his Spanish
contemporary Tomás Luis de Victoria
, who wrote his at almost exactly the same time. Its use of cantus firmus
technique is conservative, and even archaic; most cantus firmus masses had been written more than a hundred years before. Yet many of his masses and psalm settings are polychoral, borrowing the style of the contemporary Venetian school; however the musical language is of the late Renaissance
, rather than the early Baroque
, which was then developing in Italy and Germany.
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
and Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
composer and organist
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
of the late Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
and early Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
. While best known for his sacred music, he also wrote popular secular music.
Life
Pujol was born in MataróMataró
Mataró is the capital and largest city of the comarca of the Maresme, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia Autonomous Community, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, to the north-east of Barcelona. , it...
. In 1593 he became the assistant maestro de capilla at the cathedral in Barcelona, but he only held this post for a few months, taking the post of maestro de capilla (master of the chapel) at the cathedral in Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
, and then in 1595 at Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
, a post which he kept for 17 years. While in Zaragoza, in 1600, he became a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. In 1612 he returned to Barcelona, becoming maestro de capilla at the cathedral, a distinguished post which he held until his death. Most of his music dates from the time he was in Barcelona. Evidently a condition of his employment was to produce a fixed quantity of new liturgical music each year. Unusually for many composers of the time, most of it has survived.
Also while in Barcelona he served as an organ consultant, and helped in various organ building projects in Catalonia. He died in Barcelona.
Music
Pujol wrote much of his music for the patron saint of Catalonia, St. George, and most of his compositions are based on Gregorian chantGregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
. He was a prolific composer, writing 13 mass
Mass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
es, 8 settings of the Magnificat
Magnificat
The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
, 6 settings of the Nunc dimittis, 12 antiphon
Antiphon
An antiphon in Christian music and ritual, is a "responsory" by a choir or congregation, usually in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work....
s, 12 responsories, 9 complete settings of the Passion, litanies
Litany
A litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions...
, lamentations
Lamentations (music)
The Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet have been set by various composers.-England:Thomas Tallis made two famous sets of the Lamentations. Scored for five voices , they show a sophisticated use of imitation, and are noted for their expressiveness. The settings are of the first two lessons for...
, sequences, motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s, hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s, and no less than 74 psalm settings. In addition he wrote 19 sacred villancico
Villancico
The villancico was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. With the decline in popularity of the villancicos in the 20th century, the term became reduced to mean merely "Christmas carol"...
s, a form unique to the Iberian peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
. Surviving secular music includes romances, letrillas, liras, novena
Novena
In the Catholic Church, a novena is a devotion consisting of a prayer repeated on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces. The prayers may come from prayer books, or consist of the recitation of the Rosary , or of short prayers through the day...
s, tono
Tono
Tono can refer to:Locations*Bay of Tono, in Italy*Tono River, in East Timor*Tōno, Iwate, a city in Japan*Tōnō, a region of Gifu Prefecture, Japan*Tono, Washington, a town in Washington, USA*Pasar Tono, a town in East TimorPeople...
s, a folia, and 16 other works, some of which were collected in groups of madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
s of the time; they were evidently popular in Spain in the early part of the 17th century.
His missa pro defunctis—the Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
mass—is a formal and staid setting, contrasting to the intensely emotional setting by his Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
contemporary Tomás Luis de Victoria
Tomás Luis de Victoria
Tomás Luis de Victoria, sometimes Italianised as da Vittoria , was the most famous composer of the 16th century in Spain, and one of the most important composers of the Counter-Reformation, along with Giovanni da Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso. Victoria was not only a composer, but also an...
, who wrote his at almost exactly the same time. Its use of cantus firmus
Cantus firmus
In music, a cantus firmus is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.The plural of this Latin term is , though the corrupt form canti firmi is also attested...
technique is conservative, and even archaic; most cantus firmus masses had been written more than a hundred years before. Yet many of his masses and psalm settings are polychoral, borrowing the style of the contemporary Venetian school; however the musical language is of the late Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
, rather than the early Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
, which was then developing in Italy and Germany.
Sources
- Article "Juan Pujol," in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
- Emilio Ros-Fábregas: "Joan Pau Pujol," Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed February 1, 2005), (subscription access)
- Gustave ReeseGustave ReeseGustave Reese was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is known mainly for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications Music in the Middle Ages and Music in the Renaissance ; these two books remain the standard reference works for these two eras,...
, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4