Alonso Mudarra

Alonso Mudarra (c.1510 – April 1, 1580) was a Spanish composer and vihuelist of the Renaissance. He was an innovative composer of instrumental music as well as songs, and was the first composer to publish music for the guitar.

The place of his birth is not recorded, but he grew up in Guadalajara, and probably received his musical training there. He probably went to Italy in 1529 with Charles V, in the company of the fourth duke of the Infantado , Iñigo López de Mendoza. When he returned to Spain he became a priest, receiving the post of canon at the cathedral in Seville in 1546, where he remained for the rest of his life. While at the cathedral, he directed all of the musical activities; many records remain of his musical activities there, which include hiring instrumentalists, buying and assembling a new organ, and working closely with composer Francisco Guerrero for various festivities. Mudarra died in Seville, and his sizable fortune was distributed to the poor of the city according to his will.

Mudarra wrote numerous pieces for the viheula and the four-course guitar, the major collection being Tres libros de musica en cifras para vihuela, which he published on December 7, 1546 in Seville. These three books contain the first music ever published for the guitar, which was then a relatively new instrument.

Compositions represented in this publication include fantasias, variations (including a set on La Folia ), tientos, pavanes and galliards, and songs. The songs are in Latin, Spanish and Italian, and include romances, canciones, villancicos , and sonnets. Another innovation he used was separate signs for different tempos: slow, medium, and fast.

References and further reading

• John Griffiths: "Alonso Mudarra", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed March 24, 2005), (subscription access)
• Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0393095304