Discovering the music masters of Spain and New Spain

The 16th century was the golden century for Spanish polyphonic music developed mainly under the influence of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. The latter represents the grandeur and importance of the music masters of the main cathedrals of Spain, the Cabezón family at the royal chapel, Correa de Arauxo in Jaén, Victoria in Madrid. Many music and chapel masters had a very significant reputation in Europe, in particular for musicians attached to members of the Spanish royal family and participated in the influence of Spanish culture. At the same time, the development of an important religious network in New Spain (today Mexico and Guatemala) provided great opportunities for composers who had not had positions in mainland France, this is the case of Hernando Franco who was choirmaster in Santiago de Guatemala then at the cathedral of Mexico, where his music enjoyed great success. All these important music masters will subsequently have a very great importance on the training of new generations of composers like Bartolomé de Selma y Salaverde. The latter was trained at the Cathedral of Cuenca and composed numerous canzons in a unique style which sets him apart from his Italian contemporaries and affirms the particularity of the Spanish style inherited from his unique and illustrious predecessors.