Since in the Latin dedications to his 1544 books of masses he is described as ‘hyspalensis’, we assume that Morales was born in Seville. That he was ordained in the same city is confirmed by an entry in the Actas capitulares of Toledo cathedral, where in 1545 he is described as a ‘cleric of the diocese of Seville’ [‘clérigo de la diocesis de Sevilla’]. Documents sighted by the scholar and diplomat Rafael Mitjana, but apparently now lost, give the chapelmastership at the Cathedral of Avila as Morales’s first known employment. It seems he served there from 1526 until about 1529 when he became chapelmaster at Plasencia Cathedral. The rapid and frequent movement between one cathedral and another is a familiar characteristic of the career paths of Spanish musicians in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, testifying as it does to the fierce competition between cathedrals, collegiate churches, and the court for the finest musical talent. What is not so typical of Morales trajectory, however, was his next move: in 1535 he left Spain to join the papal chapel in Rome.
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The rapid and frequent movement between one cathedral and another is a familiar characteristic of the career paths of Spanish musicians in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, testifying as it does to the fierce competition between cathedrals, collegiate churches, and the court for the finest musical talent.
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Whether or not Morales had been personally chosen for the papal choir by Pope Paul III, as the composer claimed in the dedication of his Missarum liber secundus (Rome, 1544), it is clear that the musicians singing in the papal chapel-composers like Jacques Arcadelt and Costanzo Festa-were of the highest international calibre. In addition to his French, Flemish, and Italian colleagues in the papal chapel, Morales was also able to count such accomplished Spanish composers as Bartolomé de Escobedo (c.1500-1563) and Pedro Ordoñez (c.1510-1585). Not only did the papal chapel open for Morales such glittering opportunities as singing for Charles V’s entry into Rome in 1536, but it also enabled him to travel as far afield as Nice, Loreto, Busseto, and Bologna. In addition to their salaries, papal singers were provided with such luxuries as a servant, a horse, and, from time to time, a feast box from the pope’s kitchen. It is the experience of such a lively cosmopolitan environment as Rome that places Morales musical development in a category quite separate from that of such other Spanish composers as Francisco Guerrero, Sebastián de Vivanco, Alonso Lobo, and Juan Navarro (to name but a few) whose entire careers took place within the peninsula. Indeed it was in Rome that Morales international reputation was established and consolidated.
The Masses
The year 1544 was one of enormous importance for Morales, for in this year he published no fewer than 16 masses distributed over two books printed by Valerio Dorico. Thanks to Suzanne Cusick’s detailed study of the printing contract entered into by Morales, Dorico, and two business associates, we are allowed a fascinating insight into the mechanics, practices, and processes of music publishing in sixteenth-century Rome. Although the contract does not specify which of the two mass books it is concerned with, it does tell us that Morales himself was required to pay himself for the paper and printing costs of 250 of the total print run of 525 copies. Morales was also financially responsible for decorations and illustrations, though he would retain complete editorial control, being responsible for reading and correcting the proofs. For his part, Morales would receive 275 copies of the book, only 50 of which he was permitted to sell in Italy.
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