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Mitjana’s discovery turned out to be fundamental in the history of Spanish music, particularly in regard to songs with texts in the vernacular. Otherwise, our knowledge of the song repertory that circulated throughout Spain from 1500 to 1565 would practically be limited to the songs the vihuelists included in their editions and the output of Juan Vásquez, which was published in two volumes: the Villancicos y canciones (Osuna, 1551) and the Recopilación de Sonetos y villancicos (Seville, 1560).
In contrast to most of the printed music from the Renaissance, the Cancionero de Uppsala has no prologue or dedication. This makes it extremely difficult to explain the circumstances that led to its compilation, especially considering that nearly all its repertory is anonymous. The only exception is the villancico “Dezilde al cavallero”, attributed to the Flemish composer Nicolas Gombert, who served in the Emperor Charles V’s court chapel from 1526 to 1540, initially as a singer and later as the maître des enfants. Needless to say, the identity of the compiler of the Cancionero remains anonymous, as occurs with similar manuscripts from the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance, which raises the possibility that the Cancionero de Uppsala may have originated from this period.
In total, the Cancionero de Uppsala contains 55 villancicos set to music, which are ordered thematically and according to the number of voices required. The texts of the majority of the songs are in Spanish, although there are also villancicos in Catalan (four in total) and in Portuguese (two). There are an initial 12 villancicos in two parts, followed by another 12 in three and 12 more in four (in fact, there are 13, because the last villancico is split into two), all based on amorous themes. 12 Christmas carols (the first 10 in four parts and the other two in three) and 6 five-part villancicos follow, which once again are songs about falling in and out of love. Subsequently, eight tonos (songs) are given in plainchant and another eight in organum in the form of an appendix. In both cases these are ordered from the first to the eighth tone.
There are three pieces that are repeated in the Cancionero, although they are given in different versions. “Dime robadora” and “No soy yo quien veis vivir”, which are initially presented in two parts and later in three, and “Falalalán, falalalera”, a four-part villancico based on a pastoral theme, which is adapted for choir and soloist by changing the subject of the text to the Virgin Mary. Another version of “Falalalán, falalalera”, identical to that found in Uppsala, except with a “sacred” text, may be found in the so-called Cancionero de Gandía (Valencia), a manuscript of considerable dimensions that is currently held at the Biblioteca de Catalunya in Barcelona (M1166/M1967). This manuscript, which was deposited at the Gandía Collegiate Church prior to the Spanish Civil War –hence its name– is the only manuscript that can be reliably associated with the very rich music library of the chapel of Ferdinand of Aragon, Duke of Calabria and Viceroy of Valencia (1526-1550). And in the Duke’s service was Bartolomé Cárceres.
As it turns out, according to the Cancionero de Gandía, Cárceres not only composed “Falalalán, falalalera”, but at least one other villancico from the Cancionero de Uppsala, “Soleta yo só açi”, which is about the eternal theme of an unhappily married woman. Once again, in this case the piece is given with a “sacred” text in the Cancionero de Gandía and Juan Cepa, the last maestro di capilla to serve in the Duke of Calabria’s chapel, added a refrain. Furthermore, a manuscript from the Cathedral of Tarazona contains a version of one of the Christmas carols from the Cancionero de Uppsala, Señores, el qu’es nacido, for two alternating choirs in three and five parts, which has been attributed to Pedro de Pastrana, the Duke’s first maestro di capilla. All this leads to the conclusion that all, or at least part, of the repertory of the Cancionero de Uppsala was either directly or indirectly related to the court of Ferdinand of Aragon.
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