Juan Bautista Cabanilles

Juan Bautista José Cabanilles (also Juan Bautista Josep, Valencian: Joan) (6 September 1644 in Algemesí near Valencia – 29 April 1712 in Valencia) was a Spanish organist and composer at Valencia Cathedral. He is considered by many to have been the greatest Spanish Baroque composer, and has been called the Spanish Bach.

Biography

He probably began his musical career as a singer in a choir of a local church. Later he studied to become a priest in the cathedral at Valencia, which included lessons in music. On 15 May 1665, at 20 years of age, he was named the assistant organist of the cathedral. A year later, upon the death of his predecessor, he became the principal organist. On 22 September 1668 he was ordained as a priest. He kept his position as principal organist for 45 years, but from 1703 on his health often necessitated that a substitute be found. From 1675 to 1677 he also took charge of teaching the children in the cathedral choir.

Works

Many of Cabanilles's compositions are virtuosic and advanced for their time, but generally, he is in the Spanish tradition of keyboard music following 16th century patterns. The majority of his manuscripts are kept in the Biblioteca de Catalunya in Barcelona. Numerous compositions for organ (tientos, toccatas, passacaglias, and other works) have survived, as well as a number of works for choirs of up to 13 parts.

Selected recordings

• [1] Joan Bautista Cabanilles : Batalles, Tientos & Passacalles - Jordi Savall, Hesperion XX - Alia Vox 9801
• [2] La Gloria Musical del Barroco Valenciano, 2 CDs. Fundación La Luz de las Imágenes (2010).
• Jan Willem Jansen, Los Músicos de Su Alteza: Tientos y Passacalles: Juan Cabanilles (Éditions Hortus, HORT013, ASIN: B00004VHOX).

References

• HOASM brief biography of Cabanilles
• AllMusic biography
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Juan Cabanilles

Further reading

• Arsenio Garcia-Ferreras: Juan Baptista Cabanilles: sein Leben und Werk (Die Tientos für Orgel) (Dissertation). Bosse, Regensburg 1973, ISBN 3-7649-2086-6.
• M. Roubinet, "Juan Cabanilles", in: Gilles Cantagrel (dir.), Guide de la musique d’orgue, Éditions Fayard 1991, ISBN 2-213-02772-2

External links

• Free scores by Juan Cabanilles at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)