Juan Navarro Hispalensis

Juan Navarro of Seville, hence the epithet Hispalensis (Marchena c. 1530 – Palencia 1580) was a Spanish composer.^[1]^[2] He is not related to the Mexican composer Juan Navarro Gaditanus, (i.e. Juan Navarro of Cadiz, c. 1550 – c. 1610).^[3]

Navarro's place of birth, Marchena, is geographically near enough to Seville to justify the epiphet Hispalensis. He sang in the cathedral choirs of Jaén, and then Málaga. In 1553 he competed for the position of maestro de capilla in Málaga left vacant by the death of Cristóbal de Morales. In 1563 he was appointed maestro de capilla of the Cathedral of Avila, then in 1566 Salamanca, in 1574 Ciudad Rodrigo and 1578 Palencia.

Navarro's compositions include two settings of hymns ("Vexilla regis" and "Pange lingua"), two settings of antiphons ("Regina caeli" and "Ave Regina caelorum") and a "Te Deum" that are based on uniquely Spanish chant melodies rather than the Roman melodies more commonly used by Renaissance composers. 4

Works

Psalmi, hymni ac Magnificat. Rome 1590 (posthumous)
Free scores by Juan Navarro Hispalensis in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)

References

^ Stevenson R. Spanish Cathedral Music in the Golden Age p242-250
^ Entry in New Grove 1980, p83
^ This other Juan Navarro in 1604 published the earliest music composed and printed in Mexico; Passion settings and Lamentations

 4.  Thomas, T: "The Music of Juan Navarro Based on Pre-Existent Musical Materials," 
        Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, 1990, p. 219.

[1] Stevenson R. Spanish Cathedral Music in the Golden Age p242-250

[2] Entry in New Grove 1980, p83

[3] This other Juan Navarro in 1604 published the earliest music composed and printed in Mexico; Passion settings and Lamentations

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