First published at 11:41 UTC on August 16th, 2022.
El Maestro, Fantasia 8 by Luis de Milán
The Spanish vihuelist and composer Luis de Milán published his book ‘Libro de música de vihuela de mano intitulado El Maestro’ (The handbook of music for Vihuela titled ‘The Master’) in 1536. The more common …
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El Maestro, Fantasia 8 by Luis de Milán
The Spanish vihuelist and composer Luis de Milán published his book ‘Libro de música de vihuela de mano intitulado El Maestro’ (The handbook of music for Vihuela titled ‘The Master’) in 1536. The more common title of the work is simply ‘El Maestro’. The book is an instructional manual and collection of music for performance, ranging from the elementary to the technically demanding. The book was the first collection of music for vihuela published, and is dedicated to King John III of Portugal.
It is difficult to confirm exactly why the book was dedicated to John III, considering Milán was born and lived in Valencia, however it is speculated that the composer may have travelled and performed in Portugal at some time before 1535.
There are no confirmed paintings or sketches of Milán. The cover of this video is the cover used on the book ‘El Maestro’ as per the original publication. The image you see during the video itself is ‘The Flight into Egypt’ by the Milanese painter Bartolomeo Suardi, or as he is more commonly known ‘Bramantino’. Estimates on the date of the painting place it around 1536, the same year ‘El Maestro’ was published.
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