The collaboration between Juan Hidalgo and Pedro Calderón de la Barca led to a variety of musical theatre works, including zarzuelas, which alternated theatrical recitation with dances, verses, sung recitatives, and ariosi.
Instruments
The guitar, which was to become Spain's national instrument, experienced its first heyday in the Baroque era, with composers like Gaspar Sanz and Francisco Guerau developing a characteristic idiom for it.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Spanish music of the early Baroque developed a unique style, largely independent of the pervasive Italian influence, due to Spain's closed borders to foreign 'heretical' influences.
Composition History
Juan Hidalgo and playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca attempted to establish a Spanish operatic tradition in the Italian style, but the Spanish public did not tolerate 'fully-musiced' plots.
Composer Biography
Juan Hidalgo, a dominant musical figure at the Spanish court, was born in 1614 and is considered the Spanish equivalent of Henry Purcell in England or Jean-Baptiste Lully in France.
Compositional Technique
Spanish Baroque music is characterized by instruments like the guitar and harp, unique harmonies, cross-rhythms combining binary and ternary meters, and forms such as the villancico, romance, jácara, and seguidilla.
Historical Context
The 17th century in Spain saw a glorious flourishing of the arts, including music, despite the country experiencing material and moral decay.
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