preview

Victoria's Influence On Tom Luis Luis De Victoria

Decent Essays

The 16th century was a time of the Spanish Inquisition, which reigned for almost 400 years, forcing those who weren’t Catholic to convert to Catholicism (Koeller). Catholicism was a major influence in all aspects of Spanish life at that time, ranging from music to art and daily living. Being a 16th century composer, Tomás Luis De Victoria was greatly influenced by the Catholic Church. Most, if not all of his music consisted of sacred pieces (Ferris). He was a Spanish polyphonic composer whose specialty was in motets. Not only was he one of the greatest composers and musicians of his time, he was also a scholar, a mystic, and a priest.
Victoria was born in 1548 in Sanchidrián, Spain, a province of Avila, Castile to father, Francisco Luis de Victoria and mother, Francisca Suárez de la Concha. Victoria was seventh of eleven children who were born into a family already leading vast and successful careers. Three of his male cousins (on his mother’s side) achieved success by being a naval commander, a pioneer in Mexico, and a merchant in Florence. The merchant married Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici’s sister-in-law and was ennobled. The uncle on Victoria’s father’s side, who he was named after, was a lawyer who pleaded cases before the royal chancery at Valladolid (a city in north-central Spain) and was later a priest. His other uncle on his father’s side was also a priest (Stevenson).
Victoria’s father died on August 29th, 1557. Afterwards, an uncle of Victoria’s, Juan Luis who

Get Access