Cancionero de la Colombina facts for kids
The Cancionero de la Colombina is a very old Spanish music book. It contains Renaissance music from the late 1400s. Think of it like a playlist from a long, long time ago!
This special book was copied when the Catholic Monarchs ruled Spain, probably between the 1460s and 1480s. This means it's even older than another famous music book called the Cancionero de Palacio. The book originally had 106 pages, but 8 of them are now missing. Most of the remaining pages are not in perfect condition. A title added later says "Popular melodies set to music by various Spaniards."
The Cancionero de la Colombina has a connection to the powerful dukes of Medina Sidonia. They lived in Seville and knew Juan de Triana, who was the main composer in this music book.
In 1534, a man named Ferdinand Columbus bought the book. He was the second son of Christopher Columbus and loved collecting books. He added it to his huge library in Seville, which had over 15,000 books! This library is known as the "Columbine Library." After Ferdinand died, the library moved to the Seville Cathedral, where it still is today.
The Cancionero currently holds 95 musical pieces. Some of these pieces are not complete. We don't know who wrote 53 of them. However, we know the composers for some songs because they were also found in other music books, especially the Cancionero de Palacio and the Cancionero de Montecassino.
The music in the book is very diverse. You can find different types of songs like canciones (songs), villancicos (popular Spanish songs), romances (ballads), and ensaladas (a mix of different styles). Many of the villancicos and canciones are religious, often about Mary, the mother of Jesus. There are also two songs in French and 12 religious songs in Latin. The book also includes two short versions in Spanish of a special Christmas song called the Song of the Sibyl.
See also
In Spanish: Cancionero de la Colombina para niños
