Cristóbal Galán facts for kids

Cristóbal Galán (born around 1630 – died September 24, 1684) was a Spanish composer from the Baroque period. This was a time in history when music, art, and architecture were very grand and decorative. Galán was known for his beautiful and important musical works.

Galán's journey as a musician began early. In 1651, he tried to become a maestro de capilla (which means a music director, often for a church or royal court) in a place called Sigüenza. However, he wasn't chosen because he was married.

He didn't give up! From 1653, he worked as a singer and organist in Cagliari, a city in Sardinia. Later, he became a maestro de capilla there. From 1656 to 1659, he held the same important role in Morella, Spain. After that, he worked in Madrid from 1660 to 1663, though we don't know exactly what he did during that time.

From 1664 to 1667, Galán was the maestro de capilla at Segovia Cathedral. Then, he moved to the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales in Madrid. This was a very important place. In 1680, he became the director of the capilla real (royal chapel) there. This shows how highly respected he was as a musician. He continued to work in Madrid until he passed away in 1684.

People in Madrid thought very highly of Cristóbal Galán. In letters written in 1675 and 1681, he was called Madrid's main composer of sacred music. Sacred music is music written for religious purposes, like for church services. Another composer, Juan Hidalgo de Polanco, was more interested in writing tonos humanos, which were secular songs (songs not about religion). Even a generation later, Galán's musical style was still admired by other composers like Francisco Valls.

His Music

Sadly, many of Cristóbal Galán's musical works were lost. A fire at the royal archives destroyed a lot of important documents and music. For example, none of his music for the autos sacramentales (religious plays) by the famous writer Calderón survived.

However, some of his amazing music has been saved! Here are a few examples:

• Missa a 12 and Missa a 9: These are types of Masses, which are musical settings of parts of a church service. The numbers "12" and "9" tell us how many voices or parts were used in the music.
• Magnificat a 12: A Magnificat is a beautiful hymn often sung in church.
• St John Passion, a 8 1672: This is a musical piece telling the story of the Passion of Christ, as told in the Gospel of John.
• Litany a 6 and Lamentations a 7: These are other types of religious musical pieces.
• Motets: These are short pieces of sacred choral music. Some of his motets include Hoc est corpus, Laudate Dominum, O beata virgo, Salve, and Stella coeli.
• Stabat mater: This is a sad and moving piece for three solo singers, a violin, and basso continuo (a type of musical accompaniment).
• Villancicos: These were popular Spanish songs, often sung during holidays like Christmas. Galán wrote many of these for different numbers of voices.
• Tonos divinos: These were sacred songs, like Atencion al retrato.
• Tonos humanos: These were secular songs, not religious.
• Theatre music: He also wrote music for plays, including Lides de amor y desdén and El labyrinto de Creta by Juan Bautista Diamante.

Recordings

You can still listen to some of Cristóbal Galán's music today! One recording is called "Cristobal Galan: Al espejo que retrata." It was performed by a group called Al Ayre Espanol, directed by Eduardo Lopez Banzo.

See also

In Spanish: Cristóbal Galán para niños