Diego Pisador facts for kids
Diego Pisador (born around 1509 or 1510 – died after 1557) was a Spanish musician and composer. He played the vihuela, a string instrument similar to a guitar. He lived during the Renaissance period, a time when art and music flourished.
Life Story
We don't know many exact details about Diego Pisador's life, not even his exact birth or death dates. We do know he was born in Salamanca, Spain, around 1509 or 1510. He was the oldest son of Alonso Pisador and Isabel Ortiz. His mother's grandfather, Alfonso III of Fonseca, was an important church leader and a big supporter of music.
Diego's father worked for this church leader. In 1524, his family moved to Toledo. Diego started training for a church career in 1526, but he didn't continue with it.
In 1532, his father moved to Galicia for his job. Diego stayed in Salamanca to look after his mother and younger brother. He also managed the family's money and took over his father's role as an administrator in the city.
After his mother passed away, Diego had a disagreement with his younger brother about family matters. His father first supported Diego, but later changed his mind. This led to Diego leaving the family home. We know that in 1553, Diego sold his house. Even in 1557, Diego and his father were still not getting along.
His Music Book
In 1552, Diego Pisador published a very important book of music for the vihuela. It was called Libro de música de vihuela (Book of Vihuela Music). He dedicated this book to Philip II of Spain, who later became king.
Pisador worked on this book for six years. It is divided into 7 parts and contains 95 musical pieces. If you count each section of a song as a separate piece, the book actually has 186 pieces! Out of the 95 main pieces, 58 are for a singer and a vihuela. The other 37 pieces are just for the vihuela by itself.
Many of the songs in his book were transcriptions. This means Pisador took popular songs by other composers and arranged them for the vihuela. Some of the composers he used were Josquin des Prez, Nicolas Gombert, and Adrian Willaert.
See also
In Spanish: Diego Pisador para niños
