Josep Prades i Gallent facts for kids

Josep Prades i Gallent (1689–1757) was an important Spanish organist and composer during the Baroque period. He was born and died in Villahermosa del Río, which is in the Castelló area. He is best known for his work at Valencia Cathedral.

His Life and Career

Josep Prades started his musical journey early. By the year 1700, he was already singing in the choir at Valencia Cathedral. He likely learned a lot from Joan Baptista Cabanilles, another famous musician there.

In 1712, Prades got his first big job. He became the organist and chapel master in the church of Algemesi. A chapel master was the person in charge of all the music for the church. This included leading the choir and musicians.

Five years later, in 1717, he moved to the church of Santa Maria in Castelló de la Plana. There, he took on the same important duties.

His biggest achievement came in 1728. He was appointed chapel master at the famous Valencia Cathedral. This was a very important position. He worked hard to make the music at the cathedral even better. He hired new musicians and made the instrumental parts of the music more important.

After 29 years of dedicated work, he decided to retire. He was not feeling well and wanted to rest. He passed away in his hometown, Villahermosa.

His Musical Works

Josep Prades wrote many different kinds of music. Most of his compositions were for religious services. He wrote music in both Latin and Castilian (an old form of Spanish).

Religious Music in Latin

Prades composed many pieces for church services in Latin. These included:

• 11 Masses: These are long musical pieces used in church services.
• 24 Motets: These are shorter pieces of sacred choral music.
• 56 Psalms: These are musical settings of texts from the Book of Psalms in the Bible.
• 1 Lamentation: A piece of music expressing sorrow or grief.
• 9 Songs
• 4 Antiphons: Short pieces of music sung before or after a psalm or canticle.
• 2 Versos
• 3 Passions: Musical settings of the story of the suffering and death of Jesus.

Religious Music in Castilian

He also wrote many religious songs in Castilian, which was the language spoken by many people. These pieces were often called Villancicos and were popular at different times of the year.

• 95 Villancicos for Christmas (Nacimiento)
• 95 Villancicos for Corpus Christi (a Christian festival)
• 82 Villancicos for the Virgin Mary
• 22 Villancicos for Saints
• 5 Villancicos for nuns
• 4 Cantatas: These are vocal compositions with instrumental accompaniment.
• Other smaller works

Recordings of His Music

You can still listen to some of Josep Prades's music today! Several recordings have been made:

• Criaturas de Dios. Espais de Llum Musical, 1 CD. (2008).
• El Gran Padre de Familias. Espais de Llum Musical, 1 CD. (2008).
• Galán Embozado. Espais de Llum Musical, 1 CD. (2008).

See also

In Spanish: José Pradas Gallén para niños