Juan Arañés facts for kids
Juan Arañés (died around 1649) was a Spanish composer from the Baroque period. He wrote many songs, including "tonos" and "villancicos." These songs were popular in his time and followed a style similar to those found in an old music collection called the Cancionero of Kraków.
A Musician's Life
Juan Arañés was born in Aragon, Spain. We don't know the exact year he was born. He studied music in Alcalá de Henares. Later, he became the maestro di cappella (which means music director) at the Spanish embassy in Rome.
In 1624, while in Rome, he published a book of his music called Libro Segundo de tonos y villancicos. This title means "Second Book of Tonos and Villancicos." Sadly, his first book of music is lost and we don't have it anymore.
The Libro Segundo collection has 12 pieces. These pieces were written for one, two, or three voices. They included "tonos humanos" (human songs) and "villancicos" (a type of folk song). The last piece in the book is a vocal chaconne for four voices called A la vida bona. A chaconne is a type of dance music. This song is even mentioned in the famous works of Miguel de Cervantes, who wrote Don Quijote.
What makes this collection special is that it included guitar accompaniment. This was written using Italian music notation. Juan Arañés passed away in or after 1649.
His Music and Recordings
One of Juan Arañés's most famous pieces is A la vida bona for four voices. This song has been recorded by different music groups.
- A la vida bona for 4 voices has been featured on:
- Musica en el Quijote y otras obras de Miguel de Cervantes by Orphénica Lyra (2005).
- Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quijote de la Mancha: Romances y Músicas by Hesperion XXI (2006).
In 2011, a music group called Nuevo Sarao performed his works at the Festival de Música Antiga dels Pirineus. They also recorded all of his complete works.
