Pau Villalonga facts for kids

Pau Villalonga was a Spanish music composer who lived a long time ago. He wrote special church music called polyphony, which means music with several independent voice parts singing together. He was a very important musician in his time, especially in Palma de Mallorca, where he worked for many years.

Life of a Master Musician

Pau Villalonga was a talented musician from Spain. He worked as a chapel master (which means he was in charge of all the music) at a church called Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona until 1564. After that, he became the very first chapel master of the cathedral in Palma de Mallorca. He kept this important job until he passed away on March 29, 1609.

Records from the cathedral show that he was also the "primatxer," or main singer, in the cathedral's choir. His duties included composing new music, teaching music to others, and even helping with the general education of the choir boys.

The Choir Book

All of Villalonga's known music is collected in a special book called the Llibre d'Atril, or Choir Book. This book is now kept safe at the Arxiu Capitular de Mallorca. The book is quite small and handwritten. Sometimes, a third voice part for a song was even copied on the back of pages! This suggests the book might not have been used by a full choir. Instead, it was probably a personal collection of the composer's own music.

The very first page of the book says, "Es de m[estre] Pau Villa Llonga," which means "It is by master Pau Villa Llonga." This phrase shows that the book belonged to him and contained his compositions. Besides Villalonga's works, the book also has some unidentified pieces. These might be by other composers, though many pages are hard to read now.

High Praise for His Music

Pau Villalonga's music has been highly praised by famous musicians and experts. Felipe Pedrell, a well-known musicologist, even compared Villalonga's work to that of very famous composers like Victoria and Palestrina. Other important figures like Georges Jean-Aubry and Manuel de Falla also admired his compositions.

Musical Works

Pau Villalonga wrote many polyphonic pieces, mostly for four voices. Here are some of his known works:

• Ad coronam
• Ave Regina
• Ave Maria stella
• Ave Regina caelorum
• Exultant laudibus
• Himnum in festo S. Michaelis et Cor Christi
• Jesu corona virginum
• 3 Magnificats
• Pange lingua
• Salve Regina
• Salve sancta parens
• Sanctorum meritis
• Veni creator
• Vexilla regis

See also

In Spanish: Pau Villalonga para niños