Pedro de Lagarto facts for kids
Pedro de Lagarto was a Spanish singer and composer who lived during the Renaissance period. He was born around 1465 and passed away in 1543 in Toledo.
Not much is known about Pedro de Lagarto's early life. However, a record from 1537 states that he had worked at the Toledo Cathedral for 62 years. This suggests he started there as a choirboy in 1475. In June 1490, he became the leader of the choirboys, a role known as claustrero, taking over from Juan de Triana. In 1495, he won a special singing job, called a prebend, in a competition. The rules said the winner had to be the "best and most skilled singer" and very good at writing music with many different voice parts (this is called polyphonic composition).
In 1507, Pedro de Lagarto became very ill and it seems he did not go back to being the leader of the choirboys after that. He had at least two other special roles, called chaplaincies, at the cathedral. Between 1530 and 1534, he was the master of ceremonies (maestro de ceremonias). By 1537, he was deaf and blind, so he asked to stop his work as a chaplain. He died around the end of 1543.
Pedro de Lagarto's Music
The only musical pieces by Lagarto that are still around today were found in songbooks (called cancioneros) from his time. Four of his works are clearly said to be his in a book called the Cancionero Musical de Palacio.
- Andad, pasiones, andad - a villancico (a type of song) for 3 voices
- Callen todas las galanas - a villancico for 3 voices
- D'aquel fraire flaco - a villancico for 4 voices
- Quéxome de ti, ventura - a romance (another type of song) for 3 voices
These songs cover different topics. Andad, pasiones, andad is a love song. It was also found in other songbooks like the Cancionero de la Colombina and the Cancionero de Segovia. Callen todas las galanas compares the women of Toledo and Seville. D'aquel fraire flaco is a funny song that makes fun of church leaders. The romance, Quéxome de ti, ventura, is a sad song about bad luck. No religious songs in Latin by him have survived.
