Santiago de Murcia facts for kids
Santiago de Murcia (born July 25, 1673 – died April 25, 1739) was a famous Spanish guitarist and composer. He lived a long time ago, during a period called the Baroque era. He is known for his amazing guitar music.
Biography
For a long time, not much was known about Santiago de Murcia. But in 2008, new information was found! We now know he was born in Madrid, Spain. His parents were Juan de Murcia and Magdalena Hernandez. He married Josefa Garcia in May 1695.
In one of his printed music books, called Resumen de acompañar, Murcia said he was the guitar teacher for the Spanish Queen, Maria Luisa of Savoy. She was the first wife of King Philip V. King Philip was the grandson of Louis XIV of France. He became king of Spain in 1700. The Queen arrived in Madrid in June 1702. It is thought that Murcia became her guitar teacher around this time. He likely held this job until she passed away in 1714.
In 1714, Murcia wrote a special book about playing the guitar. He gave this book to Jácome Francisco Andriani. Andriani was a special helper from Switzerland to the King of Spain. Andriani helped Murcia publish his guitar book by paying for the music to be carved onto metal plates. This was how books were printed back then.
Two of Murcia's handwritten music collections were found in Mexico. These are called "Passacalles y obras" and "Codice Saldivar no. 4". It is now thought that Santiago de Murcia himself did not travel to Mexico. Instead, these music books were probably taken there later by other people who owned them.
It seems that Jácome Francisco Andriani, the person who helped Murcia publish his book, had business connections in places like Chile and Mexico. So, it is most likely that Murcia made copies of his music for people who paid him. These copies were then sent to the "New World" (the Americas).
Later in his life, in 1729, Santiago de Murcia said he was very poor. He passed away in Madrid in 1739.
One cool thing about Murcia's music is that he was interested in many different kinds of guitar music. He used music from Spanish, French, and Italian composers. He also used popular dance styles that probably came from Africa. This means his music collections have many different styles mixed together. They show a rich and varied collection of guitar music from the Baroque period.
On September 18, 2006, a newspaper in Chile reported exciting news! A handwritten music book by Santiago de Murcia, called Cifras selectas de guitarra, was found. This book was from 1722. A music expert named Alejandro Vera found it. The music in the book includes French and Spanish dances.
Works
- 1714: Resumen de acompañar la parte con la guitarra [1]
- 1722: Cifras selectas de guitarra [2]
- c. 1730: Codice Saldivar no. 4 [3]
- 1732: Passacalles y obras [4]
See also
In Spanish: Santiago de Murcia para niños
