Alternatives to the ‘English a cappella heresy’: Performance Practice of Sacred Spanish Polyphony in Recusant Households Based on Elizabethan and Early Jacobean Sources

Sequera, HJ

Abstract

Many of the wealthy Catholics in England during Elizabethan times and afterward remained very influential and in some cases held high posts at court by pledging alliance to the throne. Some of them, however, agreed to retire to the countryside where they built stately homes and maintained entourages of sometimes hundreds of gentry and yeomen. Within their socio/cultural expectations were music literacy, especially the enjoyment of continental music, instruments, and fashions, all of which were avidly collected during the popular ‘Grand Tour’. All of the items gathered and the knowledge acquired whilst overseas were put to use in domestic entertainment or for their religious rituals. For the latter there survive a few descriptions of instruments being used during the liturgy, although it is not exactly clear how this was done. For instance, we do not know whether instruments and voices were used together, if they alternated, or the implications for these performances. Although the diversity and scope of these performances is obscured by the lack of documentation and other considerations such as the secrecy of the Catholics’ gatherings to celebrate the liturgy, it seems evident that the recusants were very fond of Spanish and Italian polyphony not only because of its inherent beauty but also because of the Catholic connection. Hence, this paper explores the extant Spanish sacred polyphony in English sources within the context of the recusants as a way to investigate how this music was used by the Catholic circle in the privacy of their homes. Thus, through analysing the sources not only as musical texts but also as silent witnesses of a practice, and in conjunction with other circumstantial evidence, it is hoped a more comprehensive picture of this domestic practice will emerge.

Citation

Sequera, H. (2011). Alternatives to the ‘English a cappella heresy’: Performance Practice of Sacred Spanish Polyphony in Recusant Households Based on Elizabethan and Early Jacobean Sources.

• Conference Name: MedRen Conference
• Conference Location: Barcelona
• Publication Date: 2011-07
• Deposit Date: Nov 21, 2014
• Publisher URL: http://blogs.iec.cat/scmus/2011/07/05/congres-internacional/#more-45
• Additional Information: Conference dates: 5-8 July 2011