Alonso Lobo (February 25, 1555 (baptised) – April 5, 1617) was a Spanish composer of the late
Renaissance. Although not as famous as
Tomás Luis de Victoria, he was highly regarded at the time, and Victoria himself considered him to be his equal.
Biography
Lobo was born in
Osuna, and after being a choirboy at the cathedral in
Seville, he received a degree at the
University of Osuna, and took a position as a canon at a church in Osuna sometime before 1591. In that year, the Seville Cathedral appointed him as assistant to
Francisco Guerrero, and he later became maestro de capilla during Guerrero's leave of absence. In 1593,
Toledo Cathedral hired him as maestro de capilla; he remained there until 1604, when he returned to Seville, where he died.
Lobo's music combines the smooth
contrapuntal technique of
Palestrina with the sombre intensity of Victoria. Some of his music also uses
polychoral techniques, which were common in
Italy around 1600, though Lobo never used more than two choirs (contemporary choral music of the
Venetian school often used many more — the
Gabrielis often wrote for as many choirs as there were choir-lofts at
St Mark's Basilica). Lobo was influential far beyond the borders of his native Spain: in
Portugal, and as far away as
Mexico, for the next hundred years or more he was considered to be one of the finest Spanish composers.
His works include
masses and
motets, three
Passion settings,
Lamentations, psalms and hymns, as well as a
Miserere for 12 voices (which has since become lost). His best-known work, Versa est in luctum, was written on the death of
Philip II in 1598. No secular or instrumental music by Lobo is known to survive today.
Publications
1602, Madrid, Liber primus missarum
References
Owen Rees: "Lobo, Alonso" in The Oxford Companion to Music, ed. Alison Latham. Oxford University Press, 2003.
ISBN0-19-866212-2
Article "Alonso Lobo" in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980.
ISBN1-56159-174-2
Vivo ego, dicit Dominus recorded by Musicaficta Ensemble, directed by Andrea Angelini
Versa est in luctum & Lamentationes Ieremiae Prophetae, on the disc Santiago a Cappella, The
Monteverdi Choir, directed by
John Eliot Gardiner on Universal Classics
Versa est in luctum & Lamentations & Libera Me, on the disc The Golden Age, Siglo de oro, released 2008 by
The King's Singers on
Signum Records
Versa est in luctum & Libera me, Domine, on the disc Mortuus est Philippus Rex, Choir of Westminster Cathedral, London, directed by
James O'Donnell (Hyperion CDA67046)
Versa est in luctum, on the disc Morales - Requiem, music for Philip II, Gabrieli Consort, directed by Paul McCreesh (ARCHIV produktion, 457 597-2)