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Miguel Hilarión EslavaAuthor(s): Gilbert ChaseSource: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Jan., 1938), pp. 74-83Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/738785 .

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MIGUELHILARIONESLAVABy GILBERT CHASE

A DON MATEO JIMINEZ, rector f the boy choristers fPamplonaCathedral,was walking long the banks of the river

Arga, on the outskirts f the ancient Navarrese apital,his glancefellupona boy wimming ustily gainst he trong urrent. hinking his

a rather angerous ccupation or o small a lad (he appeared o beseven r eightyears ld), the rector alledto him, Are there otmanywhirlpools n the river ereabouts?"

For answer, heboy t oncealtered iscourse, nd after wimminga few yards, ried, This is the most dangerous pot!" And then heswam to all the points f danger, ne after he other, ointing hemout to the rector s he reached hem. The rector dmired he lad'scourage, ut feared e might e merely n uneducated ittle avage, ohe said to

him,s he neared the

shore,You are a brave

ad,but I'll

wageryou do not know how to read or write.""Yes, sir, can read and write, nd I can alsosing," heyoungster

replied s he clambered ponthe bank and began oput on his clothes."Indeed," said the rector, emembering hat he was in need of

another hoir-boy, then pleasesing something."The boy started o sing a jota, but he had not sung many verses

before he rector astily nterrupted im. Not knowing he meaningof some of the words, he ad had unwittingly hosen copla (verse)of scarcely difying urport. Don Mateo,however, ad heard enoughto satisfy imself hat heyoung inger ada fine oice, o he asked himif he would ike to be one of the infantes r choristers f the Cathedral.The boyrepliedwith n eager ffirmative.

Thus beganthe musical nd ecclesiasticalareer f MiguelHilari6nEslava,who, after candalizing he Church y writing peras while nHoly Orders,was destined obecome he most famous nd influentialcomposer f religiousmusic roduced ySpainduring hei9th century.

Eslavawas born n October

1, 1807,n

the village f Burlada,nearPamplona, n the heart f Navarre which at that ime till preservedits ncient utonomy). His parentswere village olk f modestmeans.

74







Miguel Hilari6n Eslava 75

Endowed with keen native ntelligence, ith exceptionalmusical pti-tude, nd with a remarkable eal for tudy, heyoung Eslava,placedunder he tutelage f Mateo Jiminez rom he ge of eight,made rapidprogress oth n music nd in the humanities. He soonbeganto studythe piano and the organ with a local teacher named Julifn rieto.Later he took up the tudy f the violin,with uch goodresults hat tthe geof seventeen e wasappointed iolinist f the Cathedral. Threeyears ater, n 1827,he completed is studies n composition nder heguidance of Francisco Secanilla, choirmaster f the Cathedral ofCalahorra.

InI828,

Eslavabecamechoirmaster tBurgo

de Osma(the

birthplace, incidentally, f Federico Olmeda). Having in the meantimepursued his philosophical nd theological tudies, e was ordaineddeaconshortly fter eceiving his ppointment. n 1829 he competedfor the post of choirmaster f Seville Cathedral. Although he com-positionwhich he submitted as adjudged the best, he was refusedthe post owing to some ocal intrigues. he following ear he com-peted for he postof musicaldirector f the RoyalChapel in Madrid,again without uccess. In 1832,however, e was finally ranted hepositionwhich he had previously pplied for at Seville, nd thus atthe age of twenty-five e becamemaestro e capillaof one of the mostimportant athedrals n the country. oon after is arrival n Seville,Eslava took Holy Orders.

Although slavahas been alled, ather njustly, a hard Northerner,lacking magination nd artistic ensibility", e have good reasons orbelieving hathe did not remain mpervious ither o the musical reas-ures preserved n SevilleCathedral, r to the more secular ppeal of

Andalusianfolk-music. As regards he former, t is highly probablethat ontactwith the rich rchives f the Cathedral, ontaining orksof Morales,Guerrero nd other omposers f the polyphonic eriod,stimulated is interest n Spain'smusicalhistory, eadingto those re-searcheswhich ater n his ifewere to bear such mportant ruit.

With regard to Andalusianfolk-music, o fascinating hat t hascometo be considered y foreigners s the typicalmusicof Spain,wehave definite roof hat Eslava was strongly ttracted y it, for he at-tempted outilize ts artistic ossibilitiesn his operas. t is likely hatat first e merely eacted o the sensuous ppeal of the native ongsand dances,but eventually e came to realize that the popular musiccouldplay n important art n the development f a national rt. This







76 The MusicalQuarterly

is made clear n the following assage, akenfrom ne of his articles:"It [popular music] is a very mportant ranch, nd deserves o be

made the object f historical nvestigations hich annot ail o interestall lovers of Spanishmusical art." This foreshadows he aestheticdoctrine f Pedrell nd indicates hat Eslavawas not such reactionaryas someover-zealous hampions f the "nationalist evival" n Spanishmusicwould haveus believe. t should lso dispose f the accusation,madeby onewriter, hatEslava'sattempt ointroduce ative ffects nhis operaswas merely matter f cold calculation, ntended to pleaseall sections f the public." Furthermore, heuseof Andalusian olk-music,while t

might delighthe

publicof

Cfidizr

Seville,.as not

calculated o"please ll sections f the public", s will presently eseen.In view of his strictly cclesiasticalducation nd his position s

a member f the priesthood, t may seemstrange hat Eslava shouldhave decided owrite or he operatic tage. The explanation enerallyoffered s that, s a result f the revolutionary isturbances hich fol-lowed the death of Ferdinand VII, the revenues f Seville Cathedralsuffered decrease, nd Eslavawasobliged o find means f augment-ing his income. While this explanation s plausible, t may well bethat slava wasnot displeased t having pretext or atisfying naturalinclination owards ramatic omposition.As Italian opera was thenin vogue,he simply ollowed he prevailing ashion, aried nly by theintroduction f certain ffects rawn from Andalusian olk-music.

Eslava'sfirst pera, I Solitario,was produced t Cidiz in June,1841. Written o an Italian ext, t consisted f two acts. The scenewaslaid in Switzerland, ut the Andalusianfolk-song lement aused acontemporary ritic o remark hat "the composer's witzerlandwas

situated ery earthe Guadalquivir." This opera, eceivedwith favor,was subsequently erformed n Granada, M~ilaga,Pamplona, andMadrid. An incident connected with the first performance f IISolitario n Madrid will serve to illustrate oth Eslava's use of pic-turesque native effects, nd the intransigent ttitude f the operaticconnoisseurs owards ny departure rom he sacrosanct talian style.

In the Andalusian opular ance, t scustomary or heparticipantsand spectators, eated n a semi-circle, o precede nd to accompany

1 Gaceta Musical, Madrid, I856 (quoted by M. Fernindez Caballero, in Discursos leidos antela Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando en la recepcidn ptdblica e Don Manuel FerndndezCaballero, etc., Madrid, 1902).

2 Cf. art. on Eslava in A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians, ed. A. Eaglefield-Hull,London, 1924.







Miguel Hilari6n Eslava 77the dancing with rhythmical and-clapping palmadas). This prac-tice, which is of Oriental origin and was brought o Spain by theMoslems,has the effect f encouraging nd stimulating he dancers.Also,together ith heclicking f castanets, hestrumming f guitars,and the tapping f the dancer'sheels, t adds to the rhythmical om-plexity f the ccompaniment. his typically ndalusian tyle f danc-ing and music-makingsknown s a CuadroFlamenco. A Northernerlike Eslava must have been particularly truck by the novelty ndeffectiveness f the CuadroFlamenco. At all events, t gave him theidea of using an accompaniment f rhythmical and-clapping oroneof

the choruses n his first pera. This chorus becameknown as ElCorode las Palmadas.When news of this strange nnovation eachedthe dilettanti f

Madrid, heydetermined ovent heirdispleasure pon the composerwho dared to violate heestablished onventions f Italian opera-theonly style heyrecognized s legitimate. Accordingly heyformedcabal for the purpose f provoking demonstration gainst Eslava'sopera. But the composer, ho had come to Madrid n order o directthe rehearsals f his work, had wind of the conspiracy nd averteddisaster y suppressing he chorus of the palmadas. All the hand-clappingwas therefore one by the audience, nd even the dilettantiof the capital found the rest of the opera sufficiently talian fortheir aste.

This episodedid not discourage slava from further ttempts oincorporate ndalusian olk-elementsnto his operas. But his activitiesas an operatic omposer egan to meet with more formidable pposi-tion from nother uarter. Eslavawas a priest, nd therefore ubjectto the authority f the Church. The clergy, nd the Chapter f Sevillein particular, onsidered t unseemly hat he should ndulge n sucha profane ype of composition s opera. The fact that his secondopera, La Tregua di Ptolemaide produced at Cidiz in 1842), dealtwith a semi-religiousubject an episodeof the Crusades),was heldto aggravate ather han mitigate is offense, or the presence f anarchbishop n one scene was construed s an act of disrespect. utEslava,who as a boyhad defied hedangerous urrents nd whirlpoolsof the river Arga, was not to be

easilyurned sidefrom his

purpose.In spite of opposition rom the clergy, e produced a third opera,Pietro l Crudele, t Seville the very entre f the opposition gainsthim!) in 1843.








was an Italian inger amedFrancesco iermarini. he first rofessorof harmony as Ram6n Carnicer 1789-1855),who had made his repu-tation s a composer f Italian operas. It was Carnicerwhom Eslavasucceeded n 1854.

Eslava had publishedhis first idactic work, Mdtodode Solfeo,in 1846,and after is appointment s professor f composition t theConservatory e brought ut his major work n this field, he Escuelade Armonia y Composicidn the secondedition ppeared n i86I).This comprehensive reatise n three arts, overing armony,melodyand counterpoint, as adopted s the official extbook f compositionat the

Royal Conservatory. slava's textbooks imply developedhe

prevalent talian methods f composition nd solfeggio.Beinga manof energy nd ability, slava improved he practical rganization fthe Conservatory uring isadministration, ut aesthetically emerelycontinued he Italianized raditions f the institution.

Through his musical raining nd his aesthetic ackground, slavawas thoroughly teeped n the Italian tradition. True, he had beeneducated y Spanish hurch musicians, ut the nfluence f the talianstyle had penetrated he chapels of Spain long before he birth ofEslava. His teacher, rancisco ecanilla, adbeen pupilof the talian-ized composer ranciscoJavier Garcia (1731-1809),who received hismusical raining n Naplesand was known s Lo Spagnoletto. uringhis youth Javier Garcia was active n Italy as a theatrical omposer,writing everal peras nd intermezzi. Nevertheless, hen he returnedto Spain n I756he becamemaestro e capilla t the Cathedral f La Seoin Saragossa, olding hisposition ntil his death fifty-three ears ater.Hopelessly ontaminated y the theatrical tyle, e thought nly of

making a facile effect, nd his religious ompositions according oMitjana) were banal in sentiment nd commonplace n expression. tis small wonder hatunder he corruptive nfluence f such composersas Javier Garcia,whoseworks enjoyed wide vogue, the noble andsevere tyle f the Spanishmasters f the I6th and I7th centuries ven-tually was superseded y a shallow emotionalism nd a superficialtheatricalism. uch was the pernicious radition anded down to hispupils nd successors y Javier arcia,whom Mitjanacalls"one of the

principal nstigatorsf the decline f religiousmusic

in Spain]."That Eslava,unableto free himself ntirely rom he effects f edu-cation nd environment, ostered nd strengthened hisfalse radition

4 Mitjana, op. cit., p. 2202.







80 The Musical Quarterly

by a misdirected pplication f his talent, an scarcely e denied. Butit seems vident hat he did so in the sincere elief hathe was serving

the cause of religiousmusic n Spain by advocating he "expressive"style f compositionmported rom taly by Javier arcia and his suc-cessors.This is made clear from slava's opinion f Garcia, xpressedin the following erms: It was he who gavethe principal mpulse nSpainto the reform f religiousmusic, irecting t towards heexpres-sive interpretation f the text, nd completely xcluding he contra-puntal tyle rom his compositions."~ We must conclude, herefore,that slavaesteemed avier arcia s the nitiator f beneficial eaction

against pedantic"methods f

composition,nd considered imself s

the ontinuator f that reform".Eslavacomposednearly one hundred nd fifty iecesof church

music. Mostfamous f these works, houghnot necessarily hebest, sthe so-calledMiserereGrande, ung annually during Holy Week atSevilleCathedral. As thousands f tourists isit Sevilleeveryyear towitness he impressive eremonies onnectedwith the celebration fHoly Week, this s the composition y Eslavawhich has becomemostfamiliar oforeigners.With ts elaborate enor olo,requiring hepar-ticipation f a skilled peratic inger, heMiserere stypical f the florid,theatrical ypeof religious omposition ultivated y Eslavaand hiscontemporaries.

For it must e remembered hat hewholetendency f the i9th cen-tury was to confuse he dramatic nd the religious tyles. o prevalentwas this onfusion f styles, ven n the i8th century, hat heFrenchcomposer eanFrancois

esueur 1760-1837)was said by one critic ohavetaken the heatre nto he hurch nd the hurch nto he heatre."

The first art of this remark might be applied with equal force oLesueur'smost famouspupil, Hector Berlioz,whoseRequiem (1837)probably epresents he culmination f the theatrical tyle n churchmusic. Evena composer f uch unquestioned incerity s Cisar Franck,most f whose religiousmusicwaswritten fter hemiddle f the I9thcentury, id not altogether scapethe tendency f the time, nd onecritic has pointed out that his Mass for Three Voices s "sometimesinterrupted yrhythms nd affectations hich reessentiallyheatrical."

Eslava'sreligiousmusicmust herefore e judged according o the

5 Quoted by Pedrell, in his Diccionario Biogrdfico y Bibliogrdfico de mtdsicos y escritores demtisica espafoles, portugueses e hispano-americanos antiguos y modernos (article on JavierGarcia), Barcelona, 1897.







Miguel Hilari6n Eslava 8istandards f his day. The restoration f Gregorian hant and theemphasis pon traditional urity n liturgicalmusicbelong to a later

period. Judged ythe prevailing tandards f the i9th century, slava'smusic at its best possesses xceptionalmerit. Outstanding mong hisworks are the Misa de Difuntos Op. 143), the Lamentaciones eSemanaSanta, the antiphon Christus actus st, and a paraphrase fthe Cantiga XIV de Alfonso l Sabio. Most of his church music sscored or n accompaniment f full orchestra. is bestwriting, ow-ever, s to be found n his motets cappella,marked by skilful reat-ment f the voices, lsoby "a certain irile olemnity" in the words f

Villalba), showinghat lien influences ad not

completely estroyedhis nnate panish haracteristics.The Spanishcritic Esperanzay Sola quotes the following ribute

from Rossini:"The works of the Spanishmaster Eslava] are mag-nificent. He knowshow to write orvoices s doesno one else today,either n France or in Germany-as no one has written ince Cheru-bini." Now, whatevermayhavebeenRossini's imitations s a creativeartist, t s generally greed hathe "understood hehuman voice s fewother composers ave understood t" (to quote Mr. Francis Toye).Rossini's nthusiastic nd specific raise f Eslava'swriting orvoices,therefore, eaves ittle more obe said on the subject.

Taking the factors f education nd environment nto considera-tion, he extent o which Eslavasucceeded n rising bove his time sremarkable. t s,however, n his ctivities sa musicologist,ather hanasa composer, hathisefforts n this direction ppearmostnotable. Ata time when the theories f Eximeno oncerning hebasic mportanceof folk-musicn the development f a national rt-music ereridiculed

or ignored, slavaappreciated hevalue of historical nvestigationsnthe field f musical olklore, esides tilizing hepopularmusic n hisoperas. At a time when virtually o serious fforts ad been made to-wards the systematic ccumulation nd presentation f historical ataon Spanish music, Eslava published valuable biographical nd bib-liographical ata in the pagesof the Gaceta Musicalde Madrid,whichhe founded nd edited rom 855to the end of 1856.At a time whenthe gloriousheritage f Spain's musical past was largely neglected,Eslavapublished ismonumental nthology f Spanish hurch musicfrom he 6th to the 9th centuries, he Lira Sacro-Hispana.

The compilation f this vast en-volumenthology ccupiedEslava6 lustraci6n Espaiiola y Americana, No. XVII, Madrid, I886 (Quoted by Pedrell, op. cit.).








who would have succeeded . . in any profession e might havechosen". And on the other hand we have the eulogistic ttitude f

Esperanza y Sola,who describes im as "affable nd affectionate nmanner; irm nd steadfast n friendship; ofty nd charitable n spirit;foreign o all egotistical onsiderations; ossessing rare modesty;austere n hisconduct; f a generous nd compassionate eart; unshak-able in his convictions; . . the perfect ype f the scholar nd of theupright man." If Esperanzay Sola,who was Eslava'spupil, ppears obe somewhat artial, e at east peakswith first-hand nowledge.AndMorales, n his attempt o show Eslava in the most unfavorable ight,

layshimself

pento the

chargef

prejudice.We

mightherefore on-

clude that, while Eslavamay have been shrewd, hard-working ndpractical, e was likewise ndowedwith hosehigher moral nd intel-lectual ttributes hich ntitle im to the respect f posterity.

In the decadefollowing slava'sdeath, here ppeared hefirst efi-nite manifestations f that new spirit n Spanishmusic which even-tually esulted n the declineof his reputation s a composer. n thei88o's two young men, Isaac Albiniz and Enrique Granados, werecomposing nd making known to the publicthe first f those modestlittle iano pieces romwhich he modern panishnational chool wasto spring. Yet, by a strange rony f circumstances, slava had beenone of the first o givean impetus o the new movement. As Villalbaputs t, He worked gainsthimself, ut n favor f the restoration fSpanishmusical rt."

Eslavaclaims our attention ecause he was both the outstandingrepresentative f the old order, nd the unconscious eraldof the newera. In the words f Villalba, Mistaken heories f a false nd incom-

plete esthetic revented slavafrom ulling hefruit f his own abor.Butbyuniting hehistorical ast o the ourse f music n his own time,he causedthe ife-giving ap to begincirculating new through ll thelimbs of the tree." The task that ay before slava's successors asthat f making Spanishmusic,whoseroots n the past were deep andstrong, lourish ith qual vigor n the present.

7 Luis Villalba Mufioz: Ultimos Mzisicos Espaiioles del Siglo XIX, Madrid, 1914.

"miguel hilarión eslava"

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