La Librería de Canto de Órgano. Creación y pervivencia del repertorio del Renacimiento en la actividad musical de la catedral de Sevilla

The originality of this new book on one of the foremost Spanish cathedrals in Castile, at a time when the kingdom was at the height of its splendour, lies in the distinctive approach and perspective adopted by the author. Its focus of interest is the process of creation and the history of the 'Librería de Canto de Órgano', the name given to the cathedral’s collection of bound books of polyphony. The author’s analysis of the collection’s content and interaction with the liturgy, sheds light on the process by which some pieces were eliminated, while others were incorporated into the canon to form part of the musical corpus generated by the new aesthetic trends, and how they found their place in a ceremonial that was characterised by its permeability to change and innovation. From the second half of the 15th century, the cathedral of Seville created and exported a repertoire and a musical practice, a phenomenon which was to reach its peak during the 16th century, when it provided the liturgical model for the dioceses established in the New World. In this context, throughout the second half of the century the work of Francisco Guerrero became synonymous with the musical life of the institution, whose music archives grew, thanks both to its own production and the imported Spanish and foreign repertoires in a variety of printed and manuscript forms. One particularly important episode in this story of reception is due to the acquisition by Seville Cathedral of the music archives of the Biblioteca Colombina, the collection of books and manuscripts assembled by Christopher Columbus’ son Fernando. Its influence was fundamental and two-fold: the incorporation of new compositions, through the direct use of printed versions and manuscripts, including copies of other pieces from manuscript sources, and the use of the collection for didactic purposes. The last chapter of the book steps outside the time frame in which the repertoire was created in order to delve into the processes which led to and perpetuated its survival - in some cases for more than three hundred years. The "Librería de Canto de Órgano” continued to play a key role in the musical life of the cathedral until about the mid-19th century, when, for a number of reasons, there began to be renewed interest in the national historical heritage and a reappraisal of classical polyphony