Tono humano

The tono humano (secular song) was one of the main genres of 17th Century Spanish and Portuguese music.[1]

The term tonadas is also used for tonos humanos in 17th Century musical literature but the 17th Century tonada is to be distinguished from the modern folk tonada song in Chile or for guitar band in Argentina.

In the early 17th Century the main vernacular forms for Spanish and Portuguese composers were the villancico, usually a Christmas song, and the solo tono; tono humano if secular, tono divino if sacred. The cantata form had not yet been introduced from Italy. At this point tonos were generally strophic songs (coplas) with a refrain (estribillo).[2][3] However by the end of the 17th century some tonos had begun to include recitative and aria sections, as the cantada, Spanish form of the cantata became known around 1700. The tono humano and tono divino could also have 2, 3 or 4 voices.[4]

Nearly all tonos humanos and semi-sacred villancicos were preserved only in manuscript. The best copies were in the Royal Palace in Madrid and in the nearby Buen Retiro, both of which were lost in fires. This, and the fall from fashion of the tono and villancico in the Iberian Peninsula, means that sources in Ibero-America are relatively important to recovery of this part of Iberian musical heritage.[5][6][7]

The Libro de tonos humanos Madrid 1656 (Biblioteca Nacional, M-1262) is the most substantial Iberian cancionero of the 17th Century with over 200 songs, almost all romances with estribillo in 4 voices.[8] Additional surviving sources include the Mackworth manuscript.[9]

The tono was used both in theatre music, domestic music and church music. Composers active in the composition of tonos humanos include:

In the New World the tono was taken up by:

  1. ^ Lorenzo Bianconi Music in the seventeenth century 1987 p262
  2. ^ Jerónimo Nieto Magdaleno, Rita Goldberg Tonos a lo divino y a lo humano 1981 p28
  3. ^ George J. Buelow A history of baroque music 2004 p375
  4. ^ Kurt L. Levy, Jesús Antonio Ara, Gethin Hughes Calderón and the Baroque tradition 1985 p73 Emperor Leopold I in Vienna requests his ambassador in Madrid "will you therefore see that you send me some tonos humanos for one, two or at most three voices"
  5. ^ John H. Baron, Daniel L. Heiple Spanish art song in the seventeenth century 1985 Page vii
  6. ^ The New Grove dictionary of music and musicians, Volume 19 Stanley Sadie, John Tyrrell 2001 p235
  7. ^ Judith Zessis Evans The Spanish polyphonic ballad from c. 1450 to c. 1650 1975 p225
  8. ^ Owen Rees review of Alejandro Vera Musica vocal profana en el Madrid de Felipe IV: El Libro de Tonos humanos Music and Letters - Volume 86, Number 3, August 2005, pp. 468-471
  9. ^ Carreras, Juan José. 2004. El manuscrito Mackworth de cantatas españolas Madrid: Fundación Caja Madrid.
  10. ^ Robledo, Luis. 1989. Juan Blas de Castro (ca. 1561-1631): vida y obra musical. Zaragoza: Institución Fernando el Católico.
  11. ^ Robert Murrell Stevenson Christmas music from baroque México 1974 p58
  12. ^ Arriaga, Gerardo. 2008. José Marín: Tonos y villancicos. Madrid: ICCMU.