Born in Castrillo de Matajudios near Burgos in 1510, died in Madrid in 1566; Antonio de Cabezon was an organist and composer of the Renaissance who went blind at an early age. He received organ lessons in Palencia. From 1526 he served as organist at the court of Isabella of Portugal, later as chamber musician to Emperor Charles V and to Prince Philip, whom he accompanied to Italy, Germany and the Netherlands in 1548–1551 and to England and the Netherlands in 1554–1556. His tientos and diferencias, among them variations on “Canto del caballero” and “Guardame las vacas”, are among the early examples of variation form. Works by him appeared in 1557 in the “Libro de cifra nueva” of Luys Venegas de Henestrosa; the “Obras de musica para tecla, arpa y vihuela”, published posthumously by his son Hernando in 1578, secured their transmission. He is represented as a composer on the Cybele album Vivi felice! (2003).
Antonio de Cabezon
Composer
