| Current scholarship acknowledges that the patronage of music by the Spanish nobility in the sixteenth century had a substantial impact on the development and dissemination of indigenous genres and styles. However, almost nothing is known of the establishments of the noble courts, their methods of supporting musicians and the creation of new works, or the overarching modalities of patronage outside the royal sphere.;This study, based on records of the dukes of Alba, Lerma, Calabria, Infantado, Gandia, Arcos, and four other noble lines, suggests that the unique societal position of Spain's aristocracy---vastly influential within its own domains yet subjugated by the crown and lacking competition from a strong bourgeoisie---resulted in a complex mixture of approaches to musical patronage. Financial accounts, inventories, foundation statutes and correspondence reveal the identities, duties, and compensations of musicians, the repertoires favored in different courts, and the various means by which individual noble houses resolved the problem of demonstrating their worthiness as nobles and establishing seigniorial authority through the cultivation of the arts (yet avoiding competition with the crown) despite the fluctuating financial stability of their estates.;Though their patronal practices varied considerably, certain commonalities emerge. Courts generally maintained small musical organizations that could be augmented with additional personnel for particularly significant occasions, and founded musical establishments in collegiate churches and monasteries that functioned independently when service to the empire required prolonged absences of patrons from their domains. Their musicians were primarily locally recruited talents; many noted musicians and composers of Spain may have served in noble courts early in their careers, or received a musical education under their patronage. Few specific demands for new compositions were made upon musicians, though such activities were encouraged through various means. This pattern, favoring local musicians and creative independence, contributed substantially to the cultivation and preservation of diverse and indigenous musical styles and genres, such as the ensalada, tono, and sacred villancico. |
