Diego Verdugo
Diego Verdugo
Genres: spanish, 17th century
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About Diego Verdugo
Diego Verdugo de Santos (Humanes, baut. December 9, 1641 - Madrid, 1717) was a Spanish composer and maestro de capilla. He was born on December 9, 1641 in Humanes, currently in the province of Guadalajara, at that time belonging to the archdiocese of Toledo. It is likely that around 1652-1653 he entered a seminary, where his voice was probably discovered. Consequently, he became a singer in the Royal Chapel, during the teaching of Carlos Patiño. At the age of 23, he was appointed master of the Cathedral at Santiago de Compostela, but there were problems, because in March 1666 Verdugo requested further help "because of the salary he has for being such a chapel master [...] for the tests of the informer who had to do the ones of his missing cleaning," which the council denied him. Finally, Verdugo arrived in Santiago shortly after, probably already with minor orders. In Santiago, only one motet and a sequence are preserved. It is also known that he founded a brotherhood under the invocation of the Virgin of Solitude and the Blessed Animas, to ensure the suffrage of the musicians and minister of the cathedral. After the death of Juan de Torres Rocha on August 6, 1679, the teaching of the Cathedral of Salamanca and the Chair of Music of the University of Salamanca became vacant. It was one of the most prestigious positions in the Peninsula in the 17th century and one of the highest paid. Verdugo contacted the Salamanca council and offered them his services. The council of Santiago tried unsuccessfully to keep the teacher, who left for Salamanca to negotiate the conditions of the charges. It is possible that the oppositions he had to pass were demanding, but the fact is that on June 3, 1680 he was appointed to the position. He finally got the chair on July 5, 1680. After a request from Maestro Verdugo, the University decided to give him the title of graduate and Master of Arts, according to his position as a professor.3 His activity as composers in Salamanca should not have been too intense, since only three works are preserved: a motet, an antiphon (Ave Regina caelorum) and a Christmas carol. In 1691 and under the pretext of traveling to the Peña de Francia he left for Madrid, probably called by Carlos II or Ramos del Manzano, Count of Francos, master of the king. On July 13, 1691 he was appointed master of chapel of the Royal Chapel of Madrid. The economic situation of the Royal Chapel was still difficult, since the payroll of musicians and singers had many accumulated arrears. After the arrival of Philip V and the new Bourbon dynasty, the Royal Chapel was reformed and Verdugo was forced to retire early in 1701, being replaced by Sebastián Durón. The master of the chapel of Salamanca at that time, Tomás Micieces, the Minor was finally able to obtain the chair of Music of the University. Despite the few compositions that have been preserved, it must have had great prestige in its time. In addition to the works mentioned in the archives of the cathedrals of Santiago and Salamanca, his works are preserved in the cathedrals of Valladolid and Palencia, in addition to the Calatuña Library.
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