uan Bermudo
Friar Juan Bermudo (ca. 1510 - ca. 1560) was a renowned and versatile theorist and composer. Despite his importance, limited information regarding his life is available. The little knowledge we have nowadays mostly comes from pages of his own publications.
Bermudo was born to a wealthy family in Éjica, a city of the Andalusian province in Spain. Although he had studied music in his youth, Bermudo was mostly self-taught. At the age of 15 he entered the Order of Franciscan Friars (Menores de la Observancia). This did not encourage the study of music, because of the required vow to a life of poverty, preaching and penance.34 Later he continued his mathematic studies at the University of Alcalá de Henares. During the quadragesimal (forty days of the fast of Lent) in 1549, Bermudo preached in the convent of Santa Clara in Montilla. This was also the time when he was introduced to Cristóbal de Morales.35 Bermudo left a variety of records describing interesting relations with illustrious personages of this time in dedicatory epistles in his books. The importance and recognition of Bermudo is illustrated, for instance, with the laudatory letter by Cristóbal de Morales in book V of the Declaración de los instrumentos musicales (1555). According musicologist Robert Stevenson, this is the only remaining letter recommending a musical treatise written by this eminent composer.36
Bermudo’s musical interest was not eminent until his serious illness which made him abandon the position of preacher and his religious duties. In the first chapter of his Declaration, he writes:
“Seeing that I could not serve in [the religious office] because I lacked a strength and so as not to be idle, I set out to read books of music. On the one hand [my] conscience and on the other hand the words of God’s servants persuaded me write. My guilt would be great if, knowing the deficiencies that some ecclesiastic have, I did not set forth [the laws of] music written by the serious doctors in a language that could be understood by all.”37
Bermudo tutored musicians in a very understandable manner and intended his books for the readers in Spain whose knowledge of Latin might have been limited. Therefor, Declaración de los instrumentos musicales serves as a textbook offering theoretical guidelines for both beginners and experienced musicians based on theoretical writings of Saint Augustine, Saint Gregorio, Boecio, Guido, Tinctoris, Gafurio, Ciruelo (Bermudo heard him in Alcalá), Gulliermo de Podio, but also he quoted important philosophers and writers such as Aristotle, Pythagoras, Erasmo, Horacio, Virgilio, Nebrija and others. His book Declaración de los instrumentos musicales is considered as one of the most important Spanish theoretical treatises. It was the first 16th century Spanish book concerning instrumental music whose primary objective was not only to provide performance repertoire but to educate instrumentalists in matters beyond musical practice.38
His publications provide more in-depth information about his life. The first of his three treatises El libro primero de la declaración de instrumentos was published in 1549. One year later El arte tripharia was published and in 1555 Declaración de los instrumentos musicales. All three were published in Osuna by Juan de León, a printer of Universidad de Osuna (“impresor de libros de la insigne Universidad de Osuna”). The final reference concerning his life we have is from the 24th of April in 1560, when Bermudo was chosen as clergyman of his order in Andalusia together with three other friars.39 Other dates of a biographical trajectory of this eminent theorist are unknown.
