5. VILLANCICO
5.1 Brief history of the origin and development of the Christmas carol up to its peak in the Golden Age.
The origin and development of the Christmas carol dates back to the Late Middle Ages, around the XIII century, as a popular genre in the south of Europe. The term villancico comes from the Cantigas de Vilhao, of Galician-Portuguese origins, which were meant to be sung and danced. The direct antecedents of these songs and dances can be found in the Cantigas de Santa María by Alfonso X el Sabio and in the Cantigas de Amigo by Martín Codax, a troubadour from Vigo. These cantigas had in common that they consisted of a refrain that was repeated after each stanza of two or three verses. However, the origin of the villancicos can also be found in troubadour songs, jarchas and above all, in Andalusian zéjel and in Galician cosaute. Mª Esther Grebe, considers the Renaissance Christmas carol as a fixed form of the oldest lyric poetry in Europe. According to Grebe, the medieval modality of the villancico can be found in cantigas, with a preference for the modes: Doric, Lydian and Mixolydian. The first sources for the study of the villancico in the XV century are in the Cancionero de la Colombina and Cancionero de Palacio in Spain. The Christmas carols were made up of estribillo-copla-estribillo and as a rule, the same number of voices were maintained both in the estribillo and in the couplets.
As Carlos Villanueva explains, in the XVI century in addition to the carols included in the songbooks, pieces were transcribed or glossed for vihuela or keyboard; many composers see in the carol an ideal model for tablature, because of its homophonic treatment. In the Golden Age, successive Flemish and Italian influences lead to a greater rise of this genre. The villancico had in Spain the same importance as the madrigal in Italy, as a typical piece of courtly music. Throughout the XVII century, the Christmas carol experimented an evolutionary process with the incorporation of new forms. On the other hand, the carol will gradually become sacred, becoming exclusively religious from the second half of the XVII century. The profane Christmas carol will be called differently: tono, tono humano or folia.
5.2 The baroque ecclesiastical villancico.
The first manifestations of villancicos in religious festivities date back from the end of the XV century in Granada, Spain. Archbishop Hernando de Talavera introduced cancioncillas (little songs) in the vulgar language to be sung in his church at Christmas matins in 1492. The model of these songs is very close to profane Christmas carols that appear in the songbooks of that time.
From XVIII century it became conventional to introduce certain humorous elements in some Christmas carols, such as the presence of comic characters and the imitation of dialects in other languages in the main character of the villancico. This produced the hilarity and enjoyment of the attendees with the consequent ecclesiastical censure. Sometimes the councils ordered to review the lyrics of these Christmas carols before they were printed when Gaitán y Arteaga was the chapel master of the Cathedral in Segovia, Spain, in 1745. It was described the complaints of the councillor Mr. Racionero Lorenzo Marín regarding the lyrics of the Christmas carols that had been sung by the musicians of the chapel in the parish of San Pablo, on the feast of the saint.
The ecclesiastical authorities were not always tolerant of that alleged intrusion of the Christmas carol in the liturgical context. However, the prohibitions and rejections did not have much effect since as a result of the large number of Christmas carols that were composed and sung in those years. Louise K. Stein also alludes to the fact that some clergymen and moralists detested Christmas carols because of their secular tendencies and popular style, however, that was precisely what made the carol an easy vehicle for religious propaganda. Christmas carols were heard by a large number of people in important religious celebrations; the texts, therefore, had to be understood well and the styles tend to be contemporary and sometimes semi-theatrical.
Already at the end of the XVI century, the texts of villancicos began to be printed. Villanueva affirms that in this century the destiny of the Christmas carol was an ephemeral nature. The insufficient investment of the councils in this section explains why, with few exceptions, the genre is anonymous and with little poetic value. In America, exceptionally, many outstanding poets collaborated with the chapel masters to keep alive this genre, which explains the quality of some of these New World series, as is the case of the Mexican writer Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, in comparison with the peninsular models.
The Christmas carol in the XVII century is closely linked to the court of Madrid. This is where the immediate changes of this genre are registered, both in the textual part and in the musical part. According to Villanueva, this is because the texts used in Madrid were the one that circulated the most and the one very closely linked to the stage events.
Directly or indirectly, dances were also introduced in the villancicos, however not in the ecclesiastical villancicos. The rhythmic elements were very important and marked its character from its origins until well entered the XVII century; dances like the galliardas and pavanas in the renaissance and zarabandas, chaconas, xácaras, canaries, vacas, currentes and gigas in the baroque.
The Christmas carol was sung solo voice or with many voices, accompanied instrumentally, and encompasses a wide variety of poetic styles in its origins. During the XVII and XVIII centuries, the lyrics of Christmas carols represented a very important part of the production of the printing press in Spain.
5.3 Form and stylistic differences of the villancico.
Although the villancicos form can have many varieties, musically speaking, in general terms, this genre is a composition that consists of three parts. López Calo, considers that the three differentiated parts are: Introduction, Estribillo and Copla, and it can be shorter or longer, depending on the style and the period. The Christmas carol can admit any number of verses and with any metrical and any rhythmic structure desired. In the New World, many Christmas carols were part of the repertoires of the main music chapels, both by native or creole composers, as well as other highly relevant peninsular compositions. In the baroque ecclesiastical villancico there are some stylistic differences in comparison with the non-ecclesiastical villancico. Claro Valdés, refers to these last genres, that are documented in the archive of the monastery of San Antonio Abad in Cuzco, Peru, as following:
Rorros: They were defined as a lullaby, this genre characterized by the interruption of the sentences by silences creating a suspension in the music to avoid waking the child. In the texts the words arroró, alarró, al arrullo, al arrollo appear. As an example, we have Desvelado dueño miofor seven voices of Tomás de Torrejón Velasco (1644-1728).
Negrillas: This genre of villancico was prevalent in Spain and Latin America, alluding to what was likely conceived at that time as ritmo de negro or black rhythm. Black characters, which had already appeared in the theatres and literature, were used for comedy and their characteristic speech. As an example, we have La Negrina by Mateo Flecha (1481-1553).
Bailetes: This villancico had dancers that were not always accepted by the ecclesial authorities. An example is found in A este Sol Peregrino from Torrejón y Velasco (1644-1728). The so-called gitanas or gitanillas could be considered as bailetes as well.
Batallas: To understand the meaning of this type of Christmas carol, it must be taken into account that XVI and XVII centuries had long years of conflicts between the new national states and the empires for the hegemony and domination of the new conquered lands and seas in America. The Spanish empire is conceived as an evangelizing mission. The wars of religion are presented as a consequence of the appearance of new Christian faiths that oppose the papacy; Luther and Calvin. The music of the XVI and XVII centuries is full of war images such as La Ensalada, La Guerra by Mateo Flecha (1481-1553). In the Villancicos by Juan Manuel González Gaitán, preserved in the Archbishop's Archive of Lima, there is good example of this style; Eternamente triste, from 1762, in which he describes the battle between the good Angels and Lucifer. Another example is A la lid, al arma tocan in which Juan Manuel composed for instruments used in battles such as the clarion.
Juguetes: These villancicos have dramatic nature. They can be found in Spanish, Portuguese or French. As an example we have Portugués y Italiano a villancico, composed by Agustín de Contreras in 1711. In this carol three different parts alternate; the choir sings in Spanish and alternates with a solo that sings in Portuguese then, the choir answer in Italian.
Xácaras: The denomination xácara comes from a type of ternary dance and it is one of the theatrical forms developed in the Spanish theatres of the XVII century. In its origins it was a picaresque interlude representing a homeless or braggart character. The xácaras developed into the xácara entremesada with alternating dialogues, songs and dances. As an example Oigan, atiendan la Iacara by Jacinto Antonio de Mesa in 1682.
Cantada: This type is considered as a fusion of the villancico and cantata of Neapolitan origin. The cantada was introduced in Spain thanks to the influence of Italian music, which began to be present with the advent of the new Bourbon dynasty at the beginning of the XVIII century. It contains one or two recitative and an aria. The recitative could be solo, duet or more voices with instrumental accompaniment. There are a large number of cantadas by maestro Gaitán, both in the Archbishop's Archive of Lima and in Córdoba Cathedral. With Eternamente triste, previously cited as a battle carol is also a cantada. Spanish cantadas of the XVIII century usually featured serious and sacred content (excluding comic and burlesque content) with an absence of dialogues and repetitive elements. This explains the abundance of recitatives and arias that were used in the mass, since it used texts with a solemn tone and biblical or mythological allusions of a warrior nature. One of the distinguishing feature of the cantada, in comparison with the other villancicos was the brevity in the number of verses.
In addition to the genres mentioned before, Gaitán y Arteaga cultivated other types. Examples of it can be found both in the Archbishop's Archive of Lima and in the letter sheets kept in Córdoba Cathedral. One of these variants is the tonadilla de escena. In the first half of the XVII century, songs were written to be solemnly sung in the temple.
Rosario Pérez Mora, explained in her study the frequent cultivation of the tonadilla de escena de villancico in churches, affirming that there are almost eight hundred carol scores with allusions to the tonadilla. Moreover, she describes it as a genre cultivated in all the Spanish ecclesiastical provinces. From her research, it can be deduced that the villancico is characterized by the simplicity of its metrics and rhythms. The fresh, hummable, and catchy melodies have a folkloric character, and the musical development is based on the immediate and literal repetition of the tripartite form (A-B-A). The vast majority of the characteristics described above can be found in Juan Manuel's tonadilla, Pascual está aquí, composed in 1762 and preserved in Lima, which features nine voices, violins, and horns.
5.4. General musical characteristics of eighteenth-century villancico.
The new century brought changes in the framework of the villancico especially in aspects of formal composition. Villanueva, states that the previous structure was maintained: introduction, chorus and coplas. A chorus was used with four voices (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) along with soloists who played the main characters of the villancico.
In the Royal Chapel of Madrid at the beginning of the XVIII century, the Christmas carol in the Italian style emerged, known as cantada, featuring sections of recitation and aria. These sections were expanded with various additions, evolving into true cantatas, including solos, trios, recitatives, minuets, basses, arias, and other parts, accompanied and connected by an increasingly independent orchestra. This development required a more specialized type of singer and instrumentalists in the new style, becoming true cantatas, with solos, trios, recitatives, minuets, basses, arias and other parts, accompanied and connected by an increasingly independent orchestra. They began to demand a type of singer and instrumentalists more specialized in the new style. The profile of the instrumentalist changed with a fixed and stable participation, disappearing the concept of a musician who plays several instruments. The use of instruments also changed; in Baroque works they limited themselves to reproduce the melodic line of the voices, while in the XVIII century, they became autonomous, according to their technical and expressive possibilities.
The demanding interpretation of the Christmas carol and the theatrical atmosphere created controversy within the religious establishment. The ambiance surrounding ecclesiastical festivities transformed into a social activity reminiscent of attending the theatre.
Changing the conception of music brought about one of the most visible changes: the use of key signatures. Departing from the old concept of restricting compositions to only one sharp or one flat, composers began to utilize all necessary flats and sharps. Additionally, there were changes in the conception of melody, accompaniments, and the relationship between soloists and the chorus. There was a progressive abandonment of poly choral music, with choirs of twelve or more voices being transformed into three or more choirs. These choirs were placed in different locations within the church, sometimes with a significant distance between them. The compositions typically involved eight voices singing together, with one of them frequently reinforcing certain parts of the others.
In the villancicos, small instrumental solos began to be introduced to serve as a connection between some of its parts. In Córdoba, under Juan Manuel's direction, instrumental pieces were introduced in the Christmas festivities mass with different names: canción de batalla, canción de los instrumentos, los instrumentos tocan la salve, tocan los instrumentos una canción, tocan los instrumentos una marcha, aquí la tocata, tocata de instrumentos, tocata (a battle piece, a song of the instruments, the instruments play the salve, the instruments play a song, the instruments play a march, here the toccata, instrument toccata, toccata). Unfortunately, only one of these compositions was instrumental, and it has not survived.
In general, the villancicos of Juan Manuel maintain the same tonality throughout their development which each of the parts beginning and ending in the same tonic. Different tonalities are introduced in the estribillos, as this section includes solos (see the example below), duets, and alternating contrapuntal and homophonic passages.
The cantadas by Maestro Gaitán consist of two parts: recitative and an aria. The recitative is a piece with dramatic action that expresses feelings, contains modulations, and allows the singer to prepare for the new key of the aria. As a rule, in the recitations, the harpsichord or organ provides the continuo, but sometimes this task is shared with the double bass.
In the villancico, Eternamente triste, it is found many of these characteristics mentioned above. It begins in E flat major, and its last bars prepare the key of G minor, which is the main key of the aria. In the following example, the last two chords of the accompaniment are delayed, creating instrumental accompaniment. The dialogue between the voice and the instruments gains more vitality and strength, adding to the dramatic effect:
5.5.Villancico and Tonadilla de escena.
In order to analyse a genre like the villancico and its transformations in the XVIII century in Spain, it is necessary to consider its musical genre linked with folkloric and ecclesiastical origins. The influence by another musical genre, in this case theatrical: la tonadilla de escena, performed in both, the main cities of peninsular Spain and the viceroyalties. Tonadilla and villancico had a lot in common, as José Subirá (1882-1980) provided information on this relationship.
Villancico was described as a collection of songs musically constituted by several movements that were sung in the temple. Meanwhile, tonadilla was the name given to any loose song. The first printed tonadillas were included in the auto- sacramental, Lo que va del hombre de Dios, by Antonio Muñoz del Valle (Madrid 1761, printing press).
Both genres also have in common the use of the tonada, meaning metric composition to be sung, which comes from the word, tono (tone). According to the Diccionario de autoridades de 1739, it is specified that tonadilla in particular is a happy and festive piece and that was represented on theatres. Tonadilla can be considered as a short comic opera, with theatrical action and free development of complexities. The origins of tonadilla are linked to the religious theme. This fact confirms the initial nexus of the tonadilla with the sacred and with its interpretations in the ecclesiastical environment.
Tonadilla and villancico were used as opposition to foreign fashions and highlight passion for folkloric Spanish music; both worlds were so intertwined that for the philologist Manuel Alvar (1923-2001) the three terms; tono, tonada and tonadilla have been part of the villancicos since its beginning, either because these names are specifically added or because they are mentioned in the text of the villancicos. As an example, these terms appear in the villancico of Juan Manuel Gaitán y Arteaga Pascual está aquí, tonadilla a cinco: ¿Qué es esto Pascual amigo? ¿tanto bueno por acá? A cantar una tonada me vengo sin más ni más. ¿La tonada estará buena? pues, ¿por qué no lo ha de estar? Cántala Pascual con brío, que si es buena ello dirá.
Tonadilla generally represents scenes from everyday life: ruffians, beggars, villagers, and courtiers, with diverse ethnicities. The tonadilla and the villancico were combined in its origins on the XV century: El villancico de tonadilla (Christmas carol of tonadillas) and the Tonadillas a lo divino (tonadillas to the divine). Both also include pastoral themes. According to Subirá, the first written tonadilla a lo divino was in 1685 by José Ortí y Moles (1650-1728) under the title of villancico para la noche de Navidad en la Iglesia Mayor. The text contains humorous character, and a pastoral theme in this part of the chorus: Pues vaya de tonadilla/ y a Belén cantando vamos/ Alegremos al Niño/ que es pobre y chiquitito, / y en un portalillo/ se queja de frío/ y se muere de ardor./ Ay, amor, amor.
Rosario Pérez Mora, places villancico de tonadilla as a precursor to the tonadilla de escena, suggesting that its theatricality extends beyond the Italian style of XVIII-century arias and recitatives and positioning itself closer to the Hispanic baroque theaters.