Pedro Ruimonte - 450 Years

La Seo, Zaragoza (1)

Pedro Ruimonte (Ruymonte, Rimonte, Raimonteo, Reymonte, etc., 1565 - 1627) was a Spanish composer who worked for a decade and a half at the Brussels Court of Albert and Isabella.

We know that his father was from Cifuentes and his mother from Leciñena and that they lived in Zaragoza in the parish of San Pablo. Pedro was baptized there in 1565.  He had three sisters, and the siblings were to remain close for the rest of their life.

A number of musicians were active in Zaragoza at the time.  Although no documentary evidence survives, Ruimonte probably received his musical education from Melchor Robledo who taught at La Seo Cathedral. The organist Sebastián Aguilera de Heredia (1561 - 1627) may have been one of his fellow students and would later become the cathedral's maestro de música.

Ducal Palace in Lerma (2)

During that time the Spanish King, often in need of political and military support, cultivated friendly relations with local nobles and Zaragoza.  On a few occasions--one of them the wedding in 1585 of the Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain and the Duke of Savoy--festive royal visits took place where local musicians displayed their best.  Undoubtedly our young musician made his mark at these festivities.  Possibly with the support of members of the House of Silva, e.g. Fernando de Silva, sixth Count of Cifuentes or Don Rodrigo de Silva y Mendoza, second Duke of Pastrana, who accompanied the King to the 1585 wedding, Ruimonte may have entered the service of Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas (1553-1625), the later first Duke of Lerma, at his palace in Castile. The Duke would become the favorite of King Philip III through whom the King exercised his powers. ⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾

A few websites mention that Ruimonte first served as Maestro de Capilla at the Cathedral of Lerida in 1590. ⁽⁵⁾

Koudenberg Palace (7)

In 1599 Ruimonte joined the court of of Albert and Isabella in Brussels, possibly traveling from Spain in their entourage. ⁽⁶⁾  There he could work with excellent musicians and composers, a.o. the English religious exile Peter Philips and Elizabeth I's possible spy, John Bull.

The Brussels Court was highly religious and promoted public piety. Pilgrimages to the newly built Church in Scherpenheuvel showed its Marian devotion. The Feast of Corpus Christi and other religious feast were celebrated with processions and celebrations. ⁽⁸⁾

Ruimonte's position at the court changed over time.  Three collections of his works survive, all published at the Phalèse press in Antwerp. ⁽⁹⁾

   - 1601: He writes to his sister that he is Master of his Sovereigns' Music Chapel.

   - 1604: Missae Sex IV. V. et VI. Vocum is published. From the title page we learn that he now is the Master of his Majesties' Chapel and Chamber Music.

                Let's listen to some excerpts from the Missa pro Defunctis, a requiem mass for six voices. The video starts with the motet De Profundis for seven voices, which was included in this collection as well as the Cantiones sacrae of 1607. It alternates with organ works of de Heredia. Unfortunately, the video has big hiatuses with sections starting at 17:00, 22:47, 25:40 and 36:42. You can listen to the entire work here.



                  The 1604 Missae collection includes five Absolutiones in solemnibus exequis right after the requiem and concludes with the De Profundis motet. Here are Ne recorderis peccata mea and Qui Lazarum resuscitasti from the Absolutiones and once more the De Profundis, beautiful examples of Spanish polyphony.







   - 1605: Géry de Ghersem (1573/75 - 1630), a Franco-Flemish composer who worked at the Royal Chapel in Madrid, becomes Chapelmaster in Brussels. This may have been a move in line with Albert and Isabella's general policy of reconciliation in the region, giving public positions to local figures. The sovereigns nevertheless valued Ruimonte highly and, in fact, paid him more than de Ghersem.
six
   - 1607: Cantiones sacrae IV. V. VI. et VII vocum et Hieremiae Prophetae Lamentationes sex vocum is published.  Only one partbook has survives of the printed Lamentationes of Jeremiah, but a complete manuscript was discovered in Albarracin in Spain. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Let's listen to the first reading for Maundy Thursday, the second for Good Friday, and the third for Holy Saturday. There rest of this stunning work can be found here: Maundy Thursday second and third, Good Friday first and third, and Holy Saturday first and second.







   - 1609: A Twelve Years' Truce is reached in the conflict between the Spain and the Southern Netherlands and the Dutch Republic allowing the Albert and Isabella to bring much-needed peace and repair to their ravaged country.

   - 1611:  Ruimonte participates in the funeral celebrations for Margaret of Austria, Queen Consort of Spain. ⁽¹¹⁾

   - 1614:  The El Parnaso español de madrigales y villancicos is published, the composer's last and probably best-known collection. The title page names him this time as Master of his Sovereigns' Chamber Music.

The Parnaso Español was dedicated to Don Franciso Gómez de Sandoval, Duke of Lerma, a favourite of King Philip III, and, in actual fact, responsible for carrying out the plans of the Spanish government when at its most despotic and corrupt.⁽¹²⁾

                 The collection includes nine passionate and intense madrigals and twelve lively and highly rhythmical villancicos. Let's listen to Madrigal No. 4 ¿Has Visto? for four voices:



                  From the villancicos we hear No. 4 Quiero dormir y no puedo and No. 7 De la piel de sus ovejas, both for six voices, and No. 8 Quita Enojos for solo voice and instruments.







   - 1614:  A financial crisis in Spain necessitates a tightening of the purse strings throughout the realm, including in the Netherlands.  Reorganization becomes necessary:  Ruimonte, after a period of not being paid, receives a lump sum reward and returns to Zaragoza. ⁽¹³⁾
   - 1614-1627:  Ruimonte lives with his sister Catalina, the widow of a wealthy merchant.  He takes on students, one of them Diego de Pontac who would later be active at the court of Philip IV of Spain, and is friends with the composer Sebastian Aguilera de Heredia.  In Zaragoza he uses the titles Member of the Music Chapel and Chamber of his Majesties in Flanders, Commissioner and Associate of the Holy Office of the Inquisition of the Kingdom of Aragon, and Priest. Apart from the teaching, it is not clear that he actually held any active position during those years.
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⁽¹⁾ By Escarlati (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
⁽²⁾ By www.pmrmaeyaert.com (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
⁽³⁾ Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas (1553-1625) was the valido or favorite of Philip III of Spain through whom Philip ruled the Kingdom. Opinions on the political legacy of Philip's Eminence Grise are divided but have become more positive over time.
⁽⁴⁾ This is derived from the dedication of Ruimonte's 1614 collection El Parnaso español de madrigales y villancicos to the Duke of Lerma which ends with a wish for 'growth of the State, as all Your Excellency's servants desire.'  (See Pedro Calahorra Martinez, La Musica en Zaragoza en los Siglos XVI y XVII, II. Polifonistas y Ministriles, Heraldo de Aragon S.A., 1978, p. 192) This theory helps to explain:
      (a) How and with whose help Ruimonte went from Zaragoza to Brussels,
      (b) Why no evidence has surfaced that he was still in Zaragoza for some time before arriving in Brussels,
      (c) Why there are no records of his ordination to priest, which to place around that time, in Zaragoza, or in Madrid for that matter.
      It is, however, not yet clear that Ruimonte actually belonged to the Duke's household in his youth. When Calahorra summarily researched the vast archive of the Duke of Lerma at the Hospital del Cardenal Tavera in Toledo, no evidence turned up.
⁽⁵⁾ See for example:
         - "La IFC reedita 'Lamentaciones' de Pedro Ruimonte, 400 años después de su impresión en Amberes." (IFC edits Pedro Ruimonte's 'Lamentations' 400 years after its publication in Antwerp.) Europa Press website, Aragon, Zaragoza, 05/28/2007. (http://www.europapress.es/aragon/noticia-zaragoza-ifc-reedita-lamentaciones-pedro-ruimonte-400-anos-despues-impresion-amberes-20070528144432.html (11/22/2015)), and
         - Michel Lesourd, "Pedro Rimonte." Composer page at Lamentations de Jérémie website.citing Dizionario enciclopedico universale della musica e dei musicisti, diretto da Alberto Basso. (UTET. Torino. 1985).  (http://lamentations.lesourd.eu/index.php?title=Pedro_Rimonte (12/05/2015))
⁽⁶⁾ Here is a brief timeline of Albert and Isabella's rule/governance of the Netherlands:
     - 1596: Albert, then a cardinal--although never properly ordained, just in case the Kingdom would need him in a different role--and Philip II of Spain's nephew, is appointed Governor of the Netherlands.
     - May 1598: Philip II announces his decision to marry his daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia to Albert and cedes the sovereignty of the Habsburg Netherlands to his daughter. If the marriage does not produce a heir, the territory will return to Spain.  (The Habsburg dynasty was rife with intermarriages. Albert and Isabella were both grandchildren of Emperor Charles V.)
     - July 1598: Albert resigns from his position as Cardinal with Pope Clement VIII's permission.
     - August 1598: The Act of Cession of the Habsburg Netherlands is read in Brussels at the States General in the presence of Albert, its Governor.
     - 1598 - 1621: Isabella rules / co-rules with her husband (1601 - 1621) the Netherlands.  Their reign as Archdukes is considered the Golden Age of the Spanish Netherlands.
     - September 13, 1598: Philip II of Spain dies.
     - September 14, 1598: Unaware of Philip's death Albert travels through Italy to Spain to marry Isabella. He escorts Margaret of Austria who is to marry Philip III of Spain, Isabella's younger half-brother.
     - November 1598: The Pope officiates the two marriages by proxy in Ferrara.
     - April 1599: The actual marriage of Albert and Isabella is confirmed upon Albert's arrival in Valencia.  The couple will have three children who all die very young.
     - May 1599: Albert and Isabella start their trip to the Netherlands to take up their rule..
     - 1599 - 1600:  The couple visits the major cities in their realm with much pageantry.
     - 1600 - 1621:  The sovereigns participate in many religious festivals and at inaugurations of major new and often Jesuit churches.  Throughout their reign Albert and Isabella, while remaining true to the interests of Spain, worked toward political and religious reconciliation, giving public prominence to local nobles.
     - 1621: Albert dies. The Netherlands revert back to Spain under Philip III's reign (as administered by the Duke of Lerma). Isabella joins the Third Order of Saint Francis.
     - 1621 - 1633: Isabella governs the Netherlands on behalf of her half-brother.
(See Craig Harline, Eddy Put, "A Bishop's Tale: Mathias Hovius Among His Flock in Seventeenth-century Flanders." Yale University Press, 2002, p. 39, (https://books.google.com/books?id=4iod2gu2htUC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA39#v=onepage&q&f=false (11/22/2015)) and Jonathan Israel, "Conflicts of Empires: Spain, the Low Countries and the Struggle for World Supremacy, 1585-1713." A&C Black, 1997, p. 9. (https://books.google.com/books?id=AKEdN0NEE-UC&dq=albert+and+isabella%27s+entourage+in+trip+from+Spain+to+Brussels&source=gbs_navlinks_s (11/22/2015)))
⁽⁷⁾ The original uploader was Carolus at Dutch Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
⁽⁸⁾ Anne Elizabeth Lyman, "Peter Philips at the Court of Albert and Isabella in Early Seventeenth-century Brussels: An Examination of the Small-scale Motets, Including an Edition of "Deliciae Sacrae" (1616)." Ann Arbor, MI, ProQuest, 2009, Doctoral Thesis, Volume I, p. 34.
⁽⁹⁾ For a detailed list of works included in the three publications see Joan Izquierdo and Anne Margules, "Polifonia Aragonesa, XIV. Pedro Ruimonte (1565 - 1627), Lamentationes Hieremiae Prophetae Sex Vocum." Zaragoza, Institución “Fernando el Católico”, 2006, p. 12. (http://www.annamargules.com/Foto/lamentationes.pdf (12/06/2015))
⁽¹⁰⁾Ib., p. 14.
⁽¹¹⁾ Tradition required extensive celebrations throughout the Kingdom and its possessions. Apparently, even though the Archdukes Albert and Isabella were considered sovereigns of the Netherlands during their lifetime, ties with Spain remained strong, and elaborate ceremonies in commemoration of the Queen were held. Apparently, these ceremonies came at considerable economic hardship for some communities, but were nevertheless dutifully executed. See Jean Andrews, Isabel Torres, "Spanish Golden Age Poetry in Motion: The Dynamics of Creation and Conversation." Rochester, NY, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2014, p. 132-146. (Spanish Golden Age Poetry in Motion: The Dynamics of Creation and Conversation (12/05/2015))
⁽¹²⁾ Raúl Mallavibarrena, "Parnaso Espanol." CD liner notes, Enchiriades, Madrid, September 2004. (http://media.wix.com/ugd/178236_c60284e7d17349eca0dc3d01dec9845b.pdf (12/06/2015))  The notion of the Duke of Lerma as a despotic administrator for the Spanish King is one opinion.  Others have argued that he was far more capable than his predecessor and his successor.  The dedication of Parnaso Espanol to the Duke of Lerma, the most powerful figure in the realm and an avid patron of the arts, may have been in preparation of Ruimonte's upcoming return to Spain.
⁽¹³⁾ Pedro Calahorra Martinez, "Musica en Zaragoza, Siglos XVI - XVII, 2. Polifonistas y Ministriles." Zaragoza, Editorial HERALDO DE ARAGÓN, S. A.. Publicación núm. 668 de la Institución “Fernando el Católico,” 1978, p. 197. (http://ifc.dpz.es/recursos/publicaciones/07/77/_ebook.pdf (12/05/2015))  The author mentions that Spanish-Netherlandish relations deteriorated over time which may also have contributed to Ruimonte's departure.  It is true that already in 1605 Ruimonte ceased activities in the more public Court Chapel where de Ghersem took over, but he continued to work in the Archduke's Chamber.