The tientos 68, 65 y 67 from Obras de música: An Analytical Study of Three Masterpieces by Cabezón

Abstract

The present study focuses on three tientos which can undoubtedly be counted among Cabezón’s masterpieces, numbers 68, 65, an 67 from Obras de música. This particular order allows an analytical journey from a long and brilliant tiento with great modal unity, to a short and introspective piece that includes three sections, each of which is in a different mode, by way of a mid-length tiento featuring structural ambiguity between two modes. Cabezón’s tonal world (as well as his time’s) is represented in these three tientos in all its richness and variety. We consider three aspects in each of these tientos: Formal organization, thematic coherence and motivic relationships among different subjects, and modal organization. Far from being three isolated features within the musical process, we will see that these three elements are closely related in these works by Cabezón, and together they constitute and determine the compositional structures that define these tientos as masterpieces.