An anonymous centon of Juan Hidalgo Tunes: Baile De Jupiter y Calixto

Abstract

Creator of a musical-theatrical style that was characteristic of the Spanish theater, the fame and prestige of the composer Juan Hidalgo lasted beyond his death. This is confirmed by the reuse of his tunes in all kinds of works: comedies, autos and short pieces. Among the latter, the Baile de Júpiter y Calixto which including five burlesque contrafactum of tunes by the composer, constitutes an authentic centón of Hidalgo’s tunes. Given that by its very nature, the parody always starts from a pre-existing model that is well known to the recipient of the parody, it’s a recognition of the prestige and worth of the author of the original play. This work studies the literary and musical sources of each one of the tunes reused in the play, as well as the procedures used to adapt them to a play so far removed from the original models (fiesta cantada, zarzuela and opera). By maintaining mostly the original affective and literary content, his author reveal a remarkable knowledge and understanding of the composer’s musical rhetoric, and demonstrates the wide circulation of a musical repertoire initially linked to the court scene. To do this, after studying the text and music of the original tunes, is analyzed the procedure followed by the anonymous author of the baile to introduce, adapt and link them in it, creating a unitary work.