The polyphonic compositions on Marian texts by Juan de Esquivel Barahona: A study of institutional Marian devotion in late Renaissance Spain

Throughout its history Spain has held a special affection for the Virgin Mary. Popular devotion was reflected in the Church's celebrations on her feast days, which were held with the utmost solemnity. The Spanish affection for the Virgin was also apparent in the devotional music written by native composers, who devoted much of their compositional output to antiphons, hymns, and motets on Marian texts.;Juan de Esquivel Barahona served the Catholic Church during a time of great change, as Spanish cathedrals began to adapt their traditional practices to the recently accepted Roman Rite. As a Spanish cleric and composer, he was exposed to both the popular traditions and the institutional requirements of Marian devotion. His understanding of the post-conciliar spirit is revealed in his close adherence to the texts and liturgical calendar of the 1602 Clement VIII breviary, but his understanding of Spanish Marian devotion appears in the use of Spanish chants and the emulation of older Spanish masters in a conscious extension of tradition.;Esquivel never traveled outside of his native Spain, but his published polyphony based on Marian texts reveals that he was keenly aware of how Spaniards in other parts of the kingdom approached the composition of music for the Marian liturgy. Esquivel composed, however, for a Church that sought to replace regional traditions with a universal liturgy. In response, he successfully created liturgical music that adhered to the reformed texts while managing to retain the Spanish character of the polyphony by employing local chants as cantus firmi, following traditions of alternatim composition, and emulating traits of older Spanish masters. Esquivel's Marian motet cycle follows the post-Tridentine trend towards associating motets to specific feast days through the use of festal designations and carefully selected biblical and liturgical texts, but this same body of work also reveals his awareness of contemporary Mariological thought in Spain.