Biography (read more)
Diego Ortiz was a Spanish composer and music theorist, born around 1510, probably in Toledo, and believed to have died around 1576 in Rome. By 1553 he was living in the Spanish viceroyalty of Naples, and in 1558 the Duke of Alba appointed him maestro di cappella of the Chapel Royal of Naples, a post he still held in 1565 under the Duke of Alcalá. Ortiz published two influential music books: the Trattado de glosas (Rome, 1553), a landmark manual of ornamentation for bowed string instruments issued simultaneously in Spanish and Italian editions, and the Musices liber primus (Venice, 1565), a collection of sixty-nine sacred polyphonic works for four to seven voices.
Ortiz’s Trattado de glosas is considered the first published manual of ornamentation for bowed string instruments and a foundational text for the viola da gamba repertoire, teaching performers how to improvise ‘glosas’ (melodic divisions) over standard Renaissance ground basses such as the Romanesca, Passamezzo, La Spagna, and La Folia. Its recercadas remain a cornerstone of the modern early-viol repertoire and a primary reference for historically informed improvisation, and the treatise’s influence is central to the 20th- and 21st-century revival of the viola da gamba led by performers such as Jordi Savall.
Sources:
Repertoire
Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90 “Italian” (1834 Version) : II. Andante con moto— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Narration III (2) : “On How Folly Is Prompted to Sing her Own Praises” / Music: Passamezzo Antico— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre el Canto llano “La Spagna”: Recercada Segunda— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre el Canto llano “La Spagna”: Recercada Tercera— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre el Canto llano “La Spagna”: Recercada Primera— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre el Canto llano “La Spagna”: Recercada Quarta— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre el Canto llano “La Spagna”: Recercada Quinta— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre el Canto llano “La Spagna”: Recercada Sesta— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre el Madrigal “O felici occhi miei”: Recercada Quarta— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre el Madrigal “O felici occhi miei”: Recercada Primera— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre el Madrigal “O felici occhi miei”: Recercada Segunda— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre el Madrigal “O felici occhi miei”: Recercada Tercera— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre la Cancion “Doulce Memoire”: Recercada Quarta— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre la Cancion “Doulce Memoire”: Recercada Primera— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre la Cancion “Doulce Memoire”: Recercada Segunda— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre la Cancion “Doulce Memoire”: Recercada Tercera— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre Tenores: Recardada Primera Sobre el “Passamezzo Antiguo”— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre Tenores: Recardada Terçera Sobre el “Passamezzo Moderno”— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre Tenores: Recardada Sesta Sobre la “Romanesca”— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre Tenores: Recardada Settima Sobre la “Romanesca”— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre Tenores: Recardada Quinta Sobre el “Passamezzo antiguo”— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre Tenores: Recardada Segunda Sobre el “Passamezzo moderno”— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas sobre tenores: No. 1 sobre el “Passamezzo” antiguo— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas sobre tenores: No. 2 sobre el “Passamezzo” moderno— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas sobre tenores: No. 3 sobre el “passamezzo” moderno— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas sobre tenores: No. 5 sobre el “passamezzo” antiguo— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Rezitation III (2) : “Wie die Torheit dazu kommt, ihr eigenes Lob zu verkünden” / Musik:…— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre El Madrigal “O Felici O Occhi Miei” – Rec. Quarta— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre El Madrigal “O Felici O Occhi Miei” – Recercara Primera— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre El Madrigal “O Felici O Occhi Miei” – Rec. Segunda— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre El Madrigal “O Felici O Occhi Miei” – Rec. Tercera— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre Tenores – Rec. Primera Sobre Tenores El Passamezzo Antiguo— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre Tenores – Rec. Tercera Sobre El Passamezzo Moderno— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre Tenores – Rec. Quinta Sobre El Passamezzo Antiguo— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recercadas Sobre Tenores – Rec. Segunda Sobre El Passamezzo Moderno— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recitado III (2) : “Cómo la Locura Es llevada a Hacer Su Propio Elogio” / Música: Passamezzo…— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Recitat III (2) : “Com la Follia és moguda a fer el seu propi elogi” / Música: Passamezzo Antico— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Narrazione III (2) : “Come la Follia è indotta a fare il proprio elogio” / Musica: Passamezzo…— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Narration III (2) : “Comment la Folie est conduite à faire son propre Éloge” / Musique:…— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Gesproken tekst III (2) : “Waarom de Zotheid ertoe gekomen is zichzelve te prijzen” / Muziek:…— Jordi Savall
Performed by Jordi Savall
Trattado de Glosas, Libro II: Recercada Segunda Sobre el Canto Llano “La Spagna”— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Trattado de Glosas, Libro II: Recercada Terçera Sobre el Canto Llano “La Spagna”— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Trattado de Glosas, Libro II: Recercada Sexta Sobre el Canto Llano “La Spagna”— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Trattado de Glosas, Libro II: Madrigal. “O felici occhi miei”— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Trattado de Glosas, Libro II: Recercada Primera Sobre “O felici ochi miei”— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Trattado de Glosas, Libro II: Recercada Segunda Sobre “O felici ochi miei”— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Trattado de Glosas, Libro II: Recercada Quarta para Violón Solo— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Trattado de Glosas, Libro II: Recercada Segunda Sobre “Doulce mémoire”— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Trattado de Glosas, Libro II: Recercada Terçera Sobre “Doulce mémoire”— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Trattado de Glosas, Libro II: Recercada Settima Sobre “La Romanesca”— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Trattado de Glosas, Libro II: Recercada Sesta Sobre “La Romanesca”— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Trattado de Glosas, Libro II: Recercada Segunda Sobre el Passamezzo Moderno— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Ortiz, Arcadelt: Trattado de glosas: Un Madrigal a 4 “O felici occhi miei” con 2 Recercadas…— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Ortiz: Trattado de glosas: Recercada quarta por Violon solo— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Ortiz, Sandrin: Trattado de glosas: Una Cancion francesa “Doulce memoire” con 2 Recercadas…— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Ortiz: Trattado de glosas: 3 Recercadas sobre tenores Italianos— Walter Gerwig
Performed by Walter Gerwig
Trattado de Glosas: Recercada Segunda (Arr. for Baroque Ensemble by Wolfgang Katschner)— Wolfgang Katschner
Performed by Wolfgang Katschner