Life
Luis de Milán was a Spanish composer, vihuelist, and writer on music who spent most of his life in Valencia, where he was associated with the ducal court of Germaine de Foix until around 1538. In 1536 he published El Maestro, the first printed collection of music for the vihuela de mano, arranging its fantasias, pavanes, and songs in graded order from simple to virtuosic for the benefit of students. He was also among the earliest musicians to include verbal tempo indications in printed music. His final book, El cortesano (1561), modeled on Castiglione’s Il Cortegiano, offers a vivid picture of Valencian court life. Luis de Milán is thought to have taken minor religious orders before later becoming a parish rector.
Impact
As the first composer to publish music specifically for the vihuela, Luis de Milán established the printed foundations of the vihuela repertoire and shaped the conventions that later Spanish vihuelists such as Mudarra, Narváez, and Pisador would follow. His graded fantasias and villancicos combined dazzling improvisatory figuration with expressive text-setting, and his written tempo instructions were an early and influential innovation in Western musical notation.
Repertoire
Fantasía (from El Maestro), 1536
One of the forty fantasías in El Maestro, structured as contrasting imitative sections unified by mode and shared motifs.
Luys de Milán (c.1500–c.1561) – Tome I. Música de vihuela de mano [Hopkinson Smith] — Performed by Hopkinson Smith · Vihuela recital from El Maestro
Luis Milán – Fantasia 12 – Vihuela — Performed by Luthval
Pavana, 1536
One of the six pavanas in El Maestro, courtly dance pieces prized today for their adaptability to modern guitar.
Ariel Abramovich, vihuela de mano. Fantasía y pavana de Luis Milán. — Performed by Ariel Abramovich
PAVANAS (I), (V) y (VI) – Luys de Milán (a.1500 – d.1561) — Performed by Belarmo