Diego Pisador was a Spanish vihuelist and composer born around 1509 or 1510 in Salamanca, where he spent most of his life. The son of a notary connected to the Archbishop of Santiago’s household, he took minor religious orders in 1526 but pursued a secular career, eventually managing his family’s estate in Salamanca. In 1552 he published Libro de música de vihuela, a large collection dedicated to King Philip II of Spain containing 95 pieces, including intabulations of masses and songs by composers such as Josquin des Prez and Adrian Willaert alongside his own original works. Little else is documented about Diego Pisador’s life, and no records survive after 1557.

Diego Pisador’s Libro de música de vihuela is notable for its ambitious scope, including intabulations of six complete Josquin masses, an undertaking unmatched by any other vihuelist of the era. Though his original counterpoint was considered less refined than that of his contemporaries, his collection preserves a vast cross-section of Franco-Flemish and Spanish sacred and secular music adapted for vihuela, making it an invaluable historical resource for Renaissance instrumental practice.

Sources:

• https://vihuelagriffiths.com/vihuela/persons/56274/