Juan Cornago

Juan Cornago (Johannes Cornago) ( 1400 – after 1475) was a Spanish composer of the early Renaissance. He is the earliest Spanish composer with a large number of surviving works. After the death of Alfonso in 1466 he continued to serve as chief almoner in the chapel under Alfonso’s son, Fernando I of Naples. Cornago was the leading songwriter at the Aragonese court in Naples. Later in 1475 he transferred to the chapel of Fernando the Catholic in Spain, where he is last recorded singing in the court. His Spanish songs are some of the earliest polyphonic canciones written in Castilian. He sourced the poetry from famed Castilian poets, such as Marqués de Santillana, Juan de Mena, and Pedro de Torellas. Five of his nine surviving Spanish songs feature text written by known poets. Morte o merce, one of his Italian songs from his time in Fernando I’s court, is through-composed and representative of the humanist movement which emphasized words over music. This can be seen in its simple musical style and treatment of the text. Much of Cornago’s music was arranged and altered by other composers of the time. For instance, Johannes Ockeghem added two voices to his Qu’es mi vida preguntays. The