The Cancionero de Palacio (Madrid, Biblioteca Real, MS II–1335), or Cancionero Musical de Palacio (CMP), also known as Cancionero de Barbieri, is a Spanish manuscript of Renaissance music. The works in it were compiled during a time span of around 40 years, from the mid-1470s until the beginning of the 16th century, approximately coinciding with the reign of the Catholic Monarchs.
The manuscript The first ten folios are not numbered; the remaining folios are numbered from 1 to 304. Based on the index of works included in the beginning of the manuscript, it originally had 548 works. Many folios have been lost, reducing the number of works currently in the manuscript to 458.
The manuscript was written by 9 different people and, in all, received 11 successive additions: The first addition happened in the first years of the 16th century, most probably after 1505, as a result of the reorganization of the Court's musical chapel ordered by Ferdinand II of Aragon, one year after the death of Queen Isabella. This is the most numerous addition and its works are the most representative of the circumspect and expressive style characteristic of the reign of the Catholic Monarchs. The next four additions were supposedly made between 1505 and 1510. The next two were made around 1515. The 8th addition was possibly made in 1516, right after the death of Ferdinand II. The 9th happened between 1516 and 1517. The 10th addition, from folios 293 to 304, consisted of a tiny cancionero written in a different kind of paper which was incorporated to the body of the main manuscript. The works contained in it are not listed in the original opening index, and two of its works were already present in the Cancionero. It possibly originated in the chapel of Joanna of Castile, in Tordesillas. The last addition was made between 1519 and 1520, when the chapel of the Catholic Monarchs had already moved to other location.
By the end of the 19th century the manuscript was found in the Royal Library of the Royal Palace of Madrid by composer and musicologist Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, who transcribed and published it in 1890 with the title "Cancionero musical de los siglos XV y XVI" (Musical songbook of the 15th and 16th centuries).
Works The manuscript contains 458 works, the bulk of which are in Castilian, although a few works also appear in Latin, French, Catalan and Galician–Portuguese. It constitutes an anthology of the polyphonic music performed during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs.
The themes found in the songs are the most varied: romantic, religious, festive, chivalrous, satirical, pastoral, burlesque, political, historical, etc. accompanied by music of all styles: from popular folk songs to elaborate compositions. The musical form most important is the villancico, though other genres are also found as the romance and the canción. The majority of the works are for one voice with instrumental accompaniment but polyphonic works are also available for 2, 3 or 4 voices.
Below is a list of the composers present in the manuscript, with the number of works in parentheses:
Juan del Encina (63) Luis de Milán (23) Gabriel Mena (18) Pedro de Escobar (17) Francisco de la Torre (15) Juan Ponce (12) Alonso de Mondéjar (11) Francisco de Peñalosa (10) Alonso (10) Badajoz (8) Jacobus de Milarte (6) Pedro de Lagarto (4) Juan de Anchieta (4) Juan de Urrede (3) Enrique (3) Garcimuñoz (3) Pedro Juan Aldomar (3) Juan Alvárez de Almorox (3) Alonso de Córdoba (3) Alfonso de Troya (3) Juan de Triana (3–2) Juan Cornago (3–2) Móxica (2) Juan Pérez de Gijón (2) Antonio de Ribera (2) Bernaldino de Brihuega (2) Alonso de Toro (2) Antonio de Contreras (2) Diego Fernández (2) Juan de Sanabria (2) Fernand Pérez de Medina (2) Juan de Espinosa (2) Josquin des Prez (1) Alonso Pérez de Alba (1) Lope de Baena (1) Ajofrín (1) Diego de Fermoselle (1) J. Rodríguez Torote (1) Juan de Valera (1) Lope Martínez (1) Lucas Fernández (1) Lucas (1) Roma (1) Salcedo (1) Sant Juan (1) Sedano (1) Pedro Hernández de Tordesillas (1) Vilches (1) Juan de León (1) Giovanni Brocco (1) Giacomo Fogliano (1) Bartolomeo Trombocino (1)
Complete list of works Three different indexing systems are used in the table below: Nº = Index of works by title, in alphabetical order Bar. = Index used by Barbieri in his 1890 publication CMP = Index as found in the Cancionero. Because of the additions it received, there are duplicate works and many works not listed in the original index.