Manuel José de Quiros

Guatemalan Composer

Manuel Jose de Quiros died in 1765 in Guatemala. He was a Guatemalan composer, teacher, and collector. On March 7, 1738 he was appointed to be the “Maestro de Capilla” of Guatemala City Cathedral. This is where he remained serving until his death. His compositions can be found at the Archivo Historico Arquidiocesano ‘Francisco de Paula Garcia Pelaez’, Guatemala City in Guatemala. Quiros taught schooling as a teacher mainly to his nephews. 

Quiros explored much of the European areas in his days especially in Italy. Italy is where he met well-known artists and composers such as, Galuppi, Leo, Pergolesi, Porpora, and Vinci. Furthermore, he also met Spanish composers as well such as, Sebastian Duron, Jose Nebra, Jose de Torres, and Martinez Bravo. His brother Francisco de Quiros was also a Guatemalan composer and his work can be found near Manuel Jose de Quiros at the Archivo Historico Arquidiocesano.


His music was of the genre known as Spanish Villancicos. These exemplified his love of all the many cultural accrotrements of his surroundings. His work is easily recognized as having a musical accompaniment alongside an arrangment of 2 to 7 vocals.

Discography of Work:

1. Cándidos cisnes, solo voice, continuo
2. Oigan una xacarilla, solo voice, continuo
3. Una escuela de muchachos, 4 voices, horns, violins and continuo
4. Venid, venid a las aras de Dios y de Juan, solo voice, continuo
5. Yo la tengo de cantar, solo voice, continuo
6. Cantad, gilguerillos, 2 treble voices, continuo
7. Clarines suaves, 2 treble voices, continuo
8. Jesús, Jesús, y lo que subes (1743), 2 treble voices, continuo
9. Hoy que en las sacras aras, 2 voices, continuo
10. Oh admirable sacramento, 2 voices, continuo
11. Vagelillo que al viento, 2 voices, 2 violins, continuo
12. Ay niña bella, 2 voices, continuo
13. Joseph Antonio, tus dos nombres, 2 voices, continuo
14. Oigan los triunfos de Domingo Santo, 2 voices, continuo
15. Qué bien, chorus, continuo
16. Ay Jesús, chorus, continuo
17. A el pan de los cielos den adoraciones, chorus, continuo
18. Lucid fragante rosa, chorus, continuo (1741)
19. Un hombre Dios, 4 voices, continuo
20. Luz a luz, y gracia a gracia
21. El baratillo (1758)

Bibliography: 

1. Wikipedia, 2012. Retrieved from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Jos%C3%A9_de_Quir%C3%B3s#Works

• Dieter Lehnhoff, Creación musical en Guatemala. Guatemala City: Editorial Galería Guatemala, 2005, pp. 69–85.[1]

• Alfred E. Lemmon, Music from Eighteenth-Century Guatemala. South Woodstock, Vermont: Plumsock Mesoamerican Studies, 1984.

• Robert M. Stevenson, "Guatemala Cathedral to 1803." Inter-American Music Review II/2 (Spring-Summer 1980):27-72.

  2.  Oxford Music Online, 2012. Retrieved from:

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.lib.umb.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/41253?q=+Manuel+Jos%C3%A9+de+Quiros+&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit

• R. Stevenson: Renaissance and Baroque Musical Sources in the Americas (Washington DC, 1970)
• R. Stevenson: ‘Guatemala Cathedral to 1803’, Inter-American Music Review, ii/2 (1979–80), 27–72
• A.E. Lemmon: ‘Manuel Joseph Quiros and Rafael Antonio Castellanos: maestri de capilla of Guatemala’,Mesoamerica, v (1984), 389–401 
• A.E. Lemmon: La música de Guatemala en el siglo XVIII (South Woodstock, VT, and Antigua, 1986)