The Circulation of Iberian Polyphonic Music in the Early Decades of the 16th Century: Two Case Studies

In the late 15th century and the early decades of the 16th century, opportunities for musical exchange between Portugal and Spain were multifarious. Several Spanish musicians, like, for instance, the three Baena brothers, Gonzalo, Francisco and Diego, made their careers in the Portuguese court, and a number of Portuguese musicians, like, for instance, Pero do Porto, worked in Castilian and Aragonese courtly and ecclesiastical institutions. Repertories of polyphonic music also travelled across the border. Our common understanding is that manuscripts made a one-way route from Spain to Portugal, and that Portuguese sources contain versions far removed from the Spanish originals, resulting from unique and often late transmissions. The studies offered in this paper will show a different and more complex picture: that in some cases, music arrived early, and that versions in Portuguese sources are sometimes closer to the original than those in most of the surviving Spanish manuscripts.