José Sierra Pérez. Aldeanueva de San Bartolomé (Toledo), 27.VII.1951. Musicologist.

Studies

He completed his musical studies at the Royal Superior Conservatory of Music in Madrid, where he obtained the title of Higher Professor of Musicology. At the same institution, he completed all the studies in Solfège, Harmony, Counterpoint and Fugue, Composition, and Orchestral Conducting. He holds a Doctorate from the University of Alcalá de Henares, where he defended his thesis titled The Scenic Music of Antonio Soler in the Context of the Monastery of El Escorial, receiving the “Extraordinary Doctorate Award.”

He studied and worked for several years at El Escorial with the foremost expert on Spanish Renaissance music and the leading editor and scholar of Antonio Soler’s work, Samuel Rubio, who is also a great authority on the musical collections of the Monastery of El Escorial. Together, they co-published the Catalogue of the Music Archive of San Lorenzo el Real de El Escorial (II), an experience that connected him with the richness of the archive and the knowledge of the man who knew it best.

In addition to his strictly musical studies, he pursued all the courses required for an ecclesiastical career (Philosophy and Theology) at the Monastery of El Escorial and completed a two-year Master’s in Archival Science at the Complutense University of Madrid. His academic work has primarily been based in Madrid: Professor of Music History at the Royal Superior Conservatory of Music in Madrid (1985-1986), Assistant Professor (by competition) of Rhythmic and Paleography (1986-1988), Special Professor of Rhythmic and Paleography at the Royal Superior Conservatory of Music in Madrid (1989-1990), and Professor of Rhythmic and Paleography at the Royal Superior Conservatory of Music in Madrid (1990-2005).

He served as General Secretary of the Spanish Society of Musicology (1984-1985) and as Vice President of the Spanish Society of Musicology from 2003 to 2006.

He regularly participates as both a contributor and organizer in Spanish Musicology Congresses, particularly those organized by the Spanish Society of Musicology.

Works

His musicological work, in addition to his specialized research, is particularly focused on music at the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial, a subject on which he has published numerous studies. Since 1997, he has directed the Collection of the Chapel Masters of the Monastery of San Lorenzo el Real de El Escorial, which now includes twelve published books and three CDs, published with the support of the Community of Madrid, under the Edes Publishing House of the Monastery of El Escorial, and sponsored by the Escurialense Institute of Historical and Artistic Research. The primary aim of this collection is to demonstrate the aesthetic, religious, and cultural value of the music at the aforementioned Jerónimos Monastery, where three traditions converge: monastic, university, and courtly. These institutions produced a diverse and abundant body of music between the 16th and 18th centuries.

He has been a professor in all the courses funded by the Carolina Foundation for Latin American musicology students and has been invited by prominent musicological institutions in Mexico, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

Books

Catalogue of the Music Archive of San Lorenzo El Real de El Escorial (II), Cuenca, 1982; Antonio Soler (1729-1783). Scenic Music, Madrid, 1983; Antonio Soler (1729-1783). Music for Organ, Madrid, 1997; P. Antonio Soler (1729-1783). I. Sacred Music, Madrid, 1997; Fr. Martín de Villanueva (+1605). Complete Works, Madrid, 1997; Music for Philip II, King of Spain (Homage on the Fourth Centenary of His Death), Madrid, 1998; P. Antonio Soler (1729-1783). II Sacred Music, Madrid, 1998; P. Juan Durango (1632-1696). I Sacred Music, Madrid, 1998; Scenic Music of A. Soler for Works by Calderón, IV-I, Madrid, 2000; Scenic Music of A. Soler, IV-II, 2000; Music for Organ (17th Century), I-1: Fr. Cristóbal de San Jerónimo, P. Pedro de Tafalla, P. Diego de Torrijos, Madrid, 2001; Music for Organ (17th Century), I-2: Anonymous, Madrid, 2001; Life and Crisis of Father Antonio Soler (1729-1783) Documents (Ed.), Madrid, 2004; P. Antonio Soler (1729-1783). Super flumina Babylnis [Motet of Paris], Ed. Spanish Society of Musicology, 2008, 100 pages, ISBN 978-84-86878-09-2; Pedro de Escobar (c.1465 – c.1554). Mass for the Dead, in Aragonese Polyphony, XVII, Institution “Fernando el Católico” (C.S.I.C.), Ancient Music Section, Provincial Government of Zaragoza, 2009; Antonio de Cabezón (1510-1566). A Wonderful View of the Soul, Ed. Spanish Society of Musicology, 2010, 144 pages; Samuel Rubio (1912-2012). In Memoriam. Studies on Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spanish Society of Musicology, 2012; Customs or Particular Laws to Be Observed in the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial, Escurialense Editions (Edes), 2015; P. Antonio Soler (1729-1783). Three Unpublished Sonatas from His Fifth Work for Harpsichord, Cuadernos de Daroca, V, Institution Fernando el Católico, Provincial Government of Zaragoza, 2018; Polyphonic Introitus of the Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe, Spain: Codex E-GU1 (First Half of the 17th Century), Alpuerto Publishing, 2018.

In preparation:

Musical Songbook of El Escorial. 17th Century; Catalogue of Music of the Royal Library of El Escorial; The Theoretical Works of Johannes Tinctoris [Latin translation of the Twelve Treatises]; Musical Documents in the Archive of the Monastery of El Escorial.