Enseñanza de música en las catedrales

Abstract

This work tries to discover, in the Spanish cathedrals, the educational activity in musical culture for a chosen section of the childhood. In the first part of the study, we look back at the history of the character of educational master of the singing boys in his charge of director of all the musical activity within the cathedrals. In relation with these children, we study the origin of their name, the criteria of selection used for their entry in the choir, their social origin and the rules of the life in the boarding school, through the status of the cathedral. In the second part of the study, we draw the attention on the music educational curriculum, the timing of learning and the following singing interventions of the choirboys during the liturgical functions. We analyze the methods and strategies followed as far as the corporal, psychological and technical preparation is concerned that have an influence in the most adequate efficiency of their singing activity. The character that works and teaches these abilities directly to the child is the master of chapel of the cathedral area. The vague beginnings of the medieval step reached their peak, already in the Renaissance, in providing many boys with schooling in specialised centres, already known under the name of children schools.