Fuenllana, Miguel de
- John Griffiths
Extract
(b Navalcarnero, nr Madrid; fl 1553–78). Spanish vihuelist and composer. He was blind from birth. The earliest evidence of him is the printing licence for Orphenica lyra (Seville, 1554/R1981; ed. C. Jacobs, Oxford, 1978), issued on 11 August 1553 by crown prince Philip, which affirms his presence at court in Valladolid. On 29 March 1554, now resident in Seville, Fuenllana contracted with Martín de Montesdoca to print 1000 copies of Orphenica lyra. The edition was completed on 2 October, though Wagner has shown the surviving copies to represent two variants of the same impression. In 1555, Fuenllana is described as a citizen of Seville in a legal action initiated to suppress a fraudulent edition of the book. According to Bermudo (Declaración, 1555), Fuenllana was in the employ of the Marquesa de Tarifa at this time, but he would have left her service by ...
