VESPERS FOR CORPUS CHRISTI

PEDRO XIMÉMEZ ABRIL Y TIRADO

NOTES ON THE PREPARATION OF A MODERN URTEXT EDITION

BY PATRICIO CUETO

Written for the world premiere, performed on May 14th 2023 at St Cyprian’s Church, London,
by Philharmonica Britannica with El Parnaso Hyspano.

Pedro Ximénez Abrill y Tirado1 (hereafter referred to as PXAT) and known widely as “The Mozrt
of the Andes” was born as Pedro Tirado in the city of Arequipa, Peru, as natural son of a prominent
local family, possibly in 1784. In 1819 he married Juana Bernedo, who apparently also had musical
talent, since at least one of her songs survives in the collections of the Archives of the National
Library of Bolivia (ABNB3)2 . During the 1820s PXAT concentrated his attention on music education,
mainly at the Academia Lauretana and the Colegio Nacional de la Independencia Americana School
of Arequipa. In addition, he maintained a small orchestra in his house with weekly concerts (Arequipa
Libre, November 25, 1828). His music was also played more widely in the Andean area, from Lima to
Sucre, and copies also survive in Santiago de Chile (Archivo Catedral de Santiago, folders 129, 146
and 322). Around this time, the founding President of the newly independent state of Bolivia, Andrés
de Santa Cruz3, invited PXAT to serve as a Kapellmeister in Sucre, perhaps as a musical symbol of the
intended union between the two white cities and as the composer himself points out in a letter to El
Iris de la Paz (April 7, 1833). Santa Cruz himself had clear musical interests and had already
promoted a philharmonic academy in Lima in 1826 (Raygada, 1956: 29). In this academy - or
connected with it - in August 1831 a quartet of PXAT was performed, establishing an unexpected
musical bond between both men, beyond the connections between Santa Cruz and Arequipa for
personal and political reasons (Mercurio Peruano, August 2, 1831). It is probable that his excellence
in instrumental music and symphonic writing was key in his fame, as José Bernardo Alzedo proposes.
After he arrived in Sucre, he dedicated himself mainly to writing religious and salon music (pieces of
piano, song and guitar) and where he found an effective communion with another great musician, the
Spanish virtuoso Mariano Pablo Rosquellas4. Although he suffered from the dissolution of the
government of Santa Cruz, he decided to stay in Sucre where he served as a Kapellmeister until the
year of his death, in 1856.

Vespers for Corpus Christi

The Sources: The manuscript of Vespers for the Corpus Christi by PXAT is preserved in
the National Library and Archives of Bolivia ABNB, ant it is only the orchestra parts. The surviving
material of almost all his works are found in what appear to be fair copies of the parts, there is no
evidence of drafts or full scores.

The cover of the original manuscript is found (as is typical for his works) in the Violoncello part, and
says: "Psalms of Vespers for the Corpus Cristi, for 3s Voices, two Violins, two Flutes, two Clarinets,

1
José Manuel Izquierdo König, The Symphonies of Pedro Ximénez Abrill y Tirado: A first Approach, Bolivian
Archival and Bibliographic Studies Yearbook, nº 22, 153 - 184, Sucre, 2016 (Vol. I)
2
National Archive and Library of Bolivia
3
President of the Republic of Bolivia since 1829 and Supreme Protector of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation
from 1836 until his defeat and subsequent exile in 1839.
4
Impresario, Singer and composer from Madrid by birth and American by adoption, Mariano Pablo Rosquellas
(1784? -1859) is a fundamental figure in the development of musical life in Buenos Aires: from his arrival in the
city, in 1823, until his departure, in 1833 (when he emigrated to Bolivia, the country where he died), he
premiered a large part of the Rossini repertoire, as well as Mozart operas and other authors. Although he was
mainly known as an Impressario, he was also a prolific composer. Among his most important works were two
concertos for violin and orchestra, the opera “El Califa de Bagdad”, sonatas, overtures and compositions in
several genres and also "La Batalla de Ayacucho" (Symphony with double orchestra), dated January 1832.
two Horns, Viola, Dulcian, Double Bass, Organ, and Cello”. It is still uncertain whether Pedro
Ximénez composed this group of psalms as a work to be successively performed during a single
service of Vespers, or whethr they were simply grouped together in a later transcript. Although the use
of several Psalms during a single Vespers service would be usual in their time, the presence of a
doxology (Gloria Patri) at the end of each psalm is of particular note, because this was not a practice
in European works.

The collection of copies of works of other European composers found in the private collection of
PXAT includes a large number of symphonies, quartets and various works of the instrumental
genre, both symphonic and chamber music. However, very few copies of sacred works appear, only
two Masses by Franz Lamotte (1751 - 1780) "The Creation" (Die Schöpfung) by Joseph Haydn and
”Seven last words from the cross” (Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze), these last
two being the string quartet reductions made by Wranitzky.

It is very unlikely that oratorios or vespers of other composers contemporary or prior to the period of
PXAT were known in the Americas. It was not until the 1880s that editions of the masses of Mozart,
Haydn or Schubert were popularized, and works like Mozart's "Great Mass in C minor" would have to
wait until well into the 20th century to be known. So it is highly unlikely that PXAT knew the sacred
music of Mozart, but rather that his sacred compositional style was based on the symphonic style of
the First School of Vienna, which came to him through Boccherini, who was the most prominent
composer in Spain and its viceroyalties in the immediate period prior to PXAT’s birth, as well as
through the American vocal tradition received from the chapel masters who preceded him and who
cultivated a late Baroque style, as for example shown in the works of José de Orejón y
Aparicio (1706? - 1765) who composed most of his music in Neapolitan baroque style.

Although the manuscripts are clearly written, it is obvious that there is a large amount of information
necessary for interpretation. It is known that PXAT played the cello and probably would have directed
his concerts and masses from the cello stand5. The absence and frequent incongruities in the phrasing
and dynamics support the theory that PXAT would have written his works directly in the parts, and
since he did not have a general score, it would be easy for many indications to be omitted. Another
probable reason for the absence of articulations and dynamics is that by having a stable orchestra the
instrumentalists would be accustomed to the style and form of composition and execution of the
works of PXAT6.

The task of preparing an urtext edition, but for modern practice, is justified in the interpretative needs
of a standard ensemble with modern instruments. Although during the 18th century the formation of
the string section was standardized, double basses with modern tuning would not have been in general
used until the middle of the 19th century. However, such use would have been adapted in America
rather later than this, probably due to the difficulties in the importing of musical instruments,
especially those of large size such as the Double Bass. In the “Vísperas para el Corpus Christie” the
part of the Double Basses appears noted as such (Contra Bajo) but descend below E1 suggesting that
were able to use a fifths tuning system C1, G1, D2, A2 or violone (that would have been common in
the Arequipa’s Cathedral until the mid XIX century) and could descend to a G0. The rest of the string
parts do not present any problem.

As for the wind parts, the original instrumentation requires two flutes, two clarinets (without further
specification, although the parts are in C), two horns and dulcimer or serpent. No information on the

5
In practically all the works of PXAT the cover that describes the content of the folios is on the first page of the
cello part.
6
Many of the manuscripts of Haydn's symphonies and operas lack dynamics and articulations. During the 30
years in which Haydn was in the service of the Esterházy family he produced a huge volume of work that could
sometimes include one or two operas per week and the same number of symphonies. The lack of time to
produce minutely detailed parts was compensated by having a stable ensemble that knew the master's wishes
well.
instruments used by the Pedro Ximénez orchestra has come to our time, but we can assume that, like
any other composer, it has composed for the instruments available to them and in the degree of
difficulty that the available instrumentalists could handle. It is also probable that the orchestra of the
Cathedral of Chuquisaca has had a more or less stable body of string players and that the winds would
be required according to the need7 and probably would come from military bands. This would explain
the use of the Clarinet in C, which is normally used in military bands8. In these Vespers for Corpus
Christi both clarinet parts are written in an unusually high register for a modern clarinet (a usual
practice in military music), even in sections where a piano dynamic is specified (which is also evident
in the orchestration of the other parts). It is probable that Clarinets with the Denner system were
known in the Americas for the time of the composition of these Verpers”9, or its successive
evolutions. The flutes with the Theobald Böhm’s system were not invented until 1847 and
the Clarinets with the innovations of Hyacinthe Klosé (based on the Böhm system) until 1839. Both
instruments in their contemporary forms could not be known in the Americas on the probable date of
composition of these Vespers10, because their diffusion was only possible during the boom of the
Industrial Revolution that allowed the mass manufacture of musical instruments standardized in size
and tuning. This wouldn’t be the first case where composers in the late XVIII and early XIX centuries
provuded ambiguous notations regarding the use of oboes or clarinets. In the classical period it would
be common that the same instrumentalists will be able to play both the oboe and clarinet. Composers
such as Mozart and Haydn rarely used them both at the same time but rather in various combinations
with bassoons and horns to create different textures, especially in their operas.

The horn parts appear to have been written for natural horns in C, D, F and G, these do not present
major difficulties. Also, the part of the Dulcimer or Serpent is within the standard use of the bassoon
in the classical period, doubling the cellos and double basses with occasional solo parts, or doubling
the melody of the first violins.

There are three chorus and solo parts, soprano, alto, and tenor, rather than the more familiar four-part
choir, including bass. From the beginning of colonial times church music in the Americas was
practiced in the Spanish style that still survive in the Cathedral of Seville. In this style, the choir is
made up of children “Seises” usually in groups of six (therefore the name Seise). The children sing
the parts of soprano (Primera voz) and alto (Segunda voz), and a group of priests or seminarians sing
the tenor voice. in the case of PXAT this voice was always written in a middle register, not too high or
too low, so any male voice could sing it. Bigger Cathedrals like Lima or Cuzco would have used
large groups of Seises forming several choirs placed in different parts of the church to generate
different effects in polychoral pieces. Although some works of PXAT have more than three voices,
they only increase the number of high voices, always keeping only one tenor voice and never a bass
voice.

There are no explicit score indications as to which sections should be sung by choir and which by
soloists, but this is usually obvious from the way of the music is written, the solo sections include
more florid writing and are mostly accompanied by strings alone with occasional woodwind solos.

7
A similar situation pertained for Joseph Haydn during his years of service of the Esterházy Family, where he
had a small string orchestra in which he played the violin. During the seasons that the Esterházy Family spent
Vienna he could deploy a greater number of wind instruments that would be easily available, whole during the
Summer in Eisenstad he would use only oboes and horns.
8
In other works by Pedro Ximénez can be seeing the alternative use of Bajón or Serpent instead of the
Bassoon. Serpent was a very popular instrument in America, especially in military music.
9
Johann Christoph Denner (1655 - 1707) Builder of musical instruments, Denner had modified the old
Chalumeau ( Salmoé ) and added the system of keys, however it was later modifications of other
manufacturers that allowed to arrive at an instrument of two octaves of registration with eight holes for the
fingers and five keys, which would be the instrument for which Mozart wrote his concerto for clarinet in A
Major KV 622.
10
Jose Manuel Izquierdo König suggests that Vespers for Corpus Christi belong to the period when PXAT was
Master of Chapel Music in Sucre.
For the present urtext edition the following parameters have been considered:

* Articulations and dynamic indications are completed: Haydn wrote in his "Carta Applausus" of
1786 about the need to have articulations and indications of exact dynamics: "dan
es ist ein sehr grosser unterscheid zwischen piano und pianissimo, forte und fortiss:
zwischen crescendo und forcing und dergleichen. Ist auch zu mercken, daß wan in der Spart ein forte
oder piano nicht bey allen stimmen ausgesetzt, diesen mangel der Copist bey abschreibung ersetzen
soll " (Then, there is a great difference between piano and pianissimo, forte and fortissim: between
crescendo and decrescendo and so on, also that if a forte or a piano does not appear in each of the
parts it is the duty of the copyist to correct this error.)

Since the original parts of these Vespers contain inconsistent indications of dynamics, it has been
necessary to complete them for all other parts and based on the clear musical language of the late
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries that PXAT uses.

* The Text: the text comes from the Book of Psalms, specifically Psalms 69, 110, 115, 127, 147 and
109. There are and were disagreements regarding the pronunciation rules of Classical Latin, which
was often pronounced according to the norms of the local language, and there was confusion over the
accents, which were often arbitrary. These present a problem for this edition. A critical edition of this
work has tried to solve these problems by adjusting the verses in the accents corresponding to the
Latin prosody accepted in the Romance languages and simplifying ornamentations in the vocal parts,
seeking a clear statement of the texts of the Psalms.

* Tempo: Although is very unlikely that composers in the Americas at the beginning of the nineteenth
century had access to metronomes, it is probable that this work would be performed on the tempo
conventions of the classical period. To quote Sir Roger Norrington: "There is a very narrow margin of
flexibility in the tempo in the language of the Viennese classical school." The critical edition of this
work includes suggestions on time in all the psalms, that are based on comparative examples of
sacred music of the late eighteenth century, especially with the notations of the Psalms and Vespers of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

* Extension: The urtext edition of this work maintains the integrity of the manuscripts found in the
National Library and Archives of Bolivia ABNB. This carefully considered critical edition has aimed
to reach a respectful and concise version of this work, so that its substance and musical value can be
better appreciated by contemporary listener. This critical edition attempts to present a justifiable
duration analogous to similar sacred works of the first school in Vienna.

Patricio Cueto - Salzburg, March 2023

Patricio Cueto is a Peruvian singer and music arranger based in Salzburg Austria; He studied
singing with Prof. Mario Diaz in Salzburg and took part on the opera program the Mozarteum
University in Salzburg. He has specialized in romantic Italian repertoire with debuts in Verdi’s
Rigoletto, Germont in La Traviata, Amonasro in Aida and Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca, among others.
Patricio Cueto graduated from the London College of Music and is a vocal trainer at the Canta
Gesangsstudio in Salzburg. As an arranger, Patricio Cueto hasmade numerous orchestral
arrangements for ensembles such as Camerata Salzburg, Staatskapelle Berlin, Singapore Symphony
Orchestra, Győr Philharmonic Orchestra and soloists and conductors such as Renaud Capucon,
Rolando Villazón, Leneke Ruitgen, Lukas Hagen, Michael Volle, Magdalena Kozena, Lorenzo Viotti,
Andreas Ottensamer, Peter Somodari and others.

Copyright © Patricio Cueto 2023