Hernando (Fernando) Franco (1532 - 28/11/1585) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance, who was mainly active in Guatemala and Mexico. Franco was born in Garrovillas, Spain in the region of Extremadura, near the Portuguese border a basic-region for many people who came to the Spanish New World in the 16th century. Franco was during seven years educated in music as a ten years old choir boy at Segovia cathedral by Jerónimo de Espinar (in Avilla present 1552-1558) who may also have been a teacher of Tomás Luis de Victoria. As a young man Hernando Franco met and befriended with Lázaro del Álamo (c.1530-1570) in Espinar, who was to precede him as maestro de capilla in Mexico City.
Most likely Franco went to New World around the 1550s, protected by Sedeño Arévalo, though there is no record of his activities until 1573 when he appears in the records as maestro de capilla of the cathedral of Santiago de Guatemala. Franco left his position in 1574 after a series of budget cuts that affected his salary, and due to a reduction of the choirboys and adults an cuts of theirs salaries. Hernando Franco went to Mexico-City.
The position of maestro de capilla of the new cathedral was vacant (since Juan de Vitoria 1570-1574 left) and Franco was appointed new chapel master in 1575, where his old friend Lázaro del Álamo (c.1530-1570) had been maestro de capilla from 1556 to 1570.
Franco was a well-respected and beloved figure, since he was granted a prebendary in 1581. Franco resigned in 1582 during a period of financial problems in Mexico-City Cathedral. But within two weeks the Bishop pleaded for the return of all musicians. So did Franco. Franco was highly regarded as Chapelmaster. Due to illness Franco could not fulfill his obligations as a teacher of the choirboys. Franco passed away in 1585. Franco was an eminent representative of the vocal arts of the Netherlandish polyphony a school or generations which has a decisive influence on Franco along with the Seville School where he studied. Of course his music can be characterized by a sober austerity, a introvert grandeur and drama with the mystic spirit which surrounds Franco’s music of the Dead.
He wrote about 40 motets which survived and 16 Magnificat-settings, preserved in the Archive of the Cathedral of Mexico City in the so called the Franco Codex, two Masses according to and found in sources in Gutalemala catedral archives, Cathedral of Guatemala (1570-1574) and in Mexico nr 10.
In Libros de polifonía de la Catedral Metropolitana de Mexico nr. 11, books with polyphonic music from the cathedral of México (±1600/1610) (herein 35 of the works are attributed to Franco) and a volume Mexico 2 (end 17th century) and a later volume Mexico 3 (MexCC3, copied 18th century), the Convento de la Encarnación Carmen, Códice del Convento del Carmen/The Carmen Codex, Puebla and in sources in the Newberry Choirbooks in the Library of Chicago (USA). Not all his creations have survived, but at this moment 80 pieces are still preserved.
OFFICIUM DEFUNCTORUM at the time of Franco: Music for the Dead and the Requiem Office we mean the Officium Defunctorum began to set polyphonically in the late fifteenth century. Iberian composers have adopted that practises we only mention Juan Vásquez (c.1510-1560) with his Agenda Defuctorum (1556) and Cristobal de Morales (c.1500-1553) with his Officium Defunctorum and the first Italian Giovanni Mateo Asola (c.1528-1609) with his Officium Defunctorum (1586). We do not forget the Sacrae Lectiones (1560) and Lectiones Sacrae (c.1580) for the Dead set by the Netherlandish Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594). It’s imposing music with real mysticism. Certain is Hernando Franco set on music a great part of Antiphons, Responds, Psalms and a Lecture out of the Officium Defunctorum ad Matutinum primo, secundo and tertio Nocturno. As far as this moment there is no direct evidence he wrote an Officium Defunctorum as a whole. Nevertheless Franco was the first composer in the Spanish New World/America who set polyphonically a great part of the Offices, the Inventory, Antiphons, Responds and Matins Lessons pro defunctis in a different new cultural context. He composed liturgical polyphony for the celebration of the Office of the Dead in the New World. But it is interestingly nearly all pieces (excluded the Respond “Ne recorderis” but see our later remarks below ) of the primo Nocturno have been placed in Book Mexico 11 according to the order of the chants and items in the Office of the Dead. But there is another copied volume (c. 1700) from Mexico, with music for the second and third Nocturnes of Matins of the Dead in a later volume Mexico 2 (17th century). In Libros de Polifonia Mexico 10 is found the “Miserere mei Deus” with nr. 16 and in Libros de Polifonia Mexico 11 is found “Levavi oculus meus” with nr. 21 used in the Ad Vesperas Officium Defunctorum. In the first Newberry Mexican choir-book is found “Qui Lazarum” and “miserere” They all were set in function of the Services. Be aware at that time of Franco’s polyphony - see the files and Chapter acts in Mexico Cathedral - was intended to be performed by a small numbers of singers, two or three per part. Franco's style is related to that of other Spanish composers out of that period, though more conservative, treating dissonance carefully, avoiding virtuosity; tending towards austerity. The voice range of his compositions is limited of course due to the singing abilities of the available choirs. The musical standards were not as high as those in Europe with al large number of well skilled choir-schools all over Europe.
We mention the Manuale sacramentorum secundum usum ecclesiae Mexicanae, 1560 includes a detailed information about the music for the Office of the Dead more specifically the Matins of the Dead. Seen the old Mexican choir-books some Responds change its positions in Mexico-city Services compared to that in the Liber Usualis, the Tridentine Office and the Castillan Liturgy (Seville/Toledo) used in the Old World.
But the two manuscripts Mexico City Cathedral Choirbook 3 and Puebla Cathedral 3 both copied and compiled in the later seventeenth century contains a major inside in the settings used in the New World for the Requiem and Matins of the Dead services.
Nevertheless it is worth and imposing – see below in this site - which compositions can be explicitly attributed to Hernando Franco. At this place we only here mention certain doubtful settings out of the Office of the Dead found in the mention sources in the New World which could be attributed to Franco so we will not do, because that’s to uncertain and not in the spirit of this Website: Ad te Domine levavi animam meam, Psalmus 24; Responde mihi, Lectio IV; Hei mihi Domine, Reponsorium V; Beatus qui intelligit, Psalmus 40; Libera me Domine, Responsorium IX; Jesu redemptor, conclusio.