Pedro de Cristo (c.1540 - 16/12/1618), a Portuguese composer. He was born in Coimbra (Portugal) between 1540 and 1550. He received his first lessons and training in Santa Cruz. He passed most of his adult life in Coimbra, in the Monastery of Santa Cruz, where he took his vows in 1571, even so he had stayed in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, in Lisbon, belonging to the same congregation of Augustinian.
De Cristo was since 1597 Mestre de Capela Master of chapel of the monastery. Pedro de Cristo was at the same time teacher of music, singer and player of some instruments, organ, harp and flute. In fact he was Mestre de Capela, Master of chapel of the monastery in Santa Cruz and had an equivalent position when he stayed in São Vicente de Fora, in Lisbon. Pedro de Cristo died in Coimbra, December the 16th 1618.
De Cristo composed for 3 to 8 voices, among them 60 Motets, Responsories, Psalms, 1 Mass, Hymns, Passions, Lamentations, Verses, Maria Antiphons and sacred vilancicos with Spanish text. Not all parts of his work but only some pieces have been published by Ernest Gonçalves de Pinho in Santa Cruz de Coimbra, Center of musical activity in the XVI and XVII Centuries. From the 220 works De Cristo composed - as far known now - only one dozen were published in current musical notation. Most of his work - five manuscripts survived – is in the Biblioteca Geral da Universidade de Coimbra, the library of the University of Coimbra, among them four manuscripts in composer’s own handwriting!, due to the fact he lived and worked in Coimbra. Vocal polyphony in Santa Cruz and in São Vicente de Fora, in Lisbon was performed by adult singers with voices divided in Falsetto, Contra alta, Tenor and Bassus.
De Cristos polyphonic contrapuntal writing is sober, moving away from big effects, but that enhances the clearness of the wording of the sacred texts. Most of his work is written for four voices. Although in his seven & eight voices settings De Cristo proves an inventive handling of the Venetian two-choir style.
I saw a lovely Magnificat setting à 8 vocibus. Nevertheless his deep religious background, the Christian and Humanist symbols melt together in the perfection of Portuguese polyphone settings of the Renaissance. Pedro de Cristo can be considered as a great Portuguese polyphone composer of the XVIth Century in sacred music.