De Profundis Vivanco:Missa Assumpsit Jesus

Sebastián de Vivanco was born in Ávila, probably in 1551. He became a choirboy at the cathedral, briefly a companion of Tomás Luis de Victoria to whom he was junior by some two years. They were under the tutelage of Bernardino de Ribera and his successor Juan Navarro. As a youth Vivanco progressed as a musician and studied for the priesthood. Victoria went to Rome and stayed there for two decades; Vivancos life is obscure until his appointment as maestro at Lleida (Lérida), a Catalan city in whose language and customs he was probably uncomfortable. He left after three years, dismissed, but with no discredit to his leaving. He returned to Old Castile, and became maestro de capilla at Segovia, then a decade later at his home city of Ávila. Briefly tempted to a post at Seville, he changed his mind and went home. There he stayed until he won the prestigious position of maestro at Salamanca Cathedral in 1602. The next year he was awarded a Masters degree at the university, and was appointed catedratico de prima (morning professor), succeeding Bernardo Clavijo del Castillo who entered royal service in Madrid. Vivanco had achieved the peak of his career. He was soon to find that rare thing in Spain, a printer-publisher of music: Artus Taberniel (Arthur Tavernier of Antwerp) had been established at Salamanca as the university printer. In 1607, 1608 and 1610, three great collections of Vivancos music saw the light of day.