Music Theory and Aural Training at the Royal Chapel of Madrid (1750-1830)

Research on music teaching methods of 18th-century Naples has rarely focused on the developments which took place on the Iberian Peninsula. Not only classic sources from Italian authors can be found in different archives (for example in Madrid), but also local maestros included such similar training exercises in their treatises. Prior to the foundation of the Royal Conservatory in the 1830s the long tradition of the Music Chapel prevailed, which cultivated sacred music under the patronage of the Royal Family. Also the Singing School for Children, who eventually became active members of the Chapel after their puberty, enjoyed the royal patronage. The young singers were instructed in thorough-bass, singing, composition/theory among other less
known but meaningful disciplines like estilo italiano. Knowing the idiom of the Italian
music increased in importance for any Spanish musician throughout the course of the
eighteenth century. Due to political and historiographical issues traditional Spanish
musicology has so far tended to pay little attention to these matters. This project aims to gain a better comprehension of the teaching traditions in the Royal Singing
School, especially regarding the influence of Neapolitan methods on Spanish
musicians, teachers, students and theorists.