Francis Salinas

Francisco de Salinas.

Organ of Salinas Old Cathedral of Salamanca

Monument to the Master Salinas in Salamanca

Francisco de Salinas (Burgos, 1513 - Salamanca, January 13, 1590) was a Spanish musician, organist and humanist.

Biography

He lost his sight at the age of 11. He studied humanities, singing and organ at the University of Salamanca.

He lived in Rome for 23 years. At the Court of Naples he became friends with his Toledo colleague Diego Ortiz, Master of the Chapel. He also became friends there with Orlando di Lasso and Tomás Luis de Victoria.

He returned to Spain in 1561. He served as organist to the Duke of Alba and obtained a chair at the University of Salamanca, where he met Fray Luis de León, also a professor at that institution. In 1571, together with the rector Diego de Castilla and Fray Luis de León, he was part of the jury of the literary joust for the victory of Lepanto and the birth of Prince Fernando. Fray Luis's admiration for this musician is recorded in the "Ode to Salinas", written in 1577.

He published «De Musica libri septem» in Salamanca, in 1577, in which he discusses and analyzes different musical temperaments, the most outstanding, the equal temperament, which centuries later would end up being imposed as the only temperament in use, although he alone used it it accepted for the instruments with frets, and it rejected it in those of keyboard.

Vicente Espinel said of this maestro that he was «the most learned man in speculative music that antiquity has known». Nothing is known of his music.