Gutierre Fernández Hidalgo
Gutierre Fernández Hidalgo (c. 1553–1620) was tutored by Juan Navarro and worked in various churches in Spain, including as maestro de capilla. In 1583 he boarded a ship for the New World, and within a year found himself the maestro de capilla of the Cathedral of Santafé (today’s Bogotá). In a controversial appointment he also became rector of the Tridentine seminary of San Luís. With the help of the bishop, he then forced all the seminarians to sing every day for him at the Cathedral, providing for himself a “volunteer” choir. But it didn’t last: when all the students fled, he lost his job. He repeated this ploy in Quito, being both maestro de capilla of the cathedral and priest of a parish. His parishioners balked and again he lost his job. He then served the cathedrals of Lima, Cuzco in the Andes, and La Plata, then went back to Cuzco and finally in 1612 back to La Plata, where he remained for the rest of his life.
Vocal Works Performed by the San Francisco Bach Choir
