(b Casdemiro, Orense, 8 Oct 1676; d Oviedo, 26 Sept 1764). Spanish essayist. A Benedictine monk, he settled in Oviedo in 1709, teaching theology at the university and later serving as abbot in the monastery of his order. His major works are two series of essays on a wide variety of subjects: Theatro critico universal (nine books, 1726–40) and Cartas eruditas (five books, 1742–60). In his effort to combat scholasticism, authoritarianism and superstition, and his insistence on reason and verification, he was the leading Spanish representative of the Enlightenment. He was sensitive and knowledgeable about music, though a traditionalist, following the ancients in viewing music as symbolic of the harmony of the universe and capable of powerful moral influence. In his celebrated ‘Música de los templos’ (Theatro, i, no.14) he deplored current Italian fashions in church music, viewing chromaticism, fast tempos, dance and opera styles and use of violins as inimical to the majestic repose ideal for worship. He blamed Durón for first introducing the style, but singled out Literes as a praiseworthy contemporary composer. This work, like many of this others, provoked a fierce polemic. Other musical essays include ‘Maravillas de la música’ (Cartas, i, no.44) and a musical section in ‘Resurrección de las artes’ (Theatro, iv, no.12), both comparing ancient and modern music; ‘El deleite de la música’ (Cartas, iv, no.1), singling out music as the noblest of the arts and the most conducive to virtue; and ‘El no sé qué’ (Theatro, vi, no.12), using musical illustrations to analyse qualities generally considered inexpressible.
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SubiráHME
M. Menéndez Pelayo: Historia de las ideas estéticas en España (Madrid, 1883–91, rev. 3/1962 by E. Sánchez Reyes)
R. Mitjana y Gordón: ‘La musique en Espagne’, EMDC, I/iv (1920), 1913–2351, esp. 2109, 2128
M.N. Hamilton: Music in Eighteenth Century Spain (Urbana, IL, 1937/R)
M. San Emeterio y Cobo: ‘La estética musical del P. Feijoo’, Ocho ensayos en torno a Feijoo (Santander, 1965), 109–26
I.L. McClelland: Benito Jerónimo Feijóo (New York, 1969)
A. Martín Moreno: El Padre Feijóo y las ideologías musicales del siglo XVIII en España (Orense, 1976)
N.D. Pennington: The Development of Baroque Guitar Music in Spain, including a Commentary on and Transcription of Santiago de Murcia’s ‘Passacalles y obras’ (1732) (diss., U. of Maryland, 1979)
ALMONTE HOWELL