Family background and early years Tomás Luis de Victoria was born around 1548, most likely in
Ávila, the main residence of his family at the time. Victoria’s birthplace has been the subject of debate, and remains unclear since his baptismal record has never been found. The town of
Sanchidrián has been proposed as another possible birthplace, however it was only later that the Victorias would settle there, when Tomás’ eldest brother moved to Sanchidrián with his young family and widowed mother. In Tomás’ youth Sanchidrián was only the site of one of the family’s many rural landholdings. The origins of the Luis de Victoria family on the paternal side can be traced only as far back as Tomás’ grandfather, Hernán Luis Dávila, who makes his first documented appearance in Avila during the opening years of the sixteenth century. The name Victoria comes from Hernán’s wife, Leonor de Vitoria. Following Spanish practice of the time, their children combined their surnames, in the order of their preference, or chose between them. The original spelling Vitoria (from the
city of the same name) was to be used by all members of this family with the exception of Tomás himself, who adopted the Latinized “Victoria.” Hernán Luis Dávila was a prosperous cloth merchant who shrewdly invested his profits into building an expansive real estate portfolio throughout
Ávila province. Both his profession and property speculation, as well as the family’s increasing involvement in banking, are strongly suggestive of
converso origins, though there is no hard evidence to support this. The Victorias lived on Calle de los Caballeros, which was then lined with wool and silk shops, across from San Juan Bautista, their parish church, and just steps away from the main market square of the city. Their house still stands, and the tombs of Tomás’ parents and grandparents are at San Juan. Victoria was the seventh of nine children born to Francisco Luis de Vitoria and Francisca Suárez de la Concha. His mother's family were affluent wool merchants and bankers of Jewish origin, based in
Segovia. Francisca's great-grandfather, Jacob Galfón, briefly took his family to Portugal following the
expulsion of the Jews, but returned to Segovia with royal authorization late in 1492, converting to Christianity and taking the name Pedro Suárez de la Concha. The Suárez de la Concha family were elevated to the aristocracy, eventually acquiring the title Marqués de Lozoya. Francisco, Tomás’ father, had a lucrative business as a notary in Ávila, and also derived substantial income from rents on the family landholdings and from moneylending; however, he was prone to gambling, which resulted in a decline in the family fortune. As a result of this, upon Francisco’s death his eldest son Hernán sold the family home in Ávila and moved to their estate in Sanchidrián. This was only a temporary setback, and the Victorias would soon regain their footing, becoming more involved in banking, in association with their Suárez de la Concha cousins and others based in Castile’s financial capital of the time,
Medina del Campo. Significantly, during this time of financial insecurity Hernán would break with conventional practice and share his inheritance, ensuring that his siblings received educations and dowries. In Tomás’ case this made possible, along with the support of their uncle the priest Juan Luis de Vitoria, his early music training at Ávila’s cathedral school.
Education and career After his father's death in 1557, his uncle, Juan Luis, became Tomás' guardian. He was a choirboy in
Ávila Cathedral. Cathedral records state that his uncle, Juan Luis, presented Victoria's Liber Primus to the Church while reminding them that Victoria had been brought up in the Ávila Cathedral. Because he was such an accomplished organist, many believe that he began studying the keyboard at an early age from a teacher in Ávila. Victoria most likely began studying "the classics" at St. Giles's, a boys' school in Ávila. This school was praised by
St. Teresa of Avila and some highly regarded people of music. After receiving a grant from
Philip II in 1565, Victoria went to
Rome and became cantor at the
German College founded by
St. Ignatius Loyola. He may have studied with
Palestrina around this time, though the evidence is circumstantial; certainly he was influenced by the Italian's style. For some time, beginning in 1573, Victoria held two positions, one being at the German College and the other being at the
Pontifical Roman Seminary. He held the positions of chapelmaster and instructor of
plainsong. In 1571, he was hired at the German College as a teacher and began earning his first steady income. After Palestrina left the
Seminary, Victoria took over the position of maestro. Victoria was ordained a priest in 1574 by bishop
Thomas Goldwell. Before this he was made a
deacon, but did not serve long in that capacity as typically deacons became priests soon after. In 1575, Victoria was appointed Maestro di Capella at S. Apollinare. Church officials would often ask Victoria for his opinion on appointments to cathedral positions because of his fame and knowledge. He was faithful to his position as convent organist even after his professional debut as an organist. He did not stay in
Italy, however. In 1587 Philip II honoured Victoria's desire to return to his native Spain, naming him chaplain to his sister, the
Dowager Empress María, daughter of
Charles V, who had been living in retirement with her daughter
Princess Margarita at the
Monasterio de las Descalzas de St. Clara at Madrid from 1581. In 1591, Victoria became a godfather to his brother Juan Luis's daughter, Isabel de Victoria. Victoria worked for 24 years at Descalzas Reales, serving for 17 years as chaplain to the Empress until her death, and then as convent organist. Victoria was also being paid much more at the Descalzas Reales than he would have earned as a cathedral chapelmaster, receiving an annual income from absentee benefices from 1587 to 1611. When the Empress Maria died in 1603, she willed three chaplaincies in the convent, with one going to Victoria. According to Victoria, he never accepted any extra pay for being a chapelmaster, and became the organist rather than the chapelmaster. Such was the esteem in which he was held that his contract allowed him frequent travel away from the convent. He was able to visit Rome in 1593 for two years, attending Palestrina's funeral in 1594. He died in 1611 in the chaplain's residence and was buried at the convent, although his tomb has yet to be identified. ==Music==