Vicente Espinel is famed as a poet, novelist and guitarist as a singer song-writer. He was praised by authors such as Gaspar Sanz for having added the fifth course to the four-course guitar, and by implication one of the early protagonists of the strummed style of guitar accompaniment of the seventeenth century. Suárez de Figureroa mentions him among the great vihuelists of the period: “De viguela el Abad Malvenda, el licenciado Baltasar de Torres, Fuenllana, y Enrriquez, Vicente Espinel, Autor de las tocatas, y cantares de sala, Venavente, Palomares, Juan Blas, ...” a misture of musicians known today either as vihuelists or guitarists. It is interesting that Suárez saw them as all part of the same tradition or practice. It is perhaps on this account that Mijana refers to him as a vihuelist (mitjanaME)
Chronology
• 1550 born in Ronda 28.12.1550 - (navarrogonz)
• 1570-1572 student in Salamanca
• 1572-84 There is a lack of clear information, but he is likely to have spent the latter part of this period in Seville.
• 1581 Milan as a gentilhombre del Duque de Medina-Sidonia, D. Alonso Pérez de Guzmán.
• 1584-1599 returns to Ronda and stays based there with some travels
• 1586. In October, Espinel is described as “natural de Ronda de 34 años, ordenado de Evangelio… maestro de canto de órgano… con poca voz”. See Ayala 2006-1
• 1587 obtained a half benefice (medio beneficio) at the church of Sª María de Ronda
• 1587 Diversas Rimas was approved for publication in Madrid
• 1599 He moves to Madrid, Maestro de Capilla of the Biship of Plasencia
• 1601 Around this time he was associated with the Academia de Valladolid “con literatos llegados de Madrid por el traslado de la corte” (sanhuesa1998-1, 508)
• 1624 Died in Madrid 1624.02.04 (pratD gives this date; others say Jan 4.)