Francisco de Peñalosa (c. 1470 – April 1, 1528) was a Spanish composer of the middle Renaissance.
Peñalosa was one of the most famous Spanish composers of the generation before Cristóbal de Morales, and his compositions were highly regarded at the time.
Eleven secular compositions have survived, including an ensalada (a form of quodlibet) Por las sierras de Madrid for six voices.
[1] Peñalosa was evidently fond of contrapuntal puzzles and canons, as evidenced by the quodlibet, and by the Agnus Dei of his Missa Ave Maria peregrina, which combines a plainsong tune with a retrograde (backwards) version of a famous secular song by Hayne van Ghizeghem.
One of his motets (Sancta mater istud agas) was long assumed to be by Josquin des Prez, which indicates both the stylistic similarity of their music and the high quality of Peñalosa's.