Pedro de Escobar

In 1499 he returned to his native Portugal, but in 1507 received an offer of employment, which he accepted, as the maestro de capilla (chapel master in the Castilian language) at the cathedral in Seville.

While there he had charge of the choirboys, having to take care of their room and board in addition to having to teach them to sing; he complained of low pay, and eventually resigned.

His career seems to have ended badly, however, for the final record of his life there is a mention in a document of 1535 that he was an alcoholic and living in squalor.

Two complete masses of Escobar have survived, including a Requiem setting (Missa pro defunctis), the earliest by a composer from the Iberian Peninsula.

His motet Clamabat autem mulier Cananea was particularly praised by his contemporaries, and served as the source for instrumental pieces by later composers, namely Alonso Mudarra.