Joan Baptista

Joan Baptista Guzmán Martínez

Aldaia (València) , 1846
Montserrat , 18 de març de 1909

Composer, Performer i Teacher

Organist, Kapellmeister, pedagogue and composer

Born Manuel Guzmán, he held important positions as an organist in Salamanca and Covadonga before entering the Monastery of Montserrat as a monk. He was Kapellmeister in the cathedrals of Ávila, Valladolid and Valencia. He was a disciple of Josep Maria Úbeda. He focused his ecclesiastical career in the Compañía de Jesús, which he finally left. He was appointed director of the Escolania de Montserrat and laid the foundations of this institution, still persisting today. His musicological interests were focused on the output of Joan Baptista Comes. His output comprehends over three hundred works of religious music, including a Missa de difunts (1868) and a Miserere for two choirs, strings and piano (1878).