Tomás Ochando: A Prolific and Unknown Composer from New Spain

Abstract

The purpose of this text is to explore the musical presence of Tomás Ochando (1723–c. 1799) in New Spain. This Spanish composer was one of the most popular creators in the New World; however, until a few years ago he had gone unnoticed by music history. Although many of his works are held in major collections in Mexico, the lack of a critical reading of contemporary catalogues and of correlating that reading with primary sources means the importance of Ochando’s presence in the musical universe of New Spain has been overlooked. The intention of this case study is to demonstrate not only the value of catalogues as bibliographic tools, but also to show that the absence of a critical reading correlated with first-hand sources has left major figures in the shadows.