Francisco de Peñalosa (c. 1470 - April 1, 1528) was the most highly regarded composer among the first generation to bring the Franco-Flemish polyphonic style to Spain and the Ibérian peninsula. He was associated with the royal court in Aragon, as well as the Cathedral of Seville; he also had an extended stay in Rome as one of the Pope's most desired musicians. A large number of his works survive in Spanish sources.

Peñalosa's style is based primarily on that of Josquin Des Préz, however one finds much tighter formal structures and highly polished gestures leading to an increased emotional expressivity. In this last sense, he represents an important beginning to the Spanish choral style to be exemplified a century later by Tomás Luis de Victoria. His compositions are entirely sacred in designation, though the wide range of emotionality lends many a character which would later be considered more properly secular in nature. ~ Todd McComb (6/94)