Alonso Mudarra was born in 1510 and was one of the most important Spanish vihuelists of the Renaissance period. He was an innovative composer of instrumental music as well as songs, and was the composer of the earliest surviving music for the guitar.

There is not much known about his birthplace but he grew in Guadalajara and most probably received his musical education there. He went to Italy in 1529 with Charles V., in the company of the fourth duke of the Infantado, Íñigo López de Mendoza, marqués de Santillana. Returning to Spain, Mudarra became a priest, receiving the post of canon at the cathedral in Seville in 1546, where he remained for the rest of his life. While at t...