Monday, October 26, 2009

Matheo Tollis de la Roca (1710-1780)

Tollis de la Roca was a harpsichordist and composer of Italian birth. He was mainly active in Mexico. After his wife died in 1757, he was appointed assistant maestro de capilla and deputy organist. He received a salary of 500 pesos. Another name that was given to him was 'master of polyphony'. Though many members of the chapel tried to kick him out, he was named chief organist after the death of Juan de Velasco in 1761.
In 1778 he was close to being dismissed for his decreased quality in compositions. He was to be replaced by Cayetano Echevarría. It was suspected that Tollis plagiarized parts of his compositions for female royalty.

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