PontaC, Diego de
PontaC, Diego de
PontaC, Diego de , Spanish composer; b. probably in Saragossa, 1603; d. Madrid (buried), Oct. 1, 1654. He began his musical training in Saragossa when he was 9, and later studied singing and counterpoint with Juan Pujol and Francisco Berge, and counterpoint with Pedro Rimonte. In 1620 he was made maestro de capilla at Saragossa’s Hospital Real. After training in composition from Nicolas Dupont in Madrid, he received a prebend as maestro de capilla in Salamanca, where he also became an examiner in singing at the Univ. Following service as chaplain in Madrid, he was made maestro de capilla at Granada’s Iglesia Mayor. He was maestro de capilla at Santiago de Compostela (1644–19) and at Saragossa’s Cathedral of La Seo (1649–50). Following a stay at Valencia Cathedral (1650–53), he became deputy maestro de capilla of Madrid’s royal chapel in 1654. Pontac compiled 2 extensive MSS of his music for publication in 1631, but none of his works appeared in print in his lifetime. Among his works were masses, mass antiphons, motets, and responsories.
—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire