The Discurso económico: a unique economic and musical proposal for the Monastery of El Escorial

Abstract

In this article, we present a curious anonymous document written in the mid-18th century, in which the author explains the situation of the different groups of children living in the monastery of El Escorial —apart from the 40 students of the Seminary established by Philip II— and proposes a substantial reduction in their numbers in order to cut costs and alleviate the monastery's battered economy in some way. However, exceptionally, he proposes increasing the group of choirboys, those responsible for singing the high soprano parts in the monastery choir. It is, therefore, a unique proposal of an economic and musical nature that also provides a series of interesting facts about the history and customs of the children of the monastery of El Escorial. Due to its remarkable historical interest and wealth of information, we have transcribed the document in its entirety, preceded by a brief introductory study analysing the text and its content, as well as the historical and social context of its main protagonists: the children who lived in the monastery of San Lorenzo during the stay of the Hieronymites (1563-1837).