Luis Milán

Luis Milán (born c. 1500, Valencia, Aragon [Spain]—died after 1561, Valencia, Spain) was a composer, writer, courtier, and player of the vihuela, the Spanish variety of the lute.

Milán lived in Valencia at the brilliant and cultivated court of the vicereine Germaine de Foix, which he described in a manual of courtly behaviour (1561). His most noted work is El Maestro (1536; “The Teacher”), a collection of vihuela pieces and solo songs with vihuela accompaniment. This was the first of a series of vihuela books that became one of Spain’s most distinguished contributions to 16th-century music. The pieces in Milán’s book are arranged in order of difficulty. The songs—Spanish and Portuguese villancicos and romances and Italian sonnets—are often of great beauty, and the instrumental writing is varied and resourceful. Milán is noted as the first composer to provide tempo indications in his music.