UC Santa Cruz

The Colegio de San Miguel de Belem was the home of the first female music conservatory in Mexico. Founded in 1683 as a recogimiento (a place where women withdrew from society), the school accepted criollas (girls of European heritage who had been born in the Americas). The girls were trained in skills deemed appropriate for their sex, social class, and ethnic group. Belem’s escoleta de música (school of music) employed an Italianate pedagogy with the primary purpose of enabling its alumnae to profess as nuns who offered their skills as musicians in lieu of a dowry paid to a convent.

This study discusses women’s education and social positions in colonial Mexico and considers the social impact and importance of Belem’s school of music. Archival documents and musical scores collected from the Archivo Histórico del Colegio de San Ignacio de Loyola, Vizcaínas, in Mexico City provide examples of women who trained at Belem and the music that they studied and performed. Interwoven with the story of Belem’s escoleta de música is the musically influential Jerusalem family. A biography of María Micaela Jerusalem illustrates one Belem alumna’s career path and enduring legacy.

Volume II presents music studied and performed at Belem. Complete editions of two pedagogical manuscripts—the student-copied “Manuscrito de Lecciones ‘J.M.J.’ del Colegio de Belem” and “Vezerro de Lecciones” by Francesco Feo, Leonardo Leo, and Ignacio Jerusalem—illustrate the Italian pedagogy employed in Belem’s escoleta de música and are presented in treble and bass clefs for use by today’s scholars, educators, and students. Editions of music intended for performance in Belem’s religious services include Ignacio Jerusalem’s “Non fecit taliter à dos voces y Bajo,” Guadalupe Ortuño’s “Gradual á la Santísima Virgen de Guadalupe á Duo, con acompañamiento de Órgano,” and Marcos Vega’s “Versos para el organo para tocarlos en visperas o maytines.”