1691—Mexico City, Mexico

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz writes lyrics for a villancico to be performed in Mexico City Cathedral, including the following lines: “How well the cathedral honors her shepherd! Hear the peal of the bells, tan tan talan, tan tan! Listen to the clarion, tin tin tilin, tin tin! Better still, the sound of the trumpet, the sackbut [sacanbuche], the cornett, the organ, and the bassoon. Lord, what din they all make, so loud the violin can’t even tune!…To lend added sparkle to Peter’s sacred day, one instrument joins another in sweetest harmony: the shawm accompanying the violin. Tin tilin tin tin! Now the trumpet loudly blares, now the cornett trills, now the sackbut joins the fray of contending lines. Tan talan tan tan! (Stevenson, Sor Juana Inés). Instrumentation for the consort that accompanies the refrain and each stanza of the coplas is mentioned by Sor Juana in the following order: “clarín, trompeta, sacabuche, corneta, órgano, bajón, violín, chirimía, marina trompa, cítara, violón, vihuela, rabelillo, bandurría, arpa” (Stevenson, Sor Juana Inés; Stevenson, Christmas Music from Baroque Mexico 6).