his conversion to Christianity and baptism (if so, they may be the earliest extant notated music in the European tradition by a Native American composer). Franco's style is related to that of other Spanish composers of the period, though more conservative, treating dissonance carefully, avoiding chromaticism and virtuosity; indeed tending towards austerity. His settings of the Magnificat were influenced by those by Cristóbal de Morales. The voice range of his works is limited, and may reflect the singing abilities of his choirs, which were not up to the musical standards of those in Europe. Franco is the earliest known composer in Guatemala; his two pieces in the archives of the Guatemala cathedral, a Lumen ad revelationem and a Benedicamus Domino, are the earliest surviving manuscripts from the area. Other composers preceded him in Mexico, but he was considered by his contemporaries to be the finest of the 16th century there. References and further reading "Franco, Hernando", "Guatemala", in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. Barwick, Steven. The Franco Codex of the Cathedral of Mexico City. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1965. Barwick, Steven. Two Mexico City Choirbooks of 1717. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1982. Lehnhoff, Dieter. Creación musical en Guatemala. Guatemala City: Editorial Galería Guatemala, 2005, 42–3. Reese, Gustave. Music in the Renaissance. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. Snow, Robert L. A New World Collection of Polyphony. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 1996. Tello, Aurelio. "Franco, Hernando". Diccionario de la Música Española e Hispanoamericana, 10 vols., ed. Emilio Casares Rodicio. Madrid: Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, 1999, 5/247-8. External links 1532 births 1585 deaths People from the Province of Badajoz Musicians from Extremadura Guatemalan composers Male composers Renaissance composers Male classical composers Spanish male musicians