8d • General discussion
Fantasia No. 1 - Luys Milán
Fantasia 1 is written in the first mode (primer tono) and is placed by Milán at the very beginning of El Maestro (1536) as an exemplar of how this mode functions.
Milán instructs that it should be played with a somewhat hurried compás, emphasizing fluency and continuity rather than strict metric regularity. He urges the performer to observe carefully how the fantasia cadences, where it travels on the fingerboard and how it concludes.
Stylistically, the piece reflects Milán’s improvisatory origins. Its texture frequently suggests imitation, but rather than sustained contrapuntal lines, it is built from short melodic units that are restated at different pitch levels, creating the illusion of polyphony. The rhythm is flexible and multimetric, with phrases unfolding freely rather than conforming to modern bar structures. Understanding the fantasia as a form of sung narrative—Milán himself was a singer of romances—helps illuminate its expressive pacing.
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Fantasia No. 1 - Luys Milán
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