The Spanish organ composer Antonio Cabezón (1510-1566) was blind. But the conciseness, logic, drive, and consistency of his splendid "Obras de música" bespeak an interior vision of each piece in totality that sets him apart from all contemporary keyboard composers.

The supposition that Antonio Cabezón derived at least partially from Jewish ancestry, because he was born at Castrillo de Matajudios (near Burgos), remains unproved. Before the age of 16 he lost his sight. He studied organ at Palencia Cathedral, probably with Garcia de Baeza, and in 1526 was appointed organist to Isabel of Portugal, who became Emperor Charles V's wife that year. About 1538 Cabezón married Luisa Núñez of Ávila, where they lived until 1560, after which the organist moved his household to Madrid.

In 1539 the Empress died, whereupon Cabezón alternated between service to her daughters and to...