The Cancionero de Palacio (also known as the Cancionero Musical de Palacio or the Cancionero de Barbieri) is a Spanish manuscript of Renaissance music. The works it contains were compiled over a period of approximately 40 years, from the mid-1470s to the beginning of the 16th century, roughly coinciding with the reign of the Catholic Monarchs.
This valuable collection was rediscovered in 1870 in the Royal Library of Madrid by the art historian Gregorio Cruzada Villaamil and the composer and musicologist. The manuscript comprises 458 pieces, mostly in Castilian Spanish, although it also includes a few in Latin, French, Aragonese, Basque, and Portuguese.
The works cover a wide range of themes: from love, religion, and festivities to chivalric, satirical, pastoral, humorous, political, and historical subjects. The Cancionero encompasses both simple, folk-style compositions and quite sophisticated works. The most important musical form is the villancico, although other genres such as romances and songs are also represented.
Most of the works are written for solo voice with instrumental accompaniment or for polyphonic compositions with two, three, and four voices. This collection represents an anthology of polyphonic music that existed during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, when the court was the center of musical activity and attracted a large number of musicians and composers, primarily Spaniards.