The only word in English sufficient to convey the magnitude of Robert Stevenson's contribution to the study of Spanish music history is legacy. The treasure trove of Hispanic music he has revealed to the world is his bequest to the present as well as future generations of musicologists and music lovers. In a conversation with Alejandro Planchart several years ago, l remember his referring to Dr. Stevenson as one of the "great" musicologists. Certainly he belongs in the same category as Curt Sachs and Edward Lowinsky, but unlike them, he is a homegrown, thoroughly American music scientist, one who pioneered the search into the rich musical heritage of our own hemisphere. 
Nonetheless, l recall the great man himself once saying that in his early career he delved into the music of the Spanish Renaissance polyphonists precisely because they alone among Hispanic composers enjoyed the respect of the Germanocentric musicological establishment. That research provided his reputation with a solid foundation as he probed into regions his tradition-bound colleagues were indifferent to explore. 
Cristobal de Morales was one of the few canonic composers of lberian background, and it was here that Stevenson made an early mark in a JAMS article of 1953 celebrating the composer's fourth centenary. This was followed the next year by a study of Renaissance music in Seville Cathedral. His 1960 monograph on the writings of the theorist Juan Bermudo was also seminal. Of course, his opera magna in this field are the two great volumes on the Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Music in the Age of Columbus, first published in 1960, and Spanish Cathedral Music in the Golden Age, published by the University of California Press the following year. The latter volume expanded greatly on his earlier Morales research and presented to English speakers the most up-to-date and detailed accounts of the three greatest polyphonists of the siglo de oro: Morales, Guerrero, and Victoria. This work has passed the test of time, and Spanish Cathedral Music in the Golden Age recently appeared in a revised edition in Spanish translation published by Alianza Editorial.
The task of revision was nothing short of Herculean. Many were the scholars and copious was the research stimulated by the first edition of his book, and now the monster he helped create came back to haunt him as he struggled to incorporate mountains of new data into the framework of his earlier book. In his preface to the new edition, Ismael Fernandez de la Cuesta states that the additions and emendations amounted to some 200 folios of printed text. Most of the additions were concentrated in the second part of Chapter Two, now devoted to Spanish chapel masters in the latter half of the 16th century other than the triumvirate that still comprises the main substance of the volume. Despite the immense value of this revision, had Stevenson rested on the seventh day of his labors back in 1961, his place in the annals of music historiography would have been assured. Fortunately for us, he did not rest. 
To be sure, his research into the music of Renaissance Spain has not been confined to composers of vocal music. He has also uncovered valuable information about the exquisite repertoire of the vihuela, particularly the careers and works of Alonso de Mudarra and Miguel de Fuenllana. The later guitar composer Santiago de Murcia has also received his thoughtful attention in articles in Heterofonía and Inter-American Music Review.
His writings on Murcia remind us that he has never limited himself to the Spanish Renaissance. His numerous contributions to important reference works, such as the New Catholic Encyclopedia, Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, and the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, shed light on every period. In addition to entries on such major Renaissance figures as Diego Ortiz, Juan Navarro, Francisco de Penalosa, Diego Pisador, Tomas de Santa Maria as well as Morales, Guerrero, and Victoria, we find articles on Mateo Perez de Albeniz, Ramon Carnicer, Jose lnzenga, and Manuel de Falla.
In addition to research on specific composers, he has added greatly to our knowledge of topics as diverse as the tiento, concerts in Spain in the 17th century, the history of musical life in Madrid, and lberian bibliographic resources. Spanish contributions to music theory have been a special focus, particularly the writings of Juan Gil de Zamora and Bartolomé Ramos de Pareja, in addition to those of Juan Bermudo already mentioned. In 1992, Inter-American Music Review featured his study of Martin de Montesdoca, the first Spanish publisher of sacred polyphony. At the other end of the historical continuum, Musical Quarterly published his 1981 article on Spanish music of our own time.
He has also expanded our understanding of the influence and activities of famous foreign musicians in Spain. His examination of Josquin's Iberian impact, prepared for the International Josquin Festival Conference and published in the proceedings and separately in 1977 by Oxford, shed needed light on the strong Franco-Netherlandish influence on Spanish polyphonists. "Haydn's Iberian World Connections" was the intriguing title of a 1982 article in Inter-American Music Review. In addition to fleshing out the celebrated Cadiz commission of Haydn's Seven Last Words, he provided a masterful description of the immense popularity Haydn's music enjoyed in Spain and Portugal during the latter half of the 18th century. As is so often the case in his scholarship, the account abounds with substantial quotations from primary sources that were obviously tracked down at considerable expense of time and effort. Having served as an editorial associate of the American Liszt Society, he has enhanced our knowledge of the Hungarian pianist's concert exploits on the east coast of Spain, in Barcelona, and in Madrid, in articles that appeared between 1978 and 1986 not only in the Journal of the American Liszt Society but also in the Musical Quarterly and Inter-American Music Review. 
In addition to monographs, articles, and encyclopedia entries, liner and program notes, Stevenson has made an enduring contribution as the editor of Inter-American Music Review, his own journal devoted to the music of lberia and all of the Americas. Not only has he thus provided an organ for the publication of important new research by an international array of respected scholars, but he has also contributed a wealth of his own work. Noteworthy among his articles, reviews, and bibliographies are those devoted to such figures as Victoria, Guerrero, Soler, and to the Spanish musicologists Samuel Rubio and Jose Lopez-Calo. His periodic surveys of recent dissertations on lberian music are a particularly significant contribution. Inter-American Music Review has also featured an abundance of actual music, facsimile reproductions, and modern editions of works by Ramos de Pareja, Cornago, Encina, Escribano, and even Felipe Pedrell.
No one, not even Robert Stevenson, can do everything. Stevenson's legacy certainly includes the research of his students and those who have been inspired by his example and benefited from his generous assistance. Many such scholars have continued and extended his investigations into all periods of this neglected Iberian musical heritage. The careers and creative endeavors of such important figures as Manuel Garcia, Isaac Albeniz, Santiago de Murcia, genres such as the Baroque villancico, and manuscript sources in Spanish cathedral archives at Toledo and elsewhere, have been carefully studied directly as result of his guidance, inspiration, and assistance. In Spain itself, Samuel Rubio's 1969 critical study of Morales's polyphonic style continued Stevenson's work in that area, as did the study of Morales's colleagues in the papal choir by Jose María Llorens-Cisteró, who also uncovered new information on Juan Escribano. Jose Lopez-Calo revealed new information on the polychoral villancico in his 1989 study of the works of Miguel de Irizas. Through publication of their articles and reviews of their work, Stevenson's Inter-American Music Review has provided these lberian scholars with a means of reaching a wider audience in the English-speaking world.
In summary, Robert Stevenson's legacy stands like the fabled lighthouse of ancient Alexandria, and for a long time yet to come, every researcher who makes Spanish music a port of call will rely on the guiding light shed by his work.