Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (Born in Palestrina (Praeneste) or Rome, 1525, latest February 1, 1526 – February 2, 1594 in Rome) was an Italian composer of Renaissance music. He was the most famous 16th century representative of the Roman School of musical composition.

Music and reputation

Palestrina left hundreds of compositions, including 104 masses, 68 offertories, 250 motets, 45 hymns, psalms, 33 magnificats, litanies, 4 or 5 sets of lamentations etc., at least 140 madrigals and 9 organ ricercari (however, recent scholarship has classed these ricercari as of doubtful authorship; Palestrina probably wrote no purely instrumental music). His Missa sine nomine seems to have been particularly attractive to Johann Sebastian Bach, who studied and performed it while he was writing his own masterpiece, the Mass in B Minor. His compositions are typified as very clear, with voice parts well-balanced and beautifully harmonized. Among the works counted as his masterpieces is the Missa Papae Marcelli (Pope Marcellus Mass), which according to legend was composed to persuade the Council of Trent that a draconian ban on polyphonic treatment of text in sacred music was unnecessary. However, more recent scholarship shows that this mass was composed before the cardinals convened to discuss the ban (possibly as much as ten years before). It is probable, however, that Palestrina was quite conscious of the needs of intelligible text in conformity with the doctrine of the Counter-Reformation, and wrote his works towards this end from the 1560s until the end of his life.

Related Topics:
Masses - Offertories - Motets - Hymns - Psalms - Magnificats - Litanies - Lamentations - Madrigals - Johann Sebastian Bach - Mass in B Minor - Council of Trent - Polyphonic - Counter-Reformation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The "Palestrina Style"—the smooth style of 16th century polyphony, derived and codified by Johann Joseph Fux from a careful study of his works—is the style usually taught as "Renaissance polyphony" in college counterpoint classes, although in a modified form, as Fux made a number of stylistic errors which have been corrected by later authors (notably Jeppesen and Morris). As codified by Fux it follows the rules of what he defined as "species counterpoint." No composer of the 16th century was more consistent in following his own rules, and staying within the stylistic bounds he imposed on himself, than was Palestrina. Also, no composer of the 16th century has had such an edifice of myth and legend built around him. Much of the research on Palestrina was done in the 19th century by Giuseppe Baini, who published a monograph in 1828 which made Palestrina famous again, and reinforced the already existing legend that he was the "Savior of Church Music" during the reforms of the Council of Trent. The 19th century attitude of hero-worship is predominant in this monograph, however, and this has remained with the composer to some degree to the present day; Hans Pfitzner's opera Palestrina shows this attitude at its peak. Scholarship of the 20th and 21st centuries tends to retain the view that Palestrina was a strong and refined composer, representing a summit of technical perfection, but emphasizes that there were other composers working at the same time with equally individual voices and slightly different styles, even within the confines of smooth polyphony, such as Lassus and Victoria.

Related Topics:
Polyphony - Johann Joseph Fux - Counterpoint - 19th century - Giuseppe Baini - Council of Trent - Hans Pfitzner's - Lassus - Victoria

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Palestrina was immensely famous in his day, and his reputation, if anything, increased in the next century. Conservative music of the Roman School continued to be written in his style (known as the "prima prattica" in the 17th century), for instance by Gregorio Allegri. Palestrina's music continues to be performed and recorded, and to provide models for the study of counterpoint.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~