NEW YORK – Celebrating their twentieth year the vocal ensemble Stile Antico brought a program dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s birth to Miller Theatre’s Early Music Series a space that Miller has employed to host a number of Renaissance music performances Stile Antico appeared with only eleven singers instead of their usual complement of a dozen Baritone Gareth Thomas was ill and couldn’t perform several of the singers hid surreptitious coughs leading one to think that a bug had plagued the group en route The quality of the performance didn’t suffer: they still sang sublimely The centerpiece of Stile Antico’s latest recording A great deal of lore has grown up around it with a story that Palestrina wrote it in part to convince the more conservative members of the Council of Trent that they needn’t ban polyphony and revert exclusively to plainchant in services Composers could write in multiple parts and still clearly convey the text While it is unlikely that the Pope Marcellus Mass served as a test piece Palestrina took pains to write polyphony that never obscured the words imitated what had come to be called the stile antico style of declamation and use of dissonance Stile Antico’s performance of Missa Papae Marcelli on the recording is impressive a standout that is among the best in a crowded field and the tone and blend of the ensemble is particularly beautiful and it was an expansive display that was well-paced to express the drama inherent in various passages of the piece A number of motets by the composer were also included on the program Tu es Petrus and Exsultate Deo displayed fleet runs and ricocheting exchanges Sicut servus was performed with fetching delicacy and Nigra sum sed formosa was imbued with stately elegance Composers besides Palestrina who also served in Rome were on the program as well with a stark bass motive and a texture frequently divided into duets represented one of the most prominent elder statesmen of the early Renaissance Jacques Arcadelt’s Pater noster is an example of the florid writing and frequent use of extra-liturgical texts and tunes that contributed to the aforementioned controversy at the Council of Trent It is hard to lay blame at Arcadelt’s doorstep when hearing his music which is pleasing in its bustling rhythms and multihued chords Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Trahe me post te and Orlando de Lassus’s Musica dei donum represented works by esteemed contemporaries The former has an austere yet attractive manner and the latter Christus resurgens was by Gregorio Allegri The piece’s use of antiphony is particularly striking who succeeded Palestrina in the Papal Choir combined passages of relatively homophonic declamation with expressive chromaticism in his Christus factus est A Gift of Heaven by the English composer Cheryl Frances Hoad who used the preface to a publication by Palestrina Sumptuous polychords undergirded a solo tenor imparting what Frances Hoad describes as “buttering up a patron.”  Stile Antico at eleven could not finish the program with the impressive 12-voice motet Laudate Dominum a 12 with corruscating runs and an impressive final cadential section The group returned to offer something completely different for an encore “The Silver Swan,” a madrigal by the English composer Orlando Gibbons It provided a delicately lyrical close to an evening of exquisitely well-performed music Submission Guidelines « All Events The world-renowned vocal ensemble The Tallis Scholars sings music by Palestrina and de Lassus at Seattle’s iconic St PROGRAM: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Missa Ut re mi fa sol la Palestrina: Laudate pueri dominum (a 8) Orlande de Lassus: Media vita Palestrina: Tribulationes civitatum Lassus: Timor et tremor Palestrina: Tu es Petrus A master of counterpoint and prolific composer of more than 105 masses and 250 motets Palestrina is recognized as one of the most influential figures in all of music history His spiritual works represent the peak of Italian polyphony The Tallis Scholars celebrate Palestrina’s 500th birthday with a program that includes one of his lesser-known mass settings Missa Ut re mi fa sol la The Tallis Scholars have sung Palestrina’s music more than that of any other composer in the process winning a Gramophone Award for their now-classic Palestrina recording Northwest Public Broadcasting Watch Online Listen Online Download KTNW Schedule Download KWSU Schedule Public Inspection Files FCC Applications About Us Contact Information Jobs Public Documents Who We Are Coverage Area Support Us Pledge Today Leadership Circle Vehicle Donation Estate Planning Business Support & Community Sponsor Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University.PO Box 642530 | Pullman WA 99164 E-Mail: info@nwpb.org | Phone: 1-800-842-8991 | Fax: 1-509-335-3772 Editorial Policy | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use WFIU Public Radio WTIU Public Television we’re throwing a 500th birthday celebration for Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina We’re featuring music by [the birthday boy and by composers he admired as well as those who looked up to him We’ve invited a few of special guests: Cristóbal de Morales and Jacquet of Mantua have promised to attend and Morales is bringing a birthday song for the occasion The playlist also will include a world premiere recording of Palestrina’s music A big birthday bash like this only happens once every 500 years![Theme music fades at :59]MUSIC TRACKEl aire se serena: Music from the Courts and Cathedrals of 16th-Century SpainSeldom Sene Recorder QuartetBrilliant Classics 2016 | BC95304Tomàs Luis de VictoriaTr 6: Ascendens Christus in altum (4:50)We heard the motet “Ascendens Christus in altum,” by Palestrina’s colleague Tomàs Luis de Victoria performed by the recorder quintet Seldom Sene / Victoria admired Palestrina’s style and incorporated it into his own music.Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was born around 1525 and is one of the most significant composers of the 16th century Though Palestrina’s style is often associated with the stile antico or “old style,” of writing diatonic counterpoint that characterized Renaissance music altering them according to the genres he used We’re marking 500 years after the birth of this exalted composer The first piece on our party playlist is Palestrina’s mass the Missa Memor esto verbi tui for five voices The mass was published in his Eighth Book of Masses—five years after Palestrina died This was made possible by his son Iginio who worked with the publisher to bring these masses to print These publications are one of the few places where Palestrina wrote about his views on music [quote] “The utility and pleasure afforded by the art of music is a gift of heaven greater than all human teachings.” Let’s [open a gift of music now and] hear the Kyrie and Gloria from Palestrina’s Missa Memor esto verbi tui.MUSIC TRACKPalestrina Revealed: Masses and motets (World premiere recordings) With works by Byrd Cambridge; Graham RossHarmonia mundi 2025 / HMM905375 / B0DJWNY5GSPalestrina Tr 13: Missa Memor esto verbi tui a 5: I.Kyrie (2:43) (total time: 7:50)Tr Gloria (5:17)That was the Kyrie and Gloria from Palestrina’s Missa Memor esto verbi tui for five voices We’ll be hearing more from this album which we’re featuring later in the hour Next on our playlist are two madrigals that Palestrina wrote—one secular and one sacred “Io son ferito,” is for five voices and was well-known throughout Europe Orlando Lassus used this madrigal to write an imitation mass.Palestrina’s sacred madrigals are all composed for five voices The first book was published in Venice in 1581 and contains the piece we are about to hear “Vergine chiara e stabile in eterno.” This piece comes from Palestrina’s setting of Petrarch’s Vergine cycle We’ll hear La Compagnia del Madrigale singing “Io son ferito,” and the Hilliard Ensemble singing “Vergine chiara e stabile in eterno.”MUSIC TRACK Si breve è 'l tempo: Madrigals in the Low CountriesLa Compagnia del MadrigaleMUSIQUE EN WALLONIE 2024 / MEW2410PalestrinaTr 17: "Io son ferito" (1561) (3:18)MUSIC TRACK Palestrina: Canticum Canticorum – Spiritual MadrigalsHilliard EnsembleEMI/Virgin Classics 2003 / 724356223950PalestrinaTr "Vergine chiara e stabile in eterno" from Il primo libro de madrigali a cinque voci (1581) (3:15)We heard two madrigals by Palestrina The first was the secular madrigal “Io son ferito,” from Palestrina’s 1561 book of madrigals performed by the ensemble La Compagnia del Madrigale Following that was a sacred five-voice madrigal “Vergine chiara e stabile in eterno,” performed by The Hilliard Ensemble led by Paul Hilliard.[pause]You’re listening to Harmonia MUSIC TRACK Bálint Bakfark: Lute Music - CompleteDaniel Benko luteHungaroton 1997 / HCD31564-67Jacquet of Mantua; arr for lute) (6:35)(fades out at :59)Welcome back we’re celebrating Palestrina’s birthday milestone: the big five-oh-oh We’ve put together a playlist of music by Palestrina Next is one of Palestrina’s motets for three choirs Eight of these polychoral motets have survived “Ad te levavi oculos meos” for 12 voices sung by the Choir of Clare College Cambridge.MUSIC TRACKPalestrina Revealed: Masses and motets (World premiere recordings) with works by Byrd 10: Palestrina: Ad te levavi oculos meos a 12 (3:47)That was the world premiere recording of Palestrina’s triple-choir motet “Ad te levavi oculos meos” for 12 voices Graham Ross conducted.Spanish composer Cristóbal de Morales is one of our party guests Morales’ music influenced Palestrina so much that Palestrina modeled his first book of masses upon Morales’s second book of masses Palestrina’s publication even used the same woodcut as Morales’ with an image of the composer kneeling before the pope to present his masses in Palestrina’s version: the pope’s face and papal arms were updated the image of the music in Palestrina’s woodcut is actually Morales’ music!We’ll hear a piece written for Christmas Matins Here’s Ensemble Weser-Renaissance Bremen performing Morales’ four-voice motet “O magnum mysterium.”MUSIC TRACKCristóbal de Morales: O Magnum Mysterium - Christmas MotetsEnsemble Weser-Renaissance Bremen Manfred CordesCPO 2013 / 777820-2Cristóbal de MoralesTr 1: O magnum mysterium (3:08)We heard Ensemble Weser-Renaissance Bremen performing Cristóbal de Morales’ “O magnum mysterium.”Another composer who proved influential to Palestrina was Jacquet of Mantua where he became the music director of Mantua Cathedral [under the patronage of Ercole Cardinal Gonzaga “Aspice Domine,” was the basis of Palestrina’s parody mass This usage of the word “Parody” doesn’t mean “satire,” as it does in a more modern sense as some musical elements of the original motet were borrowed and incorporated into the mass Jacquet’s motet is found in over 40 sources Here’s one for lute played by Daniel Benko and arranged by the sixteenth-century Hungarian lutenist and composer Valentin Bakfark.MUSIC TRACK Bálint Bakfark: Lute Music - CompleteDaniel Benko for lute) (6:35)That was an arrangement of Jacquet de Mantua’s motet “Aspice Domine,” played on the lute by Daniel Benko.Another piece with ties to the city of Mantua is Palestrina’s Missa Sine nomine for six voices which was originally composed for the Gonzaga court Scholars debate the authenticity of this mass or even the correct name of the motet that it references and he referred to it as the Missa Sine nomine or “Mass without a name.” On the cover of his arrangement “Prenestino,” as Palestrina was also sometimes known Here’s Concerto Palatino performing the Sanctus and Benedictus from Bach’s arrangement of Palestrina’s mass MUSIC TRACK The Sound of Martin LutherConcerto Palatino / Hilliard EnsembleWarner Classics 2016 / 190295893705Palestrina 7: Missa sine nomine a 6: Sanctus (1:43)CD1 8: Missa sine nomine a 6: Benedictus (2:10)We heard the Sanctus and Benedictus from Palestrina’s Missa Sine nomine for six voices arranged by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Concerto Palatino.[pause] I’m Angela Mariani.We’ll continue our celebration of Palestrina’s 500th birthday with our featured recording includes many pieces by Palestrina that have never been recorded before and now we’re going to take a deeper dive Director Graham Ross includes music by other English composers: William Byrd [quote] “I was keen to place these works into context by including settings of the same texts by Palestrina’s English contemporaries… I think that these make for fascinating side-by-side comparisons of different European styles.” [end quote].Now let’s listen to the world premiere recording of Palestrina’s Magnificat secondi toni for five voices.MUSIC TRACKPalestrina Revealed: Masses and motets (World premiere recordings) with works by Byrd 1: Palestrina: Magnificat Secundi Toni a 5 (10:02)We heard the world premiere recording of the Magnificat secondi toni for five voices by Palestrina Cambridge under the direction of Graham Ross on their 2025 album Palestrina Revealed released on the harmonia mundi label.[Fade in theme music]Harmonia is a production of WFIU and part of the educational mission of Indiana University Support comes from Early Music America: a national organization that advocates and supports the historical performance of music of the past and the listeners whose lives are enriched by it Additional resources come from the William and Gayle Cook Music Library at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music We welcome your thoughts about any part of this program Contact us at harmonia early music dot org You can follow us on Facebook by searching for Harmonia Early Music.The writer for this edition of Harmonia is Jaime Carini.Thanks to our studio engineer Michael Paskash inviting you to join us again for the next edition of Harmonia.[Theme music concludes] We’re throwing a 500th birthday celebration for Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina We’re featuring music by the birthday boy A big birthday bash like this only happens once every 500 years PLAYLISTEl aire se serena: Music from the Courts and Cathedrals of 16th-Century SpainSeldom Sene Recorder QuartetBrilliant Classics 2016 | BC95304Tomàs Luis de VictoriaTr 6: Ascendens Christus in altum (4:50)Segment A:Palestrina Revealed: Masses and motets (World premiere recordings) With works by Byrd Gloria (5:17)Si breve è 'l tempo: Madrigals in the Low CountriesLa Compagnia del MadrigaleMUSIQUE EN WALLONIE 2024 / MEW2410PalestrinaTr 17: "Io son ferito" (1561) (3:18)Palestrina: Canticum Canticorum – Spiritual MadrigalsHilliard EnsembleEMI/Virgin Classics 2003 / 724356223950PalestrinaTr "Vergine chiara e stabile in eterno" from Il primo libro de madrigali a cinque voci (1581) (3:15):59 Midpoint Break Music Bed: Bálint Bakfark: Lute Music - CompleteDaniel Benko for lute) (excerpt of 6:35)Segment B:Palestrina Revealed: Masses and motets (World premiere recordings) with works by Byrd 10: Palestrina: Ad te levavi oculos meos a 12 (3:47)Cristóbal de Morales: O Magnum Mysterium - Christmas MotetsEnsemble Weser-Renaissance Bremen 1: O magnum mysterium (3:08)Bálint Bakfark: Lute Music - CompleteDaniel Benko for lute) (6:35)The Sound of Martin LutherConcerto Palatino / Hilliard EnsembleWarner Classics 2016 / 190295893705Palestrina 8: Missa sine nomine a 6: Benedictus (2:10)Featured Release:Palestrina Revealed: Masses and motets (World premiere recordings) with works by Byrd 1: Palestrina: Magnificat Secundi Toni a 5 (10:02) Harmonia is a weekly, nationally syndicated radio program hosted by Angela Mariani, and Harmonia Uncut is a podcast hosted by Wendy Gillespie, produced by WFIU Public Radio. Learn more » Indiana Public Media is the home of WFIU Public Radio WTIU Public Television, including your favorite programming from NPR and PBS. Learn More © 2025, The Trustees of Indiana University • Copyright Complaints Play the WILL AM news & talk livestream Play the WILL FM classical and more livestream This year marks the 500th birthday of composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Although we do not know his exact date of birth we can place it somewhere between February 3 We know this because a eulogy by a younger colleague stated Palestrina was 68 years old when he died on February 2 February 2025 marks the beginning of a year of celebrations in honor of the best-known composer of the Italian Renaissance Palestrina is so called because he was likely born in the town of Palestrina in the Sabine Hills north of Rome where he served as maestro di cappella at some of the oldest and most important churches in the city including a short stint at the Sistine Chapel (The married composer was dismissed in 1555 when the reigning Pope decreed that all papal musicians had to be celibate clerics though he continued to compose works for performance there.) Palestrina’s compositional output was substantial Palestrina is known for deftly assimilating the rich polyphonic style of the Franco-Flemish school and the new expectations for sacred music set forth by the Catholic church during the Counter-Reformation which emphasized greater clarity of text over dense polyphony Working in the heart of the Catholic church after the Council of Trent concluded in 1563 Palestrina was in an advantageous position to revitalize Roman sacred music aided by being at the right place at the right time a myth arose that Palestrina “saved” Catholic church music This legend caused Palestrina’s music and reputation to endure over the centuries while his predecessors and contemporaries largely fell into oblivion the image of Palestrina that proliferated was not necessarily the most representative of reality “His reputation rests ironically not on widespread knowledge of his music the vast bulk of which still remains unheard but primarily on two deeply rooted beliefs that he rescued polyphony from being banned by the Catholic church and that his music embodied the ideal for the stile antico [old style].” The mythologizing of Palestrina can be traced to a 1607 treatise by Agostino Agazzari which calls Palestrina the “hero of church polyphony.” Agazzari claims that Palestrina’s Pope Marcellus Mass single-handedly convinced church authorities that polyphonic music could still maintain textual clarity and appropriate reverence but the myth stuck and became further embellished over time theorists upheld a small subset of Palestrina’s music as the ideal example of 16th-century strict diatonic counterpoint which has been circulated as a pedagogical method for teaching generations of composers up to the present day “For most of the past 400 years Palestrina has enjoyed the status of a musical icon being regarded more as a great religious composer than as a mortal musician having to make his living in the market-place of Rome’s musical world.” In reality The society in which he lived provided few safety nets and he was an outsider among the Roman musical élite which favored foreign composers and clerics he was at the mercy of changing tastes depending on who the Pope was he sold wine from his family vineyard and balanced composing with helping manage his second wife’s fur business later in life A broader examination of Palestrina’s compositional output and historical context can reveal a more balanced understanding of his role in music history and peel back the myth that has distorted our view of him While he has long been pinned as a musical conservative who perfected one style the diversity within his compositions demonstrates he was more adventurous than our historically narrow view of his output has led us to believe Palestrina’s first book of four-voice motets (published in 1563) contains prime examples of the style for which he became renowned Melodic motion is well-balanced in all voice parts Motivic segments that are largely similar to one another gradually unfold to create an organically unified whole His next three books of motets (published between 1567 and 1575) mark a change of approach they are more richly sonorous and contain more diverse textures in response to the text where two or more choirs operate largely independently of one another Most begin with imitative opening sections for individual choirs followed by antiphonal dialogue between the choirs and increased homophony Largely neglected compared to his most famous works these polychoral motets are more innovative and look to coming trends of the 17th century Also underperformed are Palestrina’s secular madrigals and have sharper contrasts than his sacred motets they demonstrate the same clarity of texture that characterizes Palestrina’s music director of the illustrious vocal ensemble the Tallis Scholars “The conditioning which has consigned Palestrina’s madrigals to the scrap-heap and which has taught us that his polyphony was perfect while being without that human spark possessed by riskier composers such as Lassus has ignored the pieces which show him to have been as lively and up-to-date as any of his contemporaries.” Understandably given his role as a church musician liturgical mass settings comprise a large proportion of his output Many are “parody” or “imitation” masses Most of Palestrina’s imitation masses are based on works by other composers and Spanish composers reveals his absorption of these traditions into his style he wrote largely homophonic but texturally varied masses (such as the famous Pope Marcellus Mass) and antiphonal polychoral masses Perhaps this quincentenary will lead to further demystification of Palestrina and a greater appreciation of the entire scope of his output it gives us a chance to revisit this seminal figure’s soul-stirring music These programs are partially sponsored by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency College of Media St George’s BristolThe consummate vocal ensemble beautifully highlighted symbolic connections between the 16th-century Italian composer and soon-to-be 90 Arvo Pärt where the young Giovanni Pierluigi may have been a chorister and was certainly organist from the age of 19 Phillips has described Palestrina as the “most consummate of renaissance composers”: it may surely be said that the Tallis Scholars are the consummate vocal ensemble the 10 Scholars immediately brought a shining warmth to the St George’s auditorium the clarity of the polyphonic lines as notable as their impeccable diction only marginally shorter than the hundred plus others and exemplifying the infinite care with which Palestrina set the words of the Ordinary the Scholars’ use of dynamic and tonal colour alto and tenor – brought a serene calm to the Benedictus contrasting with the then full-bodied and joyous Hosanna before the heartfelt plea for peace of the Agnus Dei Their singing of Pärt had the same implicit authority His Da Pacem written in response to the terrorist bombings in Madrid in 2004 attuned the ear to his tintinnabuli style And presenting settings by both Palestrina and Pärt of the Nunc Dimittis highlighting their expressivity and the common commitment to the meaning of the text the notion of his having fun with the music seems unlikely but in the Scholars’ rendering of Which Was the Son of … a litany of names tracing the lineage of Jesus with syncopations and the occasional feel of gospel-singing a Pärt setting in his native Estonian added a final celebratory touch Boost to your brand by enhancing your customer base We believe in keeping the creative process enjoyable and that's why we bring cookies to meetings Title 1 Schools: $5 per person Non-Title 1 Schools: $7 per person Homeschool Groups/Individual Tickets: $8 per person Please note – For Title 1 & Non-Title 1 Schools: Teachers are FREE Email: [email protected] By clicking Subscribe you’re confirming that you agree with our Terms and Conditions Email: [email protected] © Copyright 2023 San Diego Magazine 1230 Columbia Street This website uses cookies to improve and promote our services. By continuing to use this website you are agreeing to our Cookie policy. Vancouver Chamber Choir (Diamond’s Edge photo) and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Cheldon Paterson’s uncategorizable music fuses his love for nature with his taste for obscure sound Compelling young artist has performed worldwide and won prizes at the National Chopin Piano Competition Genre-spanning international and local talents take to North Shore venues in BlueShore at CapU and Vancouver International Jazz Festival presentation Program includes an Emily Carr–inspired piece by Tawnie Olson a composition about a satellite falling out of orbit by Chris Sivak Vancouver director interweaves archival footage and mesmerizing music in tribute to late Punjabi-Black artist updated production adds depth and nuance to the iconic work Another 30 concerts will take place at Performance Works and the Revue Stage from June 20 to July 1 Tanzania’s Zawose Queens and Congo’s Les Mamans du Congo x Rrobin rub shoulders with Canadian names like Elisapie and Ocie Elliott at ʔəy̓alməxʷ Jericho Beach Park program draws on previously performed works by Bach Vetta Chamber Music’s artistic director is joined by talented colleagues for a season-closing program of Haydn Virtuosic singer and dancer takes the intoxicating sounds of early Afro-funk and soul in exciting new directions The choir’s long-time artistic director hopes the upcoming concert will open new ears to choral music’s powers to heal and create community Adult and children’s choirs perform hits by the Beatles and Broadway favourites from musicals like Mamma Mia Yasko Sato and Karen Chia-Ling Ho navigate the emotional toll of Vancouver Opera’s post–Second World War–set tragedy which features selections from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy’s Magic Horn) works from the 17th century and the present day mingle in this exploration of the musical riches of Venice Veteran singer Norma Winstone and drummer Joe LaBarbera join the trio to deliver exciting new perspectives on familiar tunes Offerings include Downtown Jazz concerts on June 21 and 22 Bentall Centre happy-hour shows from June 23 to 27 Tawnie Olson’s “Beloved of the Sky” and Andrew Balfour’s “Kiyam” accompany a new work by laura hawley on the program and more musicians to perform world-class compositions at RockRidge Canyon lakeside resort All-Canadian production by Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre features iconic hits from Disney and Hollywood musicals Email us at hello@createastir.ca and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations What is Stir?Support StirDiversity & InclusionAdvertisingRSS FEED Legal | Site Credits We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information The concert programme takes its cue from Lisa Streich’s composition Stabat a tribute to the figure of Mary through one of the most frequently set texts in the Christian tradition the thirteenth-century sequence ascribed to Jacopone da Todi Drawing her inspiration from the Roman polychoral music of the seventeenth-century Streich shapes the listening space through the arrangement of the sound sources in a carefully chiselled work of chiaroscuro that delves into the meanderings of sound and silence Streich’s work dialogues with some of the greatest musical interpretations of the Stabat Mater drawn from the great Italian polyphonic tradition of the late Renaissance Giovanni Croce gave precedence to the purity and perfection of Palestrina’s polyphonic style over the expressive gestures of the late sixteenth-century madrigal Stabat Mater dolorosa is the last work in his first book of Motetti a quattro voci One of the best examples of the spiritual rather than dramatic vision of Jacopone’s sequence is that of the late masterpiece by Palestrina who in the last years of his life composed a Stabat Mater of crystalline polyphonic purity that restores the image of Mary at the foot of the cross not as the mother wrecked and painful but as the sublime witness of Christ’s transfiguration Contact us Press Office Subscribe to the Newsletter and get the latest info on our programmes and initiatives Subscribe Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country Digital access for organisations. Includes exclusive features and content. See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times. Sorry, this audio is not yet available or has expiredBrought to you by As the Catholic Church recovered from the onslaught of Reformers, Palestrina, back at St Peter's, turned to the writings of the prophet Isaiah for a song of hope and praise. Isaiah was also that prophet who saw a shimmering vision of angels skirting the temple's vault in song. And Bach has fishermen called to cast another net. Concert of Angels( Matthias Grünewal 1515 Detail of Isenheim Altarpiece, Musée d'Unterlinden, Wikimedia Commons) Classical Music, Religious MusicTracklist11:01Played at 11:01Cantata BWV93, "Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten" [19'54]Composer Collegium Vocale + Howard Crook (tenor) + Peter Kooij (bass) + Agnès Mellon (soprano) + Charles Brett (countertenor) J.S. Bach: Cantatas 39, 93, 107, 7 59320 2 Choir of King's College London + Michael Butterfield (organ) + William Hester (tenor) Advent Carols from King's College London, DCD34226 Palestrina: Missa Confitebor tibi Domine & Other Works, CDA68210 Bruce Dickey (cornetto) + Liuwe Tamminga (organ) New College Choir Oxford + Timothy Wakerell (organ) The Gate of Heaven: Favourite Anthems from New College, NCR 1391 Bach Collegium Japan + Peter Kooij (bass) + Gerd Türk (tenor) + Robin Blaze (countertenor) + Rachel Nicholls (soprano) Johann Sebastian Bach: Cantatas, Vol. 44, BIS-SACD-1791 Light in Dark: Tom Henry works for solo piano, MD 3465 Published: 27 Apr 2025Sun 27 Apr 2025 at 12:00pm Published: 20 Apr 2025Sun 20 Apr 2025 at 12:00pm Published: 13 Apr 2025Sun 13 Apr 2025 at 12:00pm Download the ABC listen app for free music podcasts and playlists If you are an existing subscriber to Gramophone, International Piano or Choir & Organ and would like to upgrade, please contact us here or call +44 (0)1722 716997 GIVEN THE FACT that Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina is one of the leading figures of late Renaissance music it’s only fitting he gets a 500th birthday party The Vancouver Chamber Choir is celebrating the virtuoso on April 11 with a Christ Church Cathedral concert dedicated entirely to his work from the well-known motet “Sicut cervus” to the vocally intricate mass “Missa Papae Marcelli” span four decades of 16th-century artistic creations artistic director of the Vancouver Chamber Choir to learn a bit more about Palestrina ahead of his birthday bash Turunen will lead a pre-show artist talk at 7 pm I have a feeling that I sang Palestrina before I listened to it But I do remember Renaissance music on the whole having a strong impact on me Something in the inner logic and sheer beauty just felt right But I certainly would not have dreamt of spending a lifetime so closely involved with it polyphonic choral music is music where every line Most often these voices imitate each other either strictly or loosely Contrary to music with a clear melody and accompanying voices every voice part in polyphony is as important and as independent the chords are in theory results of the melodic lines although to be honest harmonic thinking certainly creeps into polyphony quite early was taught the music of the generation that preceded him he learned his trade by copying and imitating his famed predecessors Palestrina and his music were famous in Rome and even then mostly thanks to textbooks that took his style to be representative of his time Music students all around the globe still write exercises in Renaissance music based on his style but definitely not in a way that he would have expected he left behind a truckload of music—and more and more but I think it is because the mass is so well known and its credo is one of the best ever written But he has some other works that are just as good so the reason for its popularity has to do with something else than sheer quality or beauty The good story is that its role in preserving sacred polyphony in the Catholic Church was blown totally out of proportion The fact is that it was performed to a group of cardinals in Rome in 1565 Their assignment was to gauge whether the words of contemporary sacred compositions could be understood The cardinals commissioned three works to be performed to them and one of these was indeed the “Missa Papae Marcelli” the other works were forgotten and Palestrina’s mass was seen to be the critical work to save polyphony from being banned a little like the Mozart Requiem or Handel’s Messiah and this always helps to make it feel special Then you just need repetition to make the work recognizable—although I have to point out that even his contemporaries seem to have enjoyed this mass as in the choirbook into which it was first copied five of the six voice parts would have been sung by adult men the work is still bottom-heavy with two tenor and two bass lines Finding the right voices for each line and then balancing them is the biggest challenge but making it vibrant and making the music and text talk is always a challenge I wanted there to be quite a bit of variation Palestrina wrote his sacred music in a surprisingly wide array of styles I think most of us will recognize the pure Palestrina style of but far fewer listeners will know his more antiquated style or his later polychoral style You can hear it all stems from the same legacy but the variance is more colourful than one would assume The music of our concert is from the 1560s to the 1590s so mostly from his mature period when he was the maestro of St The concert is shaped around the regular mass movements selected from four different masses with motets for four to eight voices interspersed There are some familiar hits and a lot of music much less sung The main reason is that he was an exceptional composer who wrote an incredible amount of wonderful music that has been preserved to us in printed collections and manuscripts I don’t think he is in any respect better than many composers who are less celebrated and you could well make a case for concentrating on them instead But maybe there is still a point in returning to Palestrina; because he has been such a central figure in music history there is a tradition of performing Palestrina that runs through centuries Palestrina’s greatest legacy in my mind is this legacy of performing his music We are part of a chain of generations that reaches back all the way to 16th-century Rome Stir editorial assistant Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music ‘These are performances so special that I feel a changed man from listening to them,’ wrote Gramophone's Mark Seow in his review of Théotime Langlois de Swarte's recording of concertos by Vivaldi, Locatelli and Leclair Langlois de Swarte returns to Vivaldi with a recording of The Four Seasons with Le Consort This new album is actually more of a natural successor to last year's collaboration between the same ensemble and soloist, 'Concerti per una vita', which also included 'Summer' from The Four Seasons. Seow was wasn't quite so full of praise for that album – 'Langlois de Swarte is consistently colourful and capricious: ornamentation feels occasionally battered blue rather than soulful and certain textbook Vivaldi passages could do with a simpler rhetorical stance' – but this new account of the evergreen Four Seasons is sure to be worth spending time with The album also includes an arrangement of Gregorio Lambranzi's Danze da Nuova e curiosa scuola de' balli teatrali and a cameo appearance by soprano Julie Roset for Vivaldi's lovely Nulla in mundo pax sincera Another new account of The Four Seasons is also released today, with Michael Morpurgo as narrator, violinist Daniel Pioro and the Manchester Camerata on Platoon. Read our interview with Morpurgo and Pioro to find out more Today also sees the release of the first of two albums for DG dedicated to the piano works of Maurice Ravel by Seong-Jin Cho to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth This first album includes all of the solo piano works while the second album featuring the piano concertos with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and conductor Andris Nelsons Those looking for a good recording against which to compare this new release should consider Bertrand Chamayou's account of Ravel's solo works for piano which originally appeared in 2016 and which is being reissued as a 3-LP set by Warner Classics on January 24. It was an Editor's Choice in March 2016 and shortlisted for a Gramophone Award with Patrick Rucker writing: 'Chamayou brings everything home in a way that is deeply personal No one who loves French music or exquisite piano-playing will want to miss this.' Seong-Jin Cho discusses his new album with Editor-in-Chief James Jolly on the Gramophone Podcast this week: The Recording of the Month in last year's September issue was 'The Kurt Weill Album' by conductor Joana Mallwitz with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin for DG and it featured Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins along with the first two symphonies we have a new live account of The Seven Deadly Sins (plus various short works by Weill) from Sir Simon Rattle with the LSO and soloists including Magdalena Kožená This is Rattle's second recording of The Seven Deadly Sins the first – with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra – was reviewed by Edward Greenfield back in April 1983 'If I had to choose just one record of Weill's music then this would be it.' That recording featured Rattle's then-wife Elise Ross alongside Anthony Rolfe Johnson Palestrina Year is off to a very strong start. Last week we welcomed 'Palestrina Revealed - Byrd, White, Mundy' from the Choir of Clare College and today sees the release of 'The Golden Renaissance: Palestrina' from Stile Antico on Decca Classics Stile Antico's new album has the famous Missa Papae Marcelli as its spine with various motets interspersed We will publish an in-depth article about this recording including interviews with the performers themselves in the February issue and on this website next Friday – so don't miss it Last week on the Gramophone Podcast Martin Cullingford spoke to organist and pianist James McVinnie about his new album 'Dreamcatcher' which features a beautiful series of works by contemporary composers including Nico Muhly all based around ideas of imagining – be that to do with memory and you can enjoy the podcast episode below And don't forget to subscribe for free to the Gramophone Podcast on your podcast platform of choice We have new episodes every Friday and it's the perfect way to explore the most interesting new classical recordings Today’s Video of the Day is a performance of ‘Ad Te Levavi’ by the Choir of Clare College They are celebrating the 500th anniversary of Palestrina’s birth by recording for the first time an album of works by the Roman master that are still little-known they pair settings of the same texts by three of Palestrina’s English contemporaries The text for Ad te Levavi is taken from Psalm 123: ‘To you have I lifted up my eyes Behold as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters As the eyes of the handmaid are on the hands of her mistress so are our eyes unto the Lord our God have mercy on us: for we are greatly filled with contempt For our soul is greatly filled: we are a reproach to the rich If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information. Log in to comment on videos and join in on the fun. Watch the live stream of Fox News and full episodes. Reduce eye strain and focus on the content that matters. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. All market data delayed 20 minutes. Palestrina's Lenten motets, Magdalen College's new chapel organ, John Rutter's new mass, and Phillip Cooke's 'O lord, save thy people' for Ukraine. And Pawel Lukaszewski's 'Lenten music' for saxophone ensemble. Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem(Rembrandt 1630 Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Wikimedia Commons) Classical Music, Religious MusicTracklist11:01Played at 11:01Tribularer si nescirem, motet [08'08]Composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Vol. 6, COR16133 Lukaszewski: Musica Sacra 5 Responsoria Tenebrae / Advent music / Daylight declines / Lenten music, DUX 1135 Choir of Magdalen College Oxford + Alexander Pott (organ) Voices of Thunder: Works for Choir & Organ, COR16209 Choir of Magdalen College Oxford + Edward Byrne (organ) Choir of Magdalen College Oxford + Romain Bornes (organ) Choir of York Minster + Benjamin Morris (organ) John Rutter Missa Brevis and other new choral works, REGCD576 City of London Sinfonia + Cambridge Singers Giaches de Wert: Vox in Rama - Il Secondo libro de motetti, SIGCD131 BBC National Orchestra of Wales + Susan Gritton (soprano) Before Bach: Deutsche Kantaten, HMA 1951703 A New Spirit: An Album of Première Recordings, UA240110 The priest is the latest case in a growing series of Italian priests excommunicated or suspended for rejecting papal authority in recent months. Fr. Natale Santonocito. Credit: YouTubeSubscribeThe Diocese of Palestrina announced in a statement dated Jan Natale Santonocito “in accordance with canons 751 and 1364 §1 of the Code of Canon Law has incurred ipso facto in excommunication latae sententiae with the effects and consequences set forth in Can Fr. Santonocito posted a video on Dec. 8, 2024 in which he said “we’ve had an antipope for the past 11 years The so-called Francis is not the pope and has never been because Benedict XVI did not resign the papacy on February 11 “[Benedict XVI] did not abdicate by renouncing the munus petrino the investiture as pope that derives directly from God Pope Benedict made a declaration in which he renounced the ministerium and not the papacy,” Santonocito added in the video Santonocito’s views are widely known as “Benevacantism” — a portmanteau of the name of Pope Benedict and sede vacantism the contention that the see of Peter is vacant promoted by some prominent social media critics of Pope Francis holds that his predecessor’s resignation was not canonically valid though this theory has been dismissed by canonists Other sedevacantists believe the papacy has been vacant since the Second Vatican Council as they consider the Church to have fallen into heresy ever since Santonocito himself has not publicly denied the validity of Vatican II. He was ordained in April 2023 and was known to celebrate Mass according to the post-conciliar norms Santonocito’s priestly faculties were limited by the diocese “as a precautionary measure,” according to a diocesan statement The diocese also said that “a ‘Statement of the Bishop's Curia’ was circulated to the priests of the diocese of Palestrina … in order to help the faithful orient themselves in the face of the statements of Fr Santonocito published another video making the same claims on Dec after which the diocese opened a canonical procedure against him which ended in the declaration of his excommunication The diocese says the bishop “verbally admonished Fr Natale Santonocito during a meeting on the morning of Dec during the extrajudicial criminal [process] Share Santonocito’s excommunication is the latest in a trend of priests and religious being declared excommunicated or suspended after rejecting Pope Francis as the legitimate pope at least five priests have been excommunicated or suspended for similar reasons since 2024 The most notorious case is that of the former U.S. apostolic nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò On Jan. 1, 2024, the Diocese of Livorno announced the excommunication of Fr. Ramon Guidetti after he said in a homily that Pope Francis “is not the pope” and that he is “a usurper.” Bishop Simone Giusti determined that homily to be a “publicly schismatic act” resulting in a latae sententiae excommunication meaning Guidetti was automatically excommunicated at the moment of the statement with the penalty becoming fully effective upon its formal declaration by competent Church authorities On Nov. 13, 2024, the Archdiocese of Sassari, on the Italian island of Sardinia, announced the laicization of Fernando Maria Cornet an Argentinian priest serving in Sassari since 2011 after Cornet wrote a book entitled “Habemus antipapam?” arguing against the validity of Pope Benedict’s XVI resignation and Francis’ subsequent election “Just as there cannot be two Churches of Christ which are simultaneously true there are also cannot simultaneously be two true popes,” Cornet said in the book He cannot be anything other than an antipope.” On November 18, 2024, Fr. Miguel Márquez, OCD, superior general of the Discalced Carmelites, announced the dismissal of Fr. Giorgio Maria Faré, OCD, from the order after he posted a video in which he defended a similar position “[Francis] has fallen into various heresies something which proves his election is invalid on the basis of the infallibility of the pope,” Faré said in the video “The cardinals created prior to 2013 must intervene for safeguarding the church and convoke a conclave for proclaiming a new pope.” Although prominent in Italy, the trend is also present elsewhere in the Church, as seen in other cases, such as the Poor Clares in Spain and the Carmelites in Arlington Additionally, an 81-year-old Costa Rican priest was excommunicated in December 2024 after denying the authority of Pope Francis And a priest of the Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante in Spain was suspended in February 2024 after saying in a 20-page manifesto that Pope Francis is a “heretic” and his election “invalid.” It's the mirror image of the ugliness and stupidity of refusing to say someone is wicked and abusive *because* he has authority! ReplyShare1 reply44 more comments...LatestNo posts An Italian priest was declared excommunicated this month, after a December video in which he referred to Pope Francis as an \u201Cantipope.\u201D Fr. Natale Santonocito. Credit: YouTubeSubscribe now The Diocese of Palestrina announced in a statement dated Jan Natale Santonocito \u201Cin accordance with canons 751 and 1364 \u00A71 of the Code of Canon Law has incurred ipso facto in excommunication latae sententiae Fr. Santonocito posted a video on Dec. 8, 2024 in which he said \u201Cwe\u2019ve had an antipope for the past 11 years \u201C[Benedict XVI] did not abdicate by renouncing the munus petrino and not the papacy,\u201D Santonocito added in the video Santonocito\u2019s views are widely known as \u201CBenevacantism\u201D \u2014 a portmanteau of the name of Pope Benedict and sede vacantism holds that his predecessor\u2019s resignation was not canonically valid Santonocito himself has not publicly denied the validity of Vatican II. He was ordained in April 2023 and was known to celebrate Mass according to the post-conciliar norms Santonocito\u2019s priestly faculties were limited by the diocese \u201Cas a precautionary measure,\u201D according to a diocesan statement The diocese also said that \u201Ca \u2018Statement of the Bishop's Curia\u2019 was circulated to the priests of the diocese of Palestrina \u2026 in order to help the faithful orient themselves in the face of the statements of Fr The diocese says the bishop \u201Cverbally admonished Fr Share Santonocito\u2019s excommunication is the latest in a trend of priests and religious being declared excommunicated or suspended after rejecting Pope Francis as the legitimate pope The most notorious case is that of the former U.S. apostolic nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigan\u00F2 On Jan. 1, 2024, the Diocese of Livorno announced the excommunication of Fr. Ramon Guidetti after he said in a homily that Pope Francis \u201Cis not the pope\u201D and that he is \u201Ca usurper.\u201D Bishop Simone Giusti determined that homily to be a \u201Cpublicly schismatic act\u201D resulting in a latae sententiae excommunication On Nov. 13, 2024, the Archdiocese of Sassari, on the Italian island of Sardinia, announced the laicization of Fernando Maria Cornet after Cornet wrote a book entitled \u201CHabemus antipapam?\u201D arguing against the validity of Pope Benedict\u2019s XVI resignation and Francis\u2019 subsequent election \u201CJust as there cannot be two Churches of Christ which are simultaneously true there are also cannot simultaneously be two true popes,\u201D Cornet said in the book \u201C\u2018The pope is one.\u2019 And the other He cannot be anything other than an antipope.\u201D On November 18, 2024, Fr. Miguel M\u00E1rquez, OCD, superior general of the Discalced Carmelites, announced the dismissal of Fr. Giorgio Maria Far\u00E9, OCD, from the order after he posted a video in which he defended a similar position \u201C[Francis] has fallen into various heresies something which proves his election is invalid on the basis of the infallibility of the pope,\u201D Far\u00E9 said in the video \u201CThe cardinals created prior to 2013 must intervene for safeguarding the church and convoke a conclave for proclaiming a new pope.\u201D Although prominent in Italy, the trend is also present elsewhere in the Church, as seen in other cases, such as the Poor Clares in Spain and the Carmelites in Arlington Additionally, an 81-year-old Costa Rican priest was excommunicated in December 2024 after denying the authority of Pope Francis And a priest of the Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante in Spain was suspended in February 2024 after saying in a 20-page manifesto that Pope Francis is a \u201Cheretic\u201D and his election \u201Cinvalid.\u201D Subscribe now Home   What's On   Article On Thursday evening (6 March) at Trinity College Chapel Cambridge Early Music welcomed the acclaimed Stile Antico with a performance celebrating the five hundredth birthday of Palestrina their own twentieth anniversary as a professional ensemble named after him The evening was programmed in distinct sections tracing the life of the composer from his distinguished role in Papal service through his years of tragic personal experiences and concluding with an assessment of the enormous legacy he left to the world of music whose flames were re-kindled in later centuries Palestrina has been a constant light studied by many of the greatest names which followed his Music in his time developed into an inspirational means of religious devotion leading to his compositions for confraternities such as those of St Ignatius Loyola one of the intellectual arms of the Roman Catholic Church and a spearhead of the Counter-Reformation In fact the opening sentence of Loyola’s First Principle and Foundation is worth keeping in mind for a secularised age as the baseline from which everything in the ecclesiastical function of the Church And the other things on the face of the earth were created for man’s sake and to help him in carrying out the end for which he was created.” Stile Antico’s delivery of Palestrina’s Tu es Petrus (“Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church”) reminded one of the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins enumerating those persuasions that led to his own conversion He writes: “Texts like ‘Thou art Peter (the evasions proposed for this alone are enough to make one a Catholic)’” “an increasing knowledge of the Catholic system […] which only wants to be known in order to be loved – its consolations It was just such conviction containing the likes of the above that provided the raison d’être for the great Church music of Palestrina and that of other contemporaries and which must be primarily taken into consideration in any estimation of it Just as the non-literate could look on church wall paintings during services to ‘see’ how holiness might be imagined or what terrors could be in store for them if they failed in their duties and devotions the polyphonic flow and gentle melodic arches of Palestrina’s masses motets and hymns were intended to create an aural approximation to the very ‘sound’ of heaven itself And no other interpreters of Palestrina’s works could exceed the sense of conviction and high seriousness that Stile Antico brought to their interpretation of these pieces with their purpose of demonstrating both the music’s unparalleled musical richness and the extent of its emotional expressiveness Thursday’s programme was the ensemble’s splendid deployment under separate headings of such works by predecessors like Josquin de Prez and contemporaries Tomás Luis de Victoria and Jacques Arcadelt with the exception of a few years in youth as an organist in his native city spent his entire career in the service of the Papacy and in the greatest chapels and churches of Rome The music and its doctrinal significance are interchangeable and present in everything we heard This is not to say that Palestrina’s was a ‘fugitive and cloistered virtue’ within the enclaves of Catholicism Under the heading ‘A Time of Turmoil’ Stile Antico revealed in his dark motet ‘Peccantem me quotidie’ (“I am troubled by the fear of death”) that the composer was no stranger to the wounds and hardships of life’s sorrows In the space of ten years death claimed his brother Gioia M’abond’al cor tanta e sì pura (‘My heart overflows with such pure joy’) Palestrina could express a new-found happiness in the company of his second wife and a confident resurgent hope in the promise of Christ’s Resurrection The concert’s final section In Praise of Music rehearsed the deep-seated meaning of music to Palestrina the composer invites the patronage of the King describing music as “a gift of heaven greater than all human teaching” and sees it as his “task to bend all my knowledge and industry to that which is the most divine of all things” we heard a new work by multi-award-winning contemporary composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad which had been commissioned for this concert by Stile Antico it is a setting of Palestrina’s own words (above) from the Preface to the volume in which one of the greatest Masses his Missa Papae Marcelli (traditionally sung at Papal coronations) The composer was in the audience and was duly applauded for the original form her deference to Palestrina had adopted and the obvious belief she shared with him in music’s timeless and profound significance Trinity Chapel was the setting for this beautiful concert adjacent to the College of St John where the young student William Wordsworth remembered nearby “Trinity’s loquacious clock,/ Who never let the quarters and told the hours/ Twice over with a male and female voice” two or three times brought a pause in proceedings by contradicting the key in which the ensemble was about to begin The performance in its closing segment performed Allegri’s Christus Resurgens as one of the company remarked “a little early for Easter.” But how better could the audience have acknowledged the first day of Lent by celebrating the devotional work of the ‘Prince of Music’ while marvelling at the superlative Stile Antico and the glorious sound they make in delivering it Christian Thielemann talks about loneliness in the creative process and the caricature in Palestrina's music Only a few manage to become a legend in their own lifetime The mere mention of his name ensures sold-out houses; when he steps up to the podium What began at the Vienna State Opera with a performance of Così fan tutte in 1987 has become a great artistic friendship Christian Thielemann finally received the highest honor the Vienna State Opera can bestow: honorary membership he conducts Hans Pfitzner's opera Palestrina people criticised the composer Hans Pfitzner for being “modernist” later he was frequently labelled conservative How would you describe Pfitzner in a few sentences for an opera newbie I find him harmonically far superior to Richard Strauss – with the exception of works such as Elektra or some passages in Die Frau ohne Schatten Pfitzner’s entire musical language is much more austere This is also due to his choice of subjects: he never set a Rosenkavalier to music; he never went in that direction What both Pfitzner and Strauss have in common is an incredible feeling for the theatre from an artist’s struggle all the way to comedy In act 1 we experience Palestrina’s self-doubt this tremendous scene where Mass is sung – almost Wagnerian in proportions caricature; it is at times almost preposterous Act 3 tries to create a synthesis from all this and the opera ends on a very melancholy note Palestrina was ultimately forced to find inspiration – and here I see something timeless and relevant how often do politicians try to co-opt artists Palestrina is always a warning to me: do not do that The caricature nature of act 2 also gives us precise portraits of the characters.. Pfitzner also had an incredible gift for characterising people – which he dressed up with a dose of caustic humour The way he handles the transformation of the influential Cardinal Carlo Borromeo for example – from purring petitioner determined to win Palestrina over as composer of a decisive Mass to absolute monster who exerts his power – it is simply brilliant The same applies to the portrayal of the Cardinal Legate Novagerio as an influential bully spitting vicious remarks or the Bishop of Budoja who sees the Council as a welcome opportunity to indulge in life’s pleasures at someone else’s expense or the young theologian who is only worried about his daily diet Even the passion for grandeur of Hapsburg Emperor Ferdinand I is caricatured by a deliberately simple and pompous leitmotif Pfitzner assigns each person in the orbit of the Council of Trent a very specific unmistakable personality and at the same time gives them what is coming to them; everything is subjected to ruthless critique dripping with irony Palestrina was first performed at the Vienna State Opera in 1919 – in the staging of the composer but none of them were performed very often His other operas were also performed at the house on the Ring but gradually disappeared from the repertoire If you know the work well and follow it attentively But if you don’t have this detailed knowledge and that is often the case with Pfitzner’s works But this is also the case with the later works of Strauss – for example Capriccio A lot of the music is very catchy; the opening with Ighino almost makes you want to sing along And Borromeo’s entrance is incredibly exciting The visionary scene with the music masters is unbelievably good Palestrina is not a piece that you can listen to with half an ear It is not Carmen or La bohème or even Lohengrin.. everyone knows from their own experience that some big questions leave you all alone It's no use being in good company and getting on well with lots of people.« Pfitzner’s composer colleague Arthur Honegger spoke of the “musical superiority” of Palestrina There is a wonderful story about a meeting between Pfitzner and Strauss Pfitzner was complaining about the problems he was experiencing composing act 2 of Palestrina and Strauss answered laconically: “why are you composing it then if it’s so difficult for you?” This very neatly illustrates Pfitzner’s approach with his strong theatrical instinct and subjects gained something that ultimately eluded Pfitzner: great popularity Pfitzner also clung to a concept of genius that was already somewhat tarnished at the time namely that inspiration and genius must come as it were from heaven Just think of what Strauss said in 1915 – he was already over 50 years old – at the première of his Alpensinfonie: “I’ve finally learned how to orchestrate a piece!” Pfitzner would never have said something like that John Steinbeck is said to have commented that everyone is lonely at the moment of creativity Palestrina goes even further than this with his comment that “at its core the world is loneliness.” Not a very optimistic view of the world everyone knows from their own experience that you are completely alone with certain major questions It doesn’t help having company and getting on well with a lot of people Friends and relatives can at best give advice but the final decision must be made by the individual him or herself who at the time emphatically confirmed that he could understand this comment by Palestrina very well and that he had also experienced similar depression – as he called it To which I replied that I did not want to conduct the work out of a sense of depression but wanted to preserve the complexity of this opera.  the brightest light still shines” in the scene where the old masters appear and Lucrezia’s “I am near you in the light of peace” or the magnificent Rome-theme at the end: Pfitzner clearly gave into his weak- ness here What a contrast to act 1 this Meistersinger-like comedic act 2 and the final conciliatory act 3 are whether he was intimidated and forced to compose the Mass or whether it was the product of artistic inspiration Pfitzner leaves the question unanswered; finally here he takes up motifs from the first prelude again Palestrina’s answer to his son Ighino’s question as to whether he is happy is interesting I take delight in life less boisterously.” Even if less boisterously And that really doesn’t convey anything pessimistic In the scene mentioned above where the masters appear the remark is made that “one last note is still missing from the sonorous chord” letting Palestrina know that his “earthly work is not yet done” that at some point an artist has said everything he had to say Bruckner was certainly so tired at the end of his life that he would not have succeeded in writing the finale of his ninth symphony where he had set himself the task of combining all the themes But leaving aside physical ailments or death: who knows what else Mozart would have come up with I think that Pfitzner simply identified to a certain extent with Palestrina the artist struggling to create a great work and put an ideal image of himself on stage Pfitzner was even more respected than Richard Strauss who was five years older; his great first opera reveals the work of a truly outstanding composer But by the time he wrote Salome and Rosenkavalier the race had been decided in Strauss’s favour Pfitzner was not a sympathetic figure in principle – you only have to look at the photos of him sitting deep in thought at the piano He was stubborn about his views and ideals and his writing often comes across as almost dictatorial He was also a poor networker and was unable to gain a foothold anywhere in later years I also believe that his antisemitic attacks on Schoenberg and those against twelve- tone music Should the Mass in this opera be a symbol of an artistic truth of a certain time especially since I myself don’t believe in truth in art When I stand on the podium to conduct Palestrina you expect a personally coloured interpretation from me – and that’s what you’ll get I listened to my own Palestrina recording from 1997 and now find it too slow in parts so I’ve moved on and am no longer convinced by my previous interpretation Italian composers have given us wonderful music Here is our pick of the top ten best Italian composers of all time = Italy has undoubtedly produced some of the greatest composers of all time Here is our pick of the ten best Italian composers to have put pen to paper Musically speaking, Italy is perhaps best known as the birthplace of opera. And that makes a lot of sense. From Monteverdi to Verdi, via Vivaldi, Rossini and many others the country has contributed hugely to the development of the operatic form over the past four centuries A common thread running through many Italian composers is a determination to do things their own way. Take the harmonic adventurousness of Domenico Scarlatti Or the complex mixture of operatic drama and mysticism that permeates Pergolesi's Stabat Mater or the downright weirdness of Gesualdo's madrigals Italian music often has a very distinctive tang of its own Key work: There are various candidates to choose from. But we'll opt for the Missa Papae Marcelli a wonderful example of Palestrina's mastery of complex polyphony But the Palestrina is also beautifully sung Arguably, Carlo Gesualdo's fame owes more to his troubled life than to his strange and often sublime music Gesualdo famously set a trap to catch his wife He then (with the aid of several collaborators) brutally murdered the two of them the killing caused an uproar in Gesualdo's native Naples (even though according to the code of Gesualdo's aristocracy Details of the crime were circulated in newspapers and lurid rumours abounded All of which should not detract (or should it?) from Gesualdo's strange and captivating music we should not be surprised that the composer's music is often unsettling with its discordant harmonies that surprise and unsettle Key work: Gesualdo is best known for his six books of madrigals. These are non-religious sung works, featuring short poems set to music for small groups of singers. The harmonies are unexpected Key recording: Try the classic recording by Les Arts Florissants This is a great starter set as it picks some of the most arresting madrigals from across books three to six Composing in the later Renaissance and early Baroque era Claudio Monteverdi made a great impression in two musical forms of his time – one nascent Monteverdi wrote the first masterpieces in the still-new form of opera The new style mixing music and speech had originated in Florence in around 1600 One of the best Italian composers of all time Monteverdi also made considerable advances in the church music of the time His 1610 Vespers (see below) is just one of a selection of hugely important sacred and choral works produced by this master composer Key work: Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers is a brilliant synthesis of all that was possible in church music at this time instrumental music designed for interludes during the service in the style of music used to set the text of the Magnificat Key recording: The classic recording by the Taverner Consort & Players under the direction of Andrew Parrott (Virgin 561 6622) benefits from the full liturgical reconstruction, not to mention (says our reviewer Freya Parr) 'phenomenally good choral and consort tuning'. It's one of the best Monteverdi recordings out there The Venetian violinist Antonio Vivaldi (pictured top) left a profound impact, both on late Baroque music and on the emerging concerto form Vivaldi finessed the form of what we now know as the typical three-movement classical concerto with its fast-slow-fast sequencing The remaining works in concerto form feature either two soloists three or more (making them concerti grossi) or are concerti ripieni (works without a soloist) we shouldn't forget Vivaldi's contributions to both sacred music and to the emerging opera form Vivaldi's music is notable for its dynamism and lyricism A typical Vivaldi concerto will have a thrilling mix of arresting quick music and plangent slower forms Key work: The Four Seasons, a cycle of four violin concerti where each evokes a season of the year, is a fine place to start. Indeed, the rich strand of classical music about nature begins here A native of Naples, Scarlatti played an important role in the development from Baroque to Classical styles creating music for a variety of instruments and ensembles his fame leans overwhelmingly on his 555 keyboard sonatas These are notable for their innovative, sometimes unexpected effects, such as discordant passages and unconventional key modulations. Composers from Chopin to Shostakovich have drawn on these lively Key work: We could name you a favourite Scarlatti sonata – oh, go on then: K141, as seen below played with typical aplomb by the phenomenal pianist Martha Argerich with each sonata so short - typically between three and five minutes - it's probably more helpful to recommend you a disc.. and that would be Jean Rondeau's handpicked selection of 16 sonatas played on a harpsichord as they were originally intended it's worth hearing them on both harpsichord and piano: the two instruments deliver very different effects This comic tale follows a wily maid and her ageing However, Pergolesi also wrote operas of a more serious bent. These include as Il Prigionier Superbo (The Proud Prisoner), for which La serva padrona was originally a mere intermezzo before becoming popular in its own right Key work: Pergolesi's Stabat Mater draws on the 13th-century Latin poem that narrates the Virgin Mary’s sufferings at the foot of the Cross. You can find the Stabat Mater lyrics here The composer scored the poem for soprano and alto soloists viola and basso continuo (cello and organ) Key recording: Our guide to the best recordings of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater gives you a few choices here and (for its wonderful singing alone) that would be the version from I Barocchisti with the Coro della Radiotelevisione Svizzera under Diego Fasolis with soloists Julia Lezhneva and Philippe Jaroussky Unlike those composers, who are best known for their symphonies, chamber music and solo piano output, Rossini continued the Italian strand of being very good at composing for opera. This composer had music in his genes: his father was a horn player He composed in both the opera seria and opera buffa forms And his more serious operas such as William Tell or The Lady of the Lake are well respected it's for comic fare such as The Barber of Seville that he is best known Key work: Definitely start with The Barber of Seville. This will introduce you to the wonderful sparkle, exoticism and rhythmic punch that characterise Rossini's music. As our writer Freya Parr puts it in her piece on five best operas for beginners Key recording: Joyce DiDonato leads a vintage cast in the supremely sung production from the Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus and much of the joy – especially in such a fun work as this – is visual Donizetti composed around 70 operas which all still get regular performances around the world to this day Donizetti took on the bel canto style popularised by Bellini but added a broader emotional palette and dynamic range When it came to works for large-scale public performance, the Romantic era in Germany, Austria and the rest of central Europe was all about the symphony and concerto, with composers such as Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Dvořák all contributing major works to both these large orchestral forms Verdi introduced an opera style that was much more harmonically adventurous. It also tackled larger, more serious or more exotic themes. These included the Ancient Egypt of Aida or the Shakespearean worlds of the two late Key work: Like other Romantic composers such as Brahms and Dvořák, Verdi also wrote a beautiful and stirring Requiem Verdi's is one of the most dramatic and (unsurprisingly?) certainly the most operatic mass for the dead ever composed Key recording: Fellow Italian Claudio Abbado conducted and recorded a wonderful version during his tenure at the Berlin Philharmonic. Whom, incidentally, we nominated one of the world's best orchestras If opera reached a new level of lushness and harmonic adventurousness with Verdi, this trend arguably reached its peak with his follower, Giacomo Puccini inspired to write music after watching a performance of Verdi’s Aida opulent orchestration and a wonderful sense of how to convey drama through music: these are all hallmarks of Puccini's style Think of the unmatched tenderness of the famous aria O Mio Babbino Caro from his opera Gianni Schicchi memorably sung by Rowan Atkinson in the film Mr Bean's Holiday Puccini's operas are fantastic showpieces for the greatest opera singers, such as the inimitable Maria Callas in the clip below Puccini's true masterpieces, however, are Madam Butterfly and La bohème two of the most-performed operas in the world this is as deserving as any other of the title of La bohème best recording Composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi has dominated the classical music charts for the past 15 years. His music has featured in advertising, films and TV programmes. As BBC Music Magazine's Michael Beek explains Einaudi 'has cornered the market in post-classical ambient music and while he may be most famous for his solo piano musings some of his most popular works in recent years have been for small ensemble 'It’s a very specific soundworld which Einaudi has crafted Key work / recording: Have a read of our piece Ludovico Einaudi's best albums we'd recommend the hugely successful 1996 album Le Onde (The Waves) Italy has a very fine and proud opera tradition we’ve pulled out some of the very best Italian opera composers: Monteverdi But there are other names you’ll want to get to know on your journey through Italian opera Mascagni's chief claim to fame is his 1890 work Cavalleria rusticana which had a profound effect on the opera landscape ushering in the style known as verismo (realism) ordinary men and women and their troubles were the subject matter here A little like Mascagni above, Leoncavallo’s reputation rests chiefly on one hugely successful opera – in this case the latter is often staged with Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana in a double bill affectionately known as ‘Cav and Pag’ Leoncavallo’s work centres on an actor and leader of a theatre company who murders his wife and her lover on stage during a performance Puccini's 'Messa di gloria' & Palestrina's celebrated 'Missa Papae Marcelli'. Australia Day, the Christian season of Epiphany, and two anniversaries; Puccini, we'll discover, didn't only write opera, and 2025 sees in the 500th anniversary of the birth of Palestrina. With them are Sir William McKie, Edgar Bainton, Stephen Hough, and Christopher Dearnley. St Peters and the Vatican from the Janiculum, Rome(Richard Wilson -1572 Art Gallery of New South Wales, Wikimedia Commons) Classical Music, Religious MusicTracklist11:01Played at 11:01Tribus miraculis ornatum [03'27]Composer Mater ora filium: Music for Epiphany, HMU 907653 Cambridge Singers + Aurora Orchestra + Andrew Lucas (organ) This is the Day: Music on Royal Occasions, COLCD 1369 Bavarian Radio Chorus + Munich Radio Orchestra + George Petean (baritone) + Tomislav Mužek (tenor) Christopher Monks (organ) + Shelley Everall (soprano) Janáček and Puccini: Saced Choral Works, CD DCA 914 Palestrina: Missae Papae Marcelli; Allegri: Miserere, COR16014 Jonathan Vaughn (organ) + St John's College Choir Cambridge Star of Heaven - The Eton Choirbook Legacy, COR16166 Corelli: Concerti Grossi, Opus 6, 481 9282 Palestrina boys' choir members from left Actor Aidan Gillen will be reading from a Christmas story and poem at the concert Melanie FinnSat 7 Dec 2024 at 03:30It will be a family affair for award-winning actor Aidan Gillen when he joins the acclaimed Palestrina boys’ choir for its annual performance founded in 1903 and based in Dublin’s St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral will take to the stage with their special guest at the National Concert Hall on December 14 During a night hosted by RTÉ’s Mary Kennedy the Game of Thrones actor will be reading an extract from A Christmas Carol alongside the poem ’Twas the Night Before Christmas will be among the talented youngsters performing at the show Daniel said he was “more excited than nervous” about the performance and was looking forward to sharing a stage with his famous uncle so he’ll be saying a poem on the night,” he said On being in the Marlborough Street-based choir he said he “loves the songs and the trips too” having gone with his fellow choristers to Disneyland Paris earlier this year said it’s a “really young choir” this year with the boys aged between just eight and 13 chosen from Catholic schools all over Dublin They have spent months preparing for the big night which will see them joined by soprano Ava Dodd alongside the St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Girls Choir She said it was “really special” that Gillen will be joining them on the night “I start choosing carols in about July so they’ve been rehearsing since the end of October,” she said the boys must first undertake listening tests in school before being invited to formally audition at the Pro-Cathedral They are required to attend up to four choir sessions a week but Ms Murphy believes the benefits of performing far outweigh the cons the choir has performed for popes and presidents alike and they also get to travel abroad several times a year “It’s a big commitment for the families involved It means the boys have to miss sports fixtures and parties and things like that but I think they do gain an awful lot out of it and they do gain a lot and they become really close friends,” Ms Murphy said “They are in here at least three times a week and sometimes on a Saturday too She said that a young boy’s voice is often at its purest right before it breaks and they enter adolescence But hopefully these boys aren’t near that yet,” she said Tickets to The Glory of Christmas concert are available from the NCH’s website priced from €25 Daily word puzzles designed to test your vocabulary and lateral thinking skills Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain and this is never more accurate than when you establish yourself as a foreign resident in a new country Being able to quickly familiarise yourself with the culture and customs can help ease the transition during a challenging time This is why Euro Weekly News makes it our mission to provide you with a free news resource in English that covers both regional and national Spanish news – anything that we feel you will benefit from knowing as you integrate into your new community and live your best life in Spain you can forget about translating articles from Spanish into awkward English that probably don’t make much sense Let us be your convenient and essential guide to all things that will likely affect you as a foreign resident living in Spain Orihuela will hold its first Music Festival to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s birth The event will focus on the music of the renowned Italian composer who is considered the leading composer of late 16th-century Europe The festival will offer three free concerts at the Santo Domingo Church specialises in early music and historical performances Made up of musicians and singers from Alicante their music spans from the early Renaissance to the Classical periods On Sunday, March 23, at 7:00pm the Uryula Duo will perform Mozart’s Requiem in a four-hand piano version. This duo has performed across Alicante and Murcia. Their past performances include the closing event for composer Manuel Berná García’s centenary and a concert with the Orihuela Symphony Orchestra at the Teatro Circo The festival will conclude on Wednesday, April 9, at 8:00pm with a concert by the chamber section of the Orihuela Symphony Orchestra The programme will feature works by Baroque masters such as Johann Sebastian Bach Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain by delivering news with a social conscience we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP) Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall) All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE Download our media pack in either English or Spanish and conductor Graham Ross mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina with a concert performance in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major The 30-strong mixed-voice Choir of Clare College has gained an international reputation as one of the world’s leading undergraduate choirs Their programme includes movements from two fine Lenten Mass settings a magnificent five-part Magnificat secundi toni and a triple-choir motet Ad te levavi oculos meos alongside works by two of Palestrina’s English contemporaries SUPPORTERS AND OFFICIAL LOGO LICENSEES OF JUBILEE 2025 The iubilaeum2025 website uses technical or similar cookies to make navigation easier and guarantee the use of services and also technical and third-party analysis cookies. If you want to know more click here By closing this banner you consent to the use of cookies Please email comments to letters@livingchurch.org My 2004 job interview with Alan Jones was like no other do you know the Credo of Palestrina’s Missa Sine Nomine?” I demurred But Alan then explained that he had loop-programmed the passage linking “et sepultus est” and “et resurrexit” to accompany his daily yoga This fusion of Palestrina and yoga was quintessentially Alan “It’s a complex fate being an American,” wrote Henry James “and one of the responsibilities it entails is fighting against a superstitious valuation of Europe.” Londoner by birth Alan adapted an American openness and extroversion He was unsentimental about the United Kingdom and clear-eyed about the Church of England Yet he often despaired of Americans’ ignorance of history and of the relentless narcissism of our culture Alan’s writing and preaching is not for those seeking easy confirmation of prior assumptions or official dogma His complaint: people think they are thinking when in fact they are merely rearranging their prejudices Alan’s “reimagining” of Christianity was actually more Christocentric Yet there was about him nothing doctrinaire Mirth was made at a staff meeting when he suggested that were Grace Cathedral to become genuinely diverse its next clergy hire should be a Republican father of four — from Texas Churchill quipped that “the British never draw a line without blurring it.” For some He continually advocated for the uniquely complicated vocation of a cathedral His was a diligent presence at the Daily Office at odds with the prevailing clergy culture This had a very encouraging effect on the musicians and his playlist featured Walton’s Te Deum and buckets of Vaughan Williams Alan and I devised annual programs of poetry and organ improvisation He looked forward to hearing the major Messiaen pieces He underwrote opera visits for the choristers and visited their annual choir camp The calibrated cadence evident in his preaching was essentially musical The relationship of anecdotal detail to the overarching structure of his sermons was symphonic he would preach operatically; and sometimes we needed no less than that But my colleagues on the senior staff felt his genuine concern for their departments his preference for questions rather than pre-emptive answers his ready disposition to learn from those “beneath” him Chief among these lessons was to make haste slowly In the large and complex institution that is Grace Cathedral who needs to be in the room?” I appreciated his endless humor often employed to skirt storm clouds ahead We would stage “hymn interventions” on a Sunday morning: Alan would “spontaneously” interrupt a hymn to exhort the timid congregation to try again and pretend you’re a Methodist.” From an imperious-looking English dean Alan’s charisma negatively magnetized some Some were threatened by what he had built and by the bonds of friendship and influence he enjoyed There was indeed an aspect to what Alan called “playing in the traffic” that perhaps overcooked his public persona But Alan used his cathedral platform to change lives One December he inserted a surprise — only four of us in the know — within his Midnight Mass sermon Alan spoke of Irving Berlin’s loss of a young son on Christmas day A lone treble chorister then sang “White Christmas” unaccompanied a verger in the catwalks released stage “snow” upon the nave It’s tempting to dismiss this “White Christmas” episode — as I had before conversion — as manipulative nostalgia or unwelcome showmanship But Alan Jones was attentive to the dark side of institutions and the individuals who run them he was vulnerable about his failings and unmoorings Nostalgia can point the way to something deeper within Alan spoke about our wounded joy; about what matters most to us He spoke about how God’s cantus firmus plays out contrapuntally through pain Jeffrey Smith is professor of organ and sacred music at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music From 2004 to 2009 he was canon director of music at Grace Cathedral See more More composers Discover Music Ravel Einaudi Events ACC's 2025 season is a showcase of the ensemble's commitment to vocal artistry and innovative programming The Australian Chamber Choir (ACC) has announced a 2025 season that promises to transport audiences through centuries of choral brilliance From Mendelssohn’s dramatic Elijah to a tribute for Renaissance master Palestrina’s 500th birthday the season showcases the ensemble’s commitment to vocal artistry and innovative programming Mendelssohn’s iconic oratorio takes centre stage in this season-opening program Elijah is a masterpiece of Romantic drama interwoven with Baroque influences The ACC presents this epic work in a streamlined format spotlighting beloved movements like Lift Thine Eyes and Oh for the Wings of a Dove Performances will take place in Macedon 15 March) and Melbourne 6 April) offering audiences an intimate encounter with this choral treasure Marking the quincentenary of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s birth Alongside his revered Missa Aeterna Christi Munera the program features works by Flemish masters and Palestrina’s famed student whose Miserere remains a hallmark of Renaissance choral music Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Contribute to Limelight and support independent arts journalism Brooklyn Rider is the "delighted" curator of UKARIA's five-concert program of classics topical new works and a dance collaboration says Lamorna Nightingale – and the art music platform has five in store for 2025 The Tasmanian festival celebrates 20 years with its "biggest program yet" and a star-studded array of Australian and international acts The longest-running winter arts festival marks 20 years with a string of exclusive international artists and returning favourites It's One Equal Music's "most ambitious year yet" choir and two collaborations in store for 2025 A year of partnerships and community-building for Brisbane's Voxalis Opera's fourth season Check out our playlists from our latest issue Our free Weekly Newsletter delivers the latest arts news reviews and features to your inbox each Saturday Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article who was pope for less than a month in 1555 Palestrina did not complete the mass until about 1561 their words are stated clearly in a single voice before the other layers are gradually added This technique—most colloquially familiar as the technique used in the nursery song “Row Row Your Boat”—promoted understanding of the words from the outset The composer then elaborated on this fundamental melodic material Giovanni Pierluigi daPeerless voice of the Renaissance 'Palestrina’s historical reputation resembles that of no other composer in the history of music.’ So thunders Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians As anyone who has ever taken a music exam knows there has never been a more worshipped composer It is less certain that there has never been a more influential composer – Beethoven and Wagner spring to mind but even their style has never been dissected to within an inch of its life and held up as a perfect model for an entire period of musical history as Palestrina’s has Nor did the most persuasive organisation on earth – the Catholic church – try to embalm the styles of Beethoven and Wagner and preserve them unaltered for future generations The end result of all this special pleading has been for recent generations to treat Palestrina’s music with suspicion and it is part of our training to want to think outside the box of pedagogical certainties Perhaps this is the place to say that in 40 years of performing little other than Renaissance polyphony myself I have found Palestrina’s music to be consistently the best there is If one needs a comparison it should be with JS Bach: both composers had such perfect techniques that their achievement and expression never dips below a certain level You can’t say that about either Lassus or Handel And to those who object that Palestrina’s style is too pristine to be expressive where Bach was able to turn his counterpoint to many different ends so Palestrina was capable of almost anything The myth of Palestrina is based on two misconceptions: that his style was born perfect hardly varying from the first note to the last that he wrote; and that he was the ‘saviour of church music’ The ‘saviour’ story runs that Palestrina’s friend Marcello Cervini degli Spannochi had for a long time been interested in reforming some of the church’s more out-of-date practices One of his targets was the kind of polyphony which rambled on for pages without cadence It is said that he asked Palestrina to write a mass-setting which would show that concise music It is a nice irony that although the movements of the resulting Missa Papae Marcelli which have the most text were certainly set in a relatively syllabic (one note per syllable) way – and might have helped convince the Cardinals that polyphony could be retained in worship – the other movements were not It is also typical of the kind of romanticising which Palestrina’s reputation underwent after his death that Hans Pfitzner used a motif from the Kyrie for the angels to dictate to the depressed composer – just the kind of music that was not wanted This romanticising has also affected our view of Palestrina’s compositional technique It’s true that he had one of the most assured and consistent methods of composition in the history of Western music but that is different from saying that it never developed That’s just what writers about music were saying for centuries In the great battle that followed Monteverdi’s invention of what came to be known as the ‘modern style’ (stile moderno) traditionalists clung ever more passionately to Palestrina’s version of the ‘old style’ (stile antico) in Johann Fux’s enormously influential treatise Gradus ad Parnassum he was referred to as ‘the celebrated light of music… to whom I owe everything I know of this art and whose memory I shall never cease to cherish’ When I recently gave a lecture in the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music in Moscow on Palestrina showing a copy of the most recent Western book on the subject – HK Andrews’s An Introduction to the Technique of Palestrina (1958) – the students said that more recent examples of this kind of book No one else from the Renaissance period has come anywhere near to this kind of adulation The circumstantial answer is that his closeness to Rome throughout his life meant that the Catholic church could easily turn to him as a reliable and culturally familiar subject this put him in a unique position since he was more or less alone in the whole of Italy as a reputable composer of Italian birth Every other composer of note working in Italy was either Flemish or Spanish It wasn’t until the turn of the 17th century that so many native Italians found their voices and followed Monteverdi’s lead Palestrina’s music was essentially the product of a Flemish training; nonetheless he was perfectly placed to represent a traditional Catholic style to the Cardinals The musical answer is that by the middle of the 16th century when he was about 40 and the Council of Trent was in full swing Palestrina was already the master of everything that was useful in the musical language of his day and an unswerving determination to build up a musical lexicon from the knowledge he had acquired he was rapidly coming to represent a whole school of writing – in fact two whole schools since there were few Flemish composers left in Italy who could rival him (Lassus was in Munich) Just as Bach had done when he copied out and reworked Vivaldi’s concerto for four violins so Palestrina took Josquin’s motet Benedicta es and turned it into a parody mass: a more durable and up-to-date language was created out of the old one And so Palestrina’s strength was in collecting and polishing not as an innovator in the mould of Monteverdi No one has fully charted the way he did this nor explained how he arrived so early at the idiom which would be so talked about for the next 450 years The problem is that his music is difficult to date which in their parody form give the best clue as to where he learnt his trade by the middle of the century he had become fluent in all the essential techniques of Flemish composition able to produce a large body of compositions in the assured idiom which underlay all the subsequent styles an aspect of his work that has been almost completely ignored follow the language of his sacred music and add little to the overall picture But with the influence of the Counter-Reformation and his style slowly changed towards that desired idiom of shorter phrases and clearer word-setting In practice this meant a less contrapuntal method Once again he showed no signs of sweating over the minutiae – the new music seemed to come seemlessly and wholly formed from what preceded it; but if there was a pivotal work it does seem to have been the Missa Papae Marcelli I know of no other piece by Palestrina which includes the three prevailing methods of composition side by side: no-hurry imitative polyphony in the Kyrie Sanctus and Agnus I; new-style chordal music in the Gloria and Credo; and the mathematical Agnus II Like Tallis in very similar circumstances elsewhere everything Palestrina wrote here sounds mature and focussed One of the pleasures in his writing is his ability to write engaging happy music Many composers find it easier to set penitential texts than joyful ones: the language of affective dissonance comes readily to hand It is much more difficult to sustain interest through a text of praise like a Magnificat or Psalm 150 But through carefully controlled sonority (the spacing of the voices in the final cadences for instance) and an unusually clear polyphonic texture more generally The classic example of this is the six-voice Tu es Petrus with its ever more compelling shout at ‘claves regni caelorum’ (the keys of heaven) Another is the Magnificat Primi Toni for double choir a work fully in the later homophonic style indeed consisting almost entirely of chords begging the question: how can a series of undecorated common chords be so interesting he tended to avoid the more obvious affective devices: wrenching dissonances and artfully placed chromaticisms Palestrina preferred to maintain a luminous sound with his choir through which the words could express themselves naturally The mood in a piece like Tribulationes civitatum slowly builds as the complaint gains in intensity as a believing Catholic he always seemed to be looking for the positive side to a dark situation Thus his ineffable Stabat mater ends not with the heavy spirit which has characterised most of its length the listener might well ask how a series of undecorated common chords can be so interesting The answer is that in fact Palestrina didn’t need all that Flemish learning on which he relied in his youth – the codified style – but like every artist of genius could turn the simplest things to the greatest effect In the end his music came to be the embodiment of simplicity – even though for generations it has been made to sound so reverend and involved Peter Phillips we debunk an urban myth about ancient music that surrounds the 16th century Catholic composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Palestrina is most famous for his beautiful multi-voice compositions many believed that Palestrina had saved polyphony from extinction during the Counter-Reformation writing music that was so beautiful the Pope allowed polyphony to continue as church music as long as it was in Palestrina's style That's not exactly what happened...listen to this week's podcast to get the whole story and tune in to WFIU on Tuesday nights at 8 o'clock to play Ether Game Anonymous Medieval chant: O Lux beata trinitias Johannes Ockeghem (1425-1497): Missa Prolationum Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594): Missa Pape Marcelli Ether Game is a weekly one-hour radio guessing game program produced by WFIU Public Radio Learn More » to be held throughout 2025 at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in Grand Rapids “is a year-long celebration of the life and legacy of the supreme maestro as he turns half-a-millennium old.” The year 2025 marks the 500th anniversary of perhaps the most famous composer of Catholic sacred Music: Giovanni Palestrina At the flourishing parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in Grand Rapids the anniversary year will be marked by a festival of faith including monthly concerts of the finest quality Jonathan Bading, music director at Sacred Heart Parish, spoke with CWR recently about the Palestina500 project Jonathan Bading: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594) was a composer and organist in a Rome reeling from the Reformation He held some of the most prominent directing positions in the Eternal City the clerical ensemble that sang for Papal Masses at St He was the leading sacred musician at the time of the Council of Trent and the Council Fathers thus esteemed his music as the exemplary model of sacred polyphony and pointed to it as a means of liturgical unity in a fractured Church Palestrina influenced many major composers after him who copied his music and even troped on it His oeuvre is enormous: he wrote over 100 Mass settings alone He is one of the major pillars of sacred music and his 500th birthday is an opportunity to thank God for his legacy and call to mind the strength Jonathan Bading: Palestrina500 is a year-long celebration of the life and legacy of the supreme maestro as he turns half-a-millennium old The musicological significance of this anniversary alone merits such a festival as his music is quintessential to the Roman Rite we as Catholics owe him this particular homage: we aim to restore his music to the context for which it was written: The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass And we’re bringing in top-tier international and local ensembles to do this music justice we hope to glorify Our Eucharistic Lord in the beauty of holiness or whomever into this Temple free of charge CWR: How does the Sacred Heart parish see Palestrina500 as a unique parochial outreach Jonathan Bading: Our parish is buried in the Polish neighborhoods of west Grand Rapids Though Grand Rapids is often associated with Dutch Calvinism the west bank of the Grand River has been the home of working-class ethnic Catholics for over a hundred years: the Poles Our parish went through a revival of sorts a little over a decade ago: we revitalized our parochial school by rebuilding it upon a classical model we prioritized reverence and adherence to Tradition in the celebration and the music of the Mass and we founded multiple apostolates to serve the needs of our community we have a weekend Mass attendance close to 1,000 and annual RCIA classes in the double digits We’re in the middle stages of restoring our sanctuary to its former glory; we’ll be installing a new high altar next month Palestrina500 highlights explicitly what has underpinned our parish implicitly for the last 10 years: that the Mass deserves all of our time CWR: You have a dozen ensembles of the finest quality lined up A great anecdote about The Tallis Scholars: The one feasible date they offered me happened to be the Friday within the Octave of Easter and I thought that it must be an act of Providence: Easter Friday is a Solemnity a stark contrast to Good Friday a week before and a great opportunity to enter into the Octave of Octaves that we seldom have the resources (or energy) to celebrate in proper fashion A few of my musical colleagues have asked me what strings I had to pull to get these “professional” or “academic” ensembles (in contrast to liturgical choirs groups that sing regularly for Mass) to sing this music in its proper context I spoke perhaps to the musicological significance of singing this music in its proper liturgical context Some groups have indeed expressed excitement for this unique opportunity CWR: Will the concerts only consist of Palestrina’s music Will any modern sacred compositions be included to showcase that his legacy continues giving us an opportunity to demo this format Their repertoire for the choral meditation spanned 600 years from DuFay (15th c.) to brand new commissions It served as a wonderful contrast to the Mass which featured William Byrd (another great Renaissance composer) heavily We hope for the same effect—a highlighting of Palestrina’s influence and legacy with an exception of Gregorian chant (those two musical styles make wonderful companions) CWR: Palestrina500 will also include liturgical celebration Can you speak about the ecumenical and apologetic quality of beauty How might it serve as a way to bring non-Catholics into contact with the sacred the crowning event every evening will be the Mass featuring one of Palestrina’s ordinaries (Kyrie I converted to Catholicism after hearing Victoria (a contemporary of Palestrina’s) sung in the Mass Even though I had heard and studied and performed this very music countless times I heard it then sacramentally for the first time Pius X once dared to utter: that sacred music “adds greater efficacy to the text,” that is As the Catholic Church is the crucible of civilization no thanks to the rampant liturgical utilitarianism But when we celebrate and restore her Sacred Mysteries to this full and this desire for eternity is written on every human heart So I look at liturgical beauty as a divine balm to a broken world one that convinces you of Our Lord when he says We’re well on our way in raising our $150,000 goal but as there are imaginably so many line items for a festival like this truly “every dollar counts.” Your $15 will buy us a bottle of wine (from Lazio where Rome and the town of Palestrina are located) for one of the twelve receptions and your $15,000 can underwrite one of the performances (which come with some perks!) And please know that as Palestrina500 is an apostolate of our parish this constitutes tithing to Holy Mother Church—in other words If you feel compelled in the slightest towards charity there’s an address there to contact me directly If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter PHOTOS: Pope Francis shares Vatican lunch with poor Hope to be back in GR to attend one of the performances and will be making a donation although I was baptized at St Peter and Paul and later a member at St Adalbert’s (a minor Basilica) As I understand it at one time it was on the verge of closing its school the school is thriving and expanded to include a high school When I am able to go to Sacred Heart for mass it is wonderful to see multi children families at mass with boy alter servers; it’s almost if the clock was turned back to 1960 Looking forward to the concert performances Right now hoping Detroit Lions beat Green Bay in the Traditional Thanksgiving game If Lions win will need to check the clock to see if it 1960’s All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" John Allen’s latest column gives some much-needed context and perspective on the Vatican’s recent closing of Rome’s Holy Cross in Jerusalem abbey – a story you may have seen earlier in the week under the […] You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/ Sign up to receive a weekly email with news (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[3]='MMERGE3';ftypes[3]='text';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';fnames[4]='MMERGE4';ftypes[4]='text';fnames[5]='MMERGE5';ftypes[5]='text';fnames[6]='MMERGE6';ftypes[6]='number';fnames[7]='MMERGE7';ftypes[7]='radio';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); VOCES8 is back with a stellar performance of Palestrina’s “Sicut Cervus,” a 17th-century hymn originally written for Holy Saturday While the esteemed sacred choir was a little late with this release there are some songs that are so beautiful that they can be enjoyed even out of season the tune’s reference to the “living water” is perfectly suited to the ongoing National Eucharistic Revival in the United States “Sicut Cervus” is one of Palestrina’s most well known motets a style of music the composer pioneered during the Renaissance and that proliferated in the Church Palestrina was quite possibly the most prolific composer of the Renaissance era completing more than 105 Masses and over 250 motets This hymn is a setting of the first three verses of Psalm 42: A maskil of the Korahites.As the deer longs for streams of water,so my soul longs for you the living God.When can I enter and see the face of God?* VOCES8 gives the nearly 500-year-old song a marvelous treatment It’s hard to overstate the exceptional talent needed to sing music of the Renaissance Its polyphonic form means that each voice is singing its own melodic line as opposed to a large scale chorus where many people are singing each part Each of these individual melodies come together to form a whole making this style of music a wonderful metaphor for all of God’s creation There are a ton of equally impressive sacred songs, and even some secular songs arranged for choir, on VOCES8’s YouTube page. Be sure to visit their official website to keep up with all the future releases of the world’s premier sacred choir Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you Please make a tax-deductible donation today Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting Catholic news Duomo di Milano Starting from Easter Sunday (31st March) and for all Sundays of Easter time the Music Chapel of the Milan Duomo – the oldest Milanese cultural institution active uninterruptedly since 1402 – will offer some musical treasures taken from the Ambrosian repertoire and from the most significant pages of Renaissance sacred polyphony always in the sign of a pertinent approach to the liturgies of the Cathedral The Chapter liturgies of the Sundays of Easter time in the Duomo of Milan will be characterised by the chant of the Offertorio composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (Palestrina based on the Venetian printing of 1594 by the typography of Angelo Gardano Click on this link to download the sources the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo and the Metropolitan Chapter of Milan offer all the worshippers and visitors from abroad the possibility of downloading a liturgical subsidy in English onto their device including the Sunday Readings and the Rite of the Mass by means of special QR Codes located in various places in the Cathedral The aids in English, which can also be accessed through the link liturgy.duomomilano.it are also accompanied by a second document including all musical parts in order to facilitate greater accessibility and openness to those from all over the world who wish to experience the Duomo in the fullness of its cultural and faith dimension Inviting everyone to experience this dimension, we remind you that all festive Chapter celebrations are streamed live on the official Duomo di Milano YouTube channel Duomo Milano Tv released this rendition of Palestrina’s “Magnificat Primi Toni” in early May 2020 displaying a fluid movement in the voice parts that defined the sacred music style of the 16th century The skilled singers of the famed UK vocal group perform the difficult piece to perfection What makes the works of Palestrina so demanding is the counterpoint style In counterpoint the melodic line can be hard to find because each voice part has its own melody All of these melodies weave together to make a grander sound than each would alone The result is a cascading waterfall of melody with each part ceasing just as another picks up the line these melodies unite to give the impression of fluid This is in itself one of the most wonderful things about sacred music While the lyrics move through the text of prayers and scriptural references the music acts as a metaphor for the ever-present and moving Spirit of the Almighty “Magnificat Primi Toni” is a canticle also known as the “Song of Mary.” The text is drawn from the Gospel of Luke 1:46-56, when Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth praised Mary’s faith, to which she responded with what would become known as the Magnificat. The Magnificat is considered one of the eight oldest Christian hymns, and most likely the earliest Marian hymn