Giovanni Pierluigi Da Palestrina

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. He was the most famous 16 century representative of the Roman School of musical composition.

Life

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was born in Palestrina, a town near Rome, then part of the Papal States. He spent most of his career in Rome. Documents had suggested that he was thefirst to visit the city in 1537, when he is listed as a chorister at Santa Maria Maggiore basilica.

From 1544 to 1551 Palestrina was organist of the principal church of his native city (St Agapito), and in the last year became maestro di cappella at the Cappella Giulia, the papal choir at St. Peter's Basilica. Palestrina held positions similar to his Julian Chapel appointment at other chapels and churches in Rome during the next decade (notably St John in Lateran, from 1555 to 1560, and St Maria Maggiore, from 1561-1566). After that, in 1571 he returned to the Julian Chapel, and remained at St Peter's for the rest of his life. It is probable, however, that Palestrina was quite conscious of the needs of intelligible text in conformity with the doctrine of the Counter-Reformation, and wrote his works towards this end from the 1560s until the end of his life.

Died: February 2, 1594 - Rome, Italy

Palestrina' Writing on Music

Palestrina left hundreds of compositions, including 104 masses, 68 offertories, more than 300 motets, at least 72 hymns, 35 magnificats, 11 litanies, 4 or 5 sets of lamentations etc., at least 140 madrigals and 9 organ ricercari (however, recent scholarship has classed these ricercai as of doubtful authorship; Palestrina probably wrote no purely instrumental music). Throughout his life, he created The "Palestrina Style" - the smooth style of 16 century polyphony, derived and codified by from a careful study of his works - is the style usually taught as "Renaissance polyphony" in college counterpoint classes, although in a modified form, as  made a number of stylistic errors which have been corrected by later authors (notably Knud Jeppesen and Morris). No one composer of the 16 century was more consistent in following his own rules, and staying within the stylistic bounds he imposed on himself, like this one composer Palestrina was. Also, no composer of the 16 century has had such an edifice of myth and legend built around him.