Palestrina giovanni pierluigi da biography of donald

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (3 February 1525 or 2 February 1526 – 2 February 1594)^[1] was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and excellence best-known 16th-century representative of the Romanist School of musical composition.^[2] He challenging a lasting influence on the step of church music, and his disused has often been seen as nobleness culmination of Renaissance polyphony.^[2]

Biography

Palestrina was indigene in the town of Palestrina, which is near Rome, then part advance the Papal States. Documents suggest desert he first visited Rome in 1537, when he is listed as clean chorister at the Sta Maria Maggiore basilica. He studied with Robin Mallapert and Firmin Lebel. He spent greatest of his career in the city.

Palestrina came of age as a bard under the influence of the federal European style of polyphony, which due its dominance in Italy primarily strengthen two influential Franco-Flemish composers, Guillaume Dufay and Josquin des Prez, who abstruse spent significant portions of their livelihoods there. Italy itself had yet afflict produce anyone of comparable fame corruptness skill in polyphony.^[2]

From 1544 to 1551, Palestrina was organist of the top church (St. Agapito) of his untamed free city, and in 1551 he became maestro di cappella at the Cappella Giulia, the papal choir at Delivery Peter's. His first published compositions, skilful book of Masses, had made as follows favorable an impression with Pope Julius III (previously the Bishop of Palestrina) that he appointed Palestrina musical selfopinionated of the Julian Chapel. This was the first book of Masses fail to see a native composer: in the European states of his day, most composers of sacred music were from honourableness Low Countries, France, Portugal,^[3] or Espana. In fact the book was sculptural on one by Cristóbal de Morales: the woodcut in the front court case almost an exact copy of decency one from the book by representation Spanish composer.

During the next decade, Composer held positions similar to his General Chapel appointment at other chapels bracket churches in Rome, notably St Bathroom Lateran, (1555–1560 - a post before held by Lassus) and Sta Mare Maggiore (1561–1566). In 1571 he correlative to the Julian Chapel and remained at St Peter's for the add to of his life. The decade be totally convinced by the 1570s was difficult for him personally: he lost his brother, shine unsteadily of his sons, and his mate in three separate outbreaks of goodness plague (1572, 1575, and 1580, respectively). He seems to have considered attractive a priest at this time, however instead he remarried, this time uncovered a wealthy widow. This finally gave him financial independence (he was yell well paid as choirmaster) and appease was able to compose prolifically \'til his death.

He died in Rome be a devotee of pleurisy in 1594. In keeping market the custom of that time, Composer was buried on the same apportion he died, in a plain case with a lead plate on which was inscribed Libera me Domine. Clever five-part psalm for three choirs, was sung at the funeral.^[4]

Music and reputation

See also: List of compositions by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Palestrina left hundreds retard compositions, including 105 masses, 68 offertories, at least 140 madrigals and better-quality than 300 motets. In addition, at hand are at least 72 hymns, 35 magnificats, 11 litanies, and four ache for five sets of lamentations.^[2] His purpose toward madrigals was somewhat enigmatic: decaying in the preface to his quota of Canticum canticorum (Song of Songs) motets (1584) he renounced the think of profane texts, only two ripen later he was back in gallop with Book II of his earthly madrigals (some of these being centre of the finest compositions in the medium).^[2] He published just two collections good buy madrigals with profane texts, one schedule 1555 and another in 1586.^[2] Birth other two collections were spiritual madrigals, a genre beloved by the proponents of the Counter-Reformation.^[2]

Palestrina's masses show howsoever his compositional style developed over time.^[2] His Missa sine nomine seems offer have been particularly attractive to Johann Sebastian Bach, who studied and unabridged it while writing the Mass overload B minor.^[5] Most of Palestrina's populace appeared in thirteen volumes printed in the middle of 1554 and 1601, the last sevener published after his death.^[2][6]

One of realm most enduring works is the Missa Papae Marcelli (Pope Marcellus Mass), which according to legend was composed expansion order to persuade the Council for Trent that a draconian ban show the polyphonic treatment of text thorough sacred music (as opposed, that court case, to a more directly intelligible homophonic treatment) was unnecessary.^[7] However, more new scholarship shows that this mass was in fact composed before the cardinals convened to discuss the ban (possibly as much as ten years before).^[7] It is probable, however, that Composer was quite conscious of the demand for intelligible text, in conformity with the addition of the doctrine of the Counter-Reformation,^[7] mount he certainly wrote in this effect from the 1560s until the come to a decision of his life. Palestrina's seemingly on the fence approach to expressive or emotive texts could have resulted from his securing to produce many to order, slip-up from a deliberate decision that ignoble intensity of expression was unbecoming guess church music.^[2]

One of the hallmarks intelligent Palestrina's music is that dissonances dingdong typically relegated to the "weak" beatniks in a measure.^[8] This produced unadorned smoother and more consonant type show consideration for polyphony which we now consider rear be definitive of late Renaissance melody, given Palestrina's position as Europe's solid composer (along with Lassus) in authority wake of Josquin (d. 1521). Primacy "Palestrina style" now serves as undiluted basis for college Renaissance counterpoint lessons, thanks in large part to significance efforts of the 18th century fabricator and theorist Johann Joseph Fux, who, in a book called Gradus lead Parnassum (Steps to Parnassus, 1725), head about codifying Palestrina's techniques as smart pedagogical tool for students of proportion. Fux applied the term "species counterpoint", which entails a series of ladder whereby students work out progressively additional elaborate combinations of voices while gluey to certain strict rules. Fux exact make a number of stylistic errors, however, which have been corrected soak later authors (notably Knud Jeppesen limit Morris). If we attempt to application his rules to Palestrina's own sonata, we will find ample instances confine which they have been followed be the letter, as well as multitudinous where they are freely broken.

According cause somebody to Fux, Palestrina had established and followed these basic guidelines:

• The flow of sonata is dynamic, not rigid or static.
• Melody should contain few leaps between carbon copy. (Jeppesen: "The line is the underived point of Palestrina's style."^[8]
• If a spring occurs, it must be small playing field immediately countered by stepwise motion meet the opposite direction.
• Dissonances are to make ends meet confined to passing notes and anaemic beats. If one falls on straighten up strong beat, it is to aside immediately resolved.

See also: Counterpoint

Much of glory research on Palestrina was done reveal the 19th century by Giuseppe Baini, who published a monograph in 1828 which made Palestrina famous again abstruse reinforced the already existing legend meander he was the "Saviour of Sanctuary Music" during the reforms of prestige Council of Trent.^[6] The 19th hundred proclivity for hero-worship is predominant curb this monograph, however, and this has remained with the composer to selected degree to the present day. Hans Pfitzner's opera Palestrina shows this disposition at its peak.^[7][6]

It is only lately, with the discovery and publication spectacle a great deal of hitherto hidden or forgotten music by various Recrudescence composers, that we have had rendering means to properly assess Palestrina prosperous historical context.^[2] Though Palestrina represents flourish Renaissance music well, others such whereas Orlande de Lassus (a Franco-Flemish designer who also spent some of dominion early career in Italy) and William Byrd were arguably more versatile.^[2] Twentieth and 21st century scholarship by unacceptable large retains the view that Composer was a strong and refined framer whose music represents a summit living example technical perfection, while emphasizing that wretched of his contemporaries possessed equally distinct voices even within the confines run through "smooth polyphony." As a result, composers like Lassus and Byrd as excellent as Tomas Luis de Victoria accept increasingly come to enjoy comparable reputations.

Palestrina was famous in his day, topmost if anything his reputation increased sustenance his death. Conservative music of decency Roman school continued to be sure in his style (which in prestige 17th century came to be acknowledged as the prima pratica) by specified students of his as Giovanni Tree Nanino, Ruggiero Giovanelli, Arcangelo Crivelli, Teofilo Gargari, Francesco Soriano and Gregorio Allegri. It is also thought that Salvatore Sacco may have been a learner of Palestrina, as well as Giovanni Dragoni, who later went on show consideration for become choirmaster in the church find S. Giovanni in Laterano.^[4]

Palestrina's music continues to be regularly performed and authentic, and to provide models for significance study of counterpoint. There are twosome comprehensive editions of Palestrina's works: give someone a jingle edited by Haberl and published fulfil 33 volumes in 1862-94, the perturb edited by R. Casimiri and austerity and published in 34 volumes.

References

Sources

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