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Palestrina’s work fulfils much of
what was expected of polyphony
in the era after the Council of Trent,
with his targeted approach to
dissonance, clarity of declamation,
and refined command of polyphonic
writing. Yet Palestrina did not shy
away from taking the new precepts
to their limits: his Missa repleatur
os meum in five voices, published
in 1570, shows complete control
of the virtuoso “canonic” style
favored by the Franco-Flemish
composers but with such clear
handling of the text that even
Cirillo might have approved.
In his Canticum Canticorum,
composed in 1584, an acclaimed
cycle of 29 motets based on the
Old Testament’s “Song of Solomon,”Palestrina was even more daring.
While he referred to it as a sacred
piece, he unashamedly embraced
a more passionate style, explaining
in his dedication to Pope Gregory
XIII that this was in keeping with
its subject matter.Elsewhere in Europe
Palestrina was one bright star in a
constellation of great polyphonists
of the Counter-Reformation. In
Spain, the orthodox zeal of Philip II
encouraged a strong school of
polyphonic composition in its
cathedrals. Tomás Luis de Victoria,
a prolific composer of sacred works,
was renowned for the intense
drama of his music. He had been
a choirboy and organist in Ávila,
before going to Rome, where he
may have studied with Palestrina.
Later returning to Spain, he spent
most of his working life at Madrid’s
convent of the Descalzas Reales.RENAISSANCE 1400–1600
The German states were greatly
split in their religious allegiance;
the Southern principalities still
adhered to Rome. Duke Albrecht V
of Bavaria, a leading figure of the
German Counter-Reformation, for
example, employed many musicians
including Orlande de Lassus, a
Flemish composer renowned as
a child for the beauty of his singing
voice. Under generous ducal
patronage, Lassus directed the
Hofkapelle, combining voices,
violins, viols, lute, a variety of
brass and woodwind instruments,
and even a rackett (a newly
invented, gently buzzing bass
reed instrument). Such a large
ensemble of almost orchestral
ambition would have been highly
unusual for the time. If the Catholic
Church looked askance at such
instrumentation, its guidelines
were obviously open to a degree
of local interpretation. ■Palestrina spent five years as
maestro di cappella (music director)
at St. John Lateran in Rome, depicted
in this 17th-century Dutch print.US_046-051_Giovanni_da_Palestrina.indd 51 27/03/18 4:49 PM