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Five centuries ago, on a day perhaps much like today, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was born, a figure whom Giuseppe Verdi hailed as “the true prince of sacred music and the eternal father of Italian music.”[1]
At just eleven years old, Giovanni was already a choirboy at Rome’s Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, studying under Rubin Mallapert and later Firmin Le Bel († 1573). From October 25, 1544, he served as organist and singing master at the Cathedral of Palestrina, with the lifelong duty of “toto tempore sue vite [sic] pulsare organa diebus festivis” (“playing the organ on feast days for his entire life”) and teaching singing to canons and children.[2]
On September 1, 1551, Palestrina was appointed Maestro of the Cappella Giulia, the choir of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, by Pope Julius III († 1555), who had known him during his seven years as Bishop of Palestrina. Although he became a singer in the Sistine Chapel on January 13, 1555, he was expelled on July 30 by Pope Paul IV († 1559), along with two others, for their marriages and lack of minor orders. Palestrina subsequently became the Maestro of the Cappella Lateranense and on March 1, 1561, returned as Maestro at S. Maria Maggiore. Finally, on April 1, 1571, he was reappointed Maestro of the Cappella Giulia. He also held other positions: from April 1566, he taught music at the Roman Seminary, then run by the Jesuits; although never its music director, he was a composer for the Sistine Chapel.
Pope John Paul II described him as someone who “managed to harmonize the development of exceptional artistic talents with the content of a solid formation of faith. His life as a composer was marked by two constants: a diligent hard work in service of the worship of the Christian people and a vigilant attention to the Word of God.”[3]
Giovanni Pierluigi died on February 2, 1594, at the age of 68 and was buried in St. Peter’s Basilica. On his tomb, “on a lead plate were engraved these words: Ioannes Petrus Aloysius Prænestinus Musicæ Princeps.”[4]
Deeply religious and of impeccable morality, Palestrina was also a practical businessman. Following his second marriage, he became a successful fur merchant, which enabled him to publish numerous works. Among these are 89 secular madrigals, 30 spiritual madrigals, 34 hymns, 20 Magnificats, ten sets of lamentations and five litanies, 68 offertories, five fauxbourdons, 295 motets, including 29 on the complete text of The Song of Songs, and 104 masses.
With patience, he dedicated himself to studying everything that could enhance his solid preparation, always adapting to the demands of liturgical celebration and the culture of God’s people in the particular Church where he worked. Thus, we see him in contact with Mantua, partly following musical programs different from those already familiar to him from his work in Rome at the Cappella Giulia of St. Peter’s Basilica and in the Sistine Chapel for papal celebrations.[5]
The mid-sixteenth century crisis of sacred music, due to polyphony’s complexity, led to concerns that the Council of Trent (1545–1563) might intend to ban art music from churches. The anecdote related to Missa Papae Marcelli illustrates this issue: once, the Pope, struck by the artificiality of the music during the celebration of the Passion of the Lord on Good Friday, emphasized the need for understandable and valuable musical texts. This story has been retold in various forms.
The German composer Hans Pfitzner’s opera Palestrina (1917) portrays the Roman maestro as the savior of ancient musical art. Composers like Johann Joseph Fux († 1741), Ludwig van Beethoven († 1827), Richard Wagner († 1883), Giuseppe Verdi himself († 1901), and many others believed that Palestrina saved sophisticated music from the Catholic Reform promoted by the Council of Trent and the influence of mediocre musicians.
Truth be told, Palestrina, influenced by figures like Josquin des Prez († 1521), independently recognized the need to simplify liturgical music for textual clarity. His second manner, exemplified by the Missa Papæ Marcelli, is remembered as the “Palestrina style,” already recognized in the 17th century as “a classic style universally esteemed in church composition.”[6]
An indefatigable worker, Pierluigi da Palestrina led a life marked by feverish activity and constant apostolic fervor. A brilliant master and, at the same time, a relentless explorer of new artistic expressions, he […] did not neglect the study and search for new solutions to foster a fruitful and appropriate relationship between text and music. For this reason, Palestrina’s art still presents itself today not only as a sublime manifestation of received and testified faith but also as a lasting expression of religious music.[7]
The importance of Palestrina lies in his profound life experience and artistry, which led to clarity of melody and a balanced measure between traditional and harmonic innovation, making his music a model of sacred composition. The memory of this great composer, who “from the fertile sap of Gregorian repertoire […] drew suggestive themes strongly connected with the tradition of sacred song,”[8] should inspire renewed artistic and spiritual endeavors. His art still represents a sublime manifestation of faith and a constant expression of religious music, offering an example for those seeking to harmonize creativity and devotion in their work.
[1] Letter to Giuseppe Gallignani, November 15, 1891, in I copialettere di Giuseppe Verdi, Milan 1913, p. 373; our translation.
[2] R. Casimiri, Note d’archivio per la storia musicale, Psalterium, Rome 1924, p. 44; our translation.
[3] Letter to Monsignor Domenico Bartolucci, February 2, 1994; our translation.
[4] F. M. Torrigio, Le sacre grotte vaticane, Rome 1635, p. 166.
[5] John Paul II, ibidem; our translation.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.