Palestrina biography, Palestrina discography
For other uses, see Palestrina (disambiguation).Palestrina (ancient Praeneste) is an ancient city and comune (municipality) with a population of about 18,000, in Lazio, c.Palestrina is sited on a spur of the Monti Prenestini, a range in the Apennines.Palestrina borders the following municipalities: Artena, Castel San Pietro Romano, Cave, Gallicano nel Lazio, Labico, Rocca di Cave, Rocca Priora, Rome, San Cesareo, Valmontone, Zagarolo.Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia
1.Ancient Praeneste
Early burials show that the site was already occupied in the 8th or 7th century BC.The ancient necropolis lay on a plateau at the foot of the hill below the ancient town.Dindia Macolnia fileai dedit" ("Novios Plautios made me in Rome, Dindia Macolnia gave me to her daughter").The caskets are unique in Italy, but a large number of mirrors of precisely similar style have been discovered in Etruria.Hence, although it would be reasonable to conjecture that objects with Etruscan characteristics came from Etruria, the evidence points decisively to an Etruscan factory in or near Praeneste itself.Other imported objects in the burials show that Praeneste traded not only with Etruria but also with the Greek east.The origin of Praeneste was attributed by the ancients to Ulysses, or to other fabulous characters variously called Caeculus, Telegonus, Praenestus or Erulus.It withdrew from the league in 499 BC, according to Livy (its earlest historical mention), and formed an alliance with Rome.After Rome was weakened by the Gauls of Brennus (390 BC), Praeneste switched allegiances and fought against Rome in the long struggles that culminated in the Latin War.From 373 to 370, it was in continual war against Rome or her allies, and was defeated by Cincinnatus.Its citizens were offered Roman citizenship in 90 BC in the Social War, when concessions had to be made by Rome to cement necessary alliances.In Sulla's second civil war, Gaius Marius the Younger was blockaded in the town by the forces of Sulla (82 BC).Within a decade the lands of the colonia had been assembled by a few large landowners.At the site was discovered the Braschi Antinous, now in the Vatican Museums.Marcus Aurelius, Pliny the Younger and Symmachus also had villas there.The temple was redeveloped after 82 BC as a spectacular series of terraces, exedras and porticos on four levels down the hillside, linked by monumental stairs and ramps.The inspiration for this feat of unified urbanistic design lay, not in republican Rome, but in the Hellenistic monarchies of the eastern Mediterranean.Nile mosaic of Palestrina (ca.As the archaic shrine was elaborated from the 2nd century BC, it was given a colored mosaic pavement representing a seascape: a temple of Poseidon on the shore, with fish of all kinds swimming in the sea.Palestrina (not that in Rome!This immense edifice, probably by far the largest sanctuary in Italy, must have presented a most imposing aspect, visible as it was from a great part of Latium, from Rome, and even from the sea.The goddess Fortuna here went by the name of Primigenia ("First Bearer"), she was represented suckling two babes, as in the Christian representation of Charity, said to be Jupiter and Juno, and she was especially worshipped by matrons.Features of the temple influenced Roman garden design on steeply sloped sites through Antiquity and once again in Italian villa gardens from the 15th century.In 1297 the Colonna family, who then owned Praeneste (by then called Palestrina) from the eleventh century as a fief, revolted from the pope.It was rebuilt once more and fortified by Stefano Colonna in 1448.It was again sacked in 1527, and occupied by the Duke of Alba, in 1556.In 1630 it passed by purchase into the Barberini family.Praeneste was the native town of the 3rd century Roman writer Aelian, and of the great 16th century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.Main sights
The modern town of Palestrina is centered on the terraces once occupied by the massive temple of Fortune.The town contains remnants of cyclopean walls and of the aforesaid great temple of Fortune.Castel San Pietro) and a ruined medieval castle of the Colonna family.The magnificent view embraces the Monte Soratte, Rome, the Alban Hills and the Pontinian Plain as far as the sea.Considerable portions of the southern wall of the ancient citadel, built in very massive Cyclopean masonry of blocks of limestone, are still to be seen; and the two walls, also polygonal, which formerly united the citadel with the town, can still be traced.The calendar, which, as Suetonius tells, was set up by the grammarian, Marcus Verrius Flaccus in the forum of Praeneste (the reference being to the forum of the imperial period, at the Madonna dell'Aquila), was discovered in the ruins of the church of S.Agapitus in 1771, where it had been used as building material.The cathedral, just below the level of the temple, occupies the former civil basilica of the town, upon the facade of which was a sundial described by Varro, traces of which may still be seen.The cathedral has fine paintings and frescoes.The National Archeological Museum of Palestrina is housed inside the Renaissance Barberini Palace, ex baronal palace, builded above the big Temple dedicated to the Ancient Fortune.In exhibits the most important works from the ancient town of Praeneste.The second floor is dedicated to the necropoli and sanctuaries while the third floor contains the large polychrome mosaic depicting the flooding of the Nile (Nile mosaic of Palestrina).Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.Nigel Hamilton,The Brothers Mann,1978 p.This page was last modified 21:54, 1 February 2008.Epoch: RenaissanceCountry: Italy
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (?He was a pupil of Mallapert and Firmin Lebel at St.He became organist of St.Cappella Giulia as maestro in 1571.Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was born in 1525 and died in 1594.Maria Maggiore, Rome, in 1537, he was appointed organist and maestro di cappellaat Palestrina cathedral in 1544 under the Bishop who later became Pope Julius III.Soon after Palestrina's appointment he brought out a book of masses, which are the first ever dedicated to a Pope by an Italian composer.Palestrina was appointed a member of the Sistine Choir, but was subsequently dismissed by Paul IV because of his unacceptable married status, and was quickly retired with a pension.As earlier mentioned, Palestrina returned to the Julian Chapel in 1571 as chapelmaster, remaining there until he died in 1594.Though he was hardly at all employed as a musician in the Papal choir, much of Palestrina's music was destined for performance by it.His madrigals were, as might be expected, conservative compared with progressive developments in that form.Palestrina, was not a prophet without honour in his own country.In the year of jubilee (1575), when pilgrims of all nations flocked to Rome to obtain the indulgences offered them, a procession of fifteen thousand inhabitants of Palestrina, divided into three great choirs, entered the sacred city singing their townsman's music.The incident has in the past been somewhat exaggerated.Choral composition was in those days, of course, highly contrapuntal, full of 'imitations' and other artistic devices necessarily in danger of tending somewhat to obscurity; but the obscurity was not unavoidable, and Palestrina's music appears to have been brought forward in refutation of the singers' claim, which might have led to drastic action by the Council.Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli has often been referred to in this connexion with the argument before the Council, but its citation on this occasion is not certainly known.The known facts are that Pope Marcellus II died after he had been three weeks in office (1555).Returning on Good Friday from the service at which the Reproaches are sung, he called for his choir and urged upon them the necessity of a proper choice of music in future, with a view to the character of the particular service in which it was to be sung, and also that of letting the words stand out clearly.These were ideals in consonance with Palestrina's spirit as a Church composer, and it was probably with the memory of that Good Friday meeting in mind that, when he printed this Mass (in 1567), he gave it the title Missa Papae Marcelli.The greatest composer of liturgical music of all time, born at Palestrina (ancient Praeneste) in 1514 or 1515, according to Baini, Riemann, and others, according to Haberl, in 1526; died at Rome, 2 February, 1594.His early history is practically unknown.Vatican, relates that young Pierluigi sang in the streets of Rome while offering for sale the products of his parents farm and that he was heard on such an occasion by the choirmaster of Santa Maria Maggiore, who, impressed by the boy's beautiful voice and pronounced musical talent, educated him musically.Peter's, and within the same year was advanced to the post of choirmaster.In the course of the same year, Palestrina published a volume of madrigals.The texts of some of these the composer himself in later years considered too free.In the dedication of his setting of the Canticle of Canticles to Gregory XIII, he expresses not only regret but repentance, for having caused scandal by this publication.Besides Palestrina, there were two other lay married members in the choir.All were dismissed with a small pension, in spite of the understanding that these singers were engaged for life.John Lateran, where he remained until February, 1561.Their performance by the papal choir on Good Friday was ordered by Paul IV, and they have remained in its repertoire for Holy Week ever since.This production greatly increased Palestrina's fame.In 1561 he asked the chapter of St.It is not know at what period of his career Palestrina came under the influence of St.The task of hastening the reforms decreed by the Council of Trent was entrusted by Pius IV to a commission of eight cardinals.Charles, as chancellor of his uncle, Pius IV, was the patron of Palestrina, increasing his pension in 1565.He celebrated a solemn Mass in presence of the pontiff on 19 June, 1565, at which Palestrina's great "Missa Papae Marcelli" was sung.These historical data are the only discoverable basis for the legends, so long repeated by historians, concerning the trial before the cardinals and pope of the cause of polyphonic music, and its vindication by Palestrina, in the composition and performance of three masses, the "Missa Papae Marcelli" among them.Haberl's studies of the archives conclusively demolished these fictions, but their continued repetition for nearly two hundred years emphasizes the fact of Palestrina's activity, inspired by St.Pius IV created for Palestrina the office of "Composer of the Papal Chapel" with an increased salary.In this office he had only one successor, Felice Anerio.When in 1571 Giovanni Animuccia, choirmaster at St.Peter's, died, Palestrina became his successor, thus being connected with the papal choir and St.An attempt of his jealous and intriguing colleagues in the papal chapel to have him dismissed by Pius V was unsuccessful.Besides the duties of choirmaster at St.Philip's Oratory, he also taught at the school of music of Giovanni Maria Nanini.His exact share in this edition, afterwards published under the name of "editio Medicaea" because printed in a press belonging to Cardinal de' Medici, and what was prepared by his pupil Giovanni Guidetti, Felice Anerio, and Francesco Suriano, has long been a matter of controversy.The undertaking was not particularly congenial to Palestrina and kept him from original production, his real field of activity.With these he intended to close his creative activity, but with the appointment in 1581 as director of music to Prince Buoncompagni, nephew of Gregory XIII, he began perhaps the most brilliant period of his long life.According to his own statement, Palestrina intended to reproduce in his composition the Divine love expressed in the Canticle, so that his own heart might be touched by a spark thereof.Haberl presented the last volume of the completed edition to Pius X on Easter Monday, 1908.Palestrina's significance lies not so much in his unprecedented gifts of mind and heart, his creative and constructive powers, as in the fact that he made them the medium for the expression in tones of the state of his own soul, which, trained and formed by St.Publication information Written by Joseph Otten.New York: Robert Appleton Company.Nihil Obstat, February 1, 1911.GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA
Born: c.Palestrina, Italy
Died: February 2, 1594.Did Palestrina save church music?According to this myth, the members of the Council of Trent were poised on the brink of banning polyphonic music in the church.It was only after hearing a piece by Palestrina (often said to be the Pope Marcellus Mass) that they relented.While the story is not true, it reflects a real aspect of Palestrina's life: his commitment to sacred music and his keen interest in satisfying the desires of church leaders in the sixteenth century.Palestrina's career likewise reflects his commitment to the music of the church.He was born in the small town of Palestrina (outside of Rome) and received his early training and spent the great majority of his career in various churches in Rome, including the Pope's chapel.His music was universally recognized as a model of clarity and balance, and theorists of the time constantly pointed to his pieces to illustrate their points.We can hear all these elements when we listen to Palestrina's music.All the melodies within the contrapuntal web he creates are beautiful, balanced and comfortable for the singer.The text is easy to understand, and the syllables of the words almost always receive the proper stress and length.Palestrina treats the various combinations of high and low voices in the same way that an orchestral composer treats the instruments, allowing us to hear a wide variety of colors within a single piece.Works:
Sacred music, including 104 Masses, more than 250 motets, some 200 liturgical pieces (psalms, Magnificats, hymns, etc.Acclaimed as one of the greatest composers of Renaissance
church music, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was born in 1525 (exact date
disputed), and he died in 1594.Following his early training as a choirboy at Santa Maria
Maggiore in Rome from 1537 onward, where he was
a pupil of Mallapert and Firmin Lebel, Palestrina was
appointed organist and maestro di cappella at
Saint Agapito, in the village of Palestrina in 1544, and in 1547 he
married Lucrezia Gori there.Mass
Ordinaries, which he gratefully dedicated to Pope Julius III.Palestrina was later appointed a member of the Sistine
Chapel Choir by Pope Julius.He was
quickly retired with a small pension.As previously mentioned, Palestrina
returned to the Julian Chapel in 1571 as chapelmaster, remaining there until he
died in 1594.During the
1560s and 1570s, Palestrina's fame and influence rapidly increased through the
wide diffusion of his published compositions.Palestrina's music was
destined for performance by the most elite cathedral choirs within the Roman
Catholic sphere of influence, and his creative output contains 105 Masses, some
250 motets, several volumes of specific liturgical works (Offertories,
Litanies, hymns, Magnificats and Lamentations), two books of secular madrigals
and two of spiritual madrigals.His preference for writing Masses and for
remaining in Rome within the orbit of the papacy marks him as a man of
conservative inclinations, though his style did develop away from the mainly
contrapuntal towards more chordal and harmonically orientated part writing.Palestrina was not a
prophet without honor in his own country.In the Year of Jubilee (1575), when many
pilgrims of all nations flocked to Rome to obtain the indulgences offered them,
a procession of fifteen thousand inhabitants of Palestrina divided into three
great choirs and entered Rome singing their townsman's music.The incident has in the past been somewhat exaggerated over the
centuries.Advice was taken from a sort of committee of eight
Papal singers, who demurred on one point, the demand that the words of church
music should always be intelligible to the listener.Palestrina's Missa Papae
Marcelli has often been referred to in this connection with the
argument before the Council, but its citation on this occasion is not certainly
known.Reform was 'in the air' just then, for the Holy Church
had lost England, and this was looked on by the devout as a warning.Church whose person was the very
embodiment of the principle of reform.During his brief
occupancy of the chair of St.Peter, Pope Marcellus showed his zeal for
improvement in church music.These were ideals in consonance with Palestrina's
spirit as a Church composer, and it was probably with the memory of that Good
Friday meeting in mind that, when he printed this Mass in 1567, he gave it the
title Missa Papae Marcelli.After his wife's death in 1580, he seriously considered taking holy
orders, but instead he remarried a wealthy widow in 1581.In his sacred music he assimilated and refined his
predecessors' polyphonic techniques to produce a 'seamless' texture, with all
voices perfectly balanced.The nobility and restraint of his most expressive
works established the almost legendary reverence that has long surrounded his
name and helped set him up as the classic model of Renaissance
polyphony.Find the music of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina in the Archives.Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da (b Palestrina, nr.Maria Maggiore, Rome, in 1537.Organist and choirmaster, Palestrina, 1544.In 1550 the Bishop became Pope Julius III and in 1551 summoned Palestrina to Rome as choirmaster of Cappella Giulia, a nursery for Sistine Choir.The following year Palestrina published his first book of Masses.In 1555 a new Pope, Paul IV, dismissed Palestrina and two others from the Sistine Choir because they were married.Palestrina was appointed choirmaster of St John Lateran in 1555 in succession to Lassus.In 1567 he resigned to enter service of Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, having become dissatisfied with the papal reforms of church mus.In addition, others of his masses incl.The cardinal kept a mus.In 1571 Palestrina became dir.Over the next few years he lost both his sons and his wife through epidemics and decided to become a priest.But after a few weeks he changed his mind and married again, his new wife being the rich widow of a fur merchant.Palestrina formed a partnership with one of the men in the business and made a fortune which enabled him in the last 13 years of his life to publish 16 colls.He had neither the range nor the inventiveness of Byrd and Lassus, but the skill with which his sacred works are based on the secular madrigal gives his mus.CANTIONES SACRAE: 2 for 8 vv.OTHER WORKS: Hymns for 4 vv.Sacred Madrigals for 5, 4, and 3 vv.Click to add the button to your Google Toolbar.The greatest master of Roman Catholic church music, Palestrina was the name of a small town near Rome where he was born.Palestrina began his musical training when he was seven, starting out as a choirboy in the local cathedral similar to many other composers.He traveled to Rome, still a member of the choir, and continued to study music there.In 1544, Palestrina returned to his hometown, showing everything he learned, as organist and choirmaster of the cathedral.When the bishop of the cathedral became Pope Julius III, he took Palestrina with him to Rome as choirmaster of the Cappella Giulia.Palestrina's first book of masses, printed in 1554, was dedicated to the pope, and the pope returned the favor by assigning him as a member of the Sistine Choir in the Vatican.Palestrina went on to serve as music director of several churches after he was relieved from his position in the Sistine Choir once the pope was replaced.In 1571, he returned to the Cappella Giulia, where he stayed as music director for the rest of his life.The works of Palestrina were like those of no other.He used that smooth, echo of voices to create his own style of characteristic styles of the church, the type of music one ruminates about when visiting the great cathedrals of Rome, or the vast hillsides of Italy.Such a smooth sound to the ears, combined with natural human voices implies an ethereal, majestic mood to Palestrina's works.The long and flowing melodies match with the ingenious harmonies, sending the listener to a deep relaxation of vast unspecified thinking.Roman Catholic church, and were all very religious.It was said that the fathers of the church felt that Palestrina's music was so complicated that it interfered with the sacred text.But it is that smooth, gliding complication of notes and rhythms which enable us today to enjoy his heavenly sounds.
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