Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA (1525 or 1526-1594)
February 2026
b. Probably born at Palestrina (formerly known as Praeneste in antiquity) in the Sabine Hills near Rome, between 3rd February 1525 and 2nd February 1526 – d. Rome 2nd February 1594 – although he might have been born in Rome near St Giovanni Laterano according to a will made by his Grandmother in 1527.
Palestrina, also known as Prenestino, composed 104 securely attributable settings of the Mass (more than any of his contemporaries), over 300 motets and 68 Offertories, 72 hymns, 35 Magnificats, 11 Litanies, 5 Lamentations and he also composed 140 important madrigals.
His enormous output and complete mastery of polyphonic counterpoint mark him out as a colossus among composers of the late Renaissance ranking with Lassus and Byrd. Like J. S. Bach, his assimilation and refinement of prevailing styles represent the summation of an epoch which future generations have idealised through the centuries.
He adopted the highly developed polyphonic techniques of the Franco-Flemish composers who dominated music during the early Renaissance, creating a style that brought clarity to complexity to enable practical use in the Roman Catholic liturgy.
“His success in reconciling the functional and the aesthetic aims of Catholic church music in the post-Tridentine period earned him an enduring reputation as the ideal Catholic composer as well as giving his style … an iconic stature as a model of perfect achievement.” Grove Online, 2001.
Born at the centre of high Renaissance Roman musical culture he was steeped in the music of the great churches of Rome from childhood, first training as a chorister at the Basilica of St Maria Maggiore under direction of one of the cantors, Giacoma Coppola in 1537 when he was listed among the choirboys as ‘Joannem da Palestrina’. Two of his teachers were French, Robin Mallapert between 1538-9 and Firmin Lebel (d.1573) from 1540.
At the age of 19 Palestrina was engaged as organist at the Cathedral of St Agapito in Palestrina in 1544, a provincial position where he remained until 1551 teaching Canons and boys to sing. Little is known about this period except the documentation of his marriage to Lucrezia Gori on 12 June 1547; they had three children who also became musicians: Rudolfo, Angelo and Iginio (who lived until 1610 and continued publishing his father’s manuscripts).
In 1551 Palestrina succeeded his teacher Malapert as magister cantorum at the Cappella Giulia where he was responsible only for teaching, composition not being among its duties. However, Palestrina’s first book of Masses published in Rome in 1554 is dedicated to Pope Julius III who had been Bishop of Palestrina. Only one other collection by a native Italian was published before him in 1549, and his first madrigal was published the same year in Venice.
Although he was married, Palestrina was appointed to the Cappella Sistina on 13 January 1555 without the usual examination for the position, on direct orders of Pope Julius III who died three months later. His successor Marcellus II died after only three weeks in office but is significant in having instructed his musical establishment that the music should be more in keeping with Holy Week and the words clearly understood.
Palestrina’s response to the Pope’s instructions was the Missa Papae Marcelli; one of his most famous settings, it became a landmark work in terms of style and was published in 1567. Composed in six parts, despite the richly polyphonic texture, passages of homophonic declamation ensure that the words remain intelligible. In the Gloria the entries of ‘Laudamus te’ and ‘Domine Fili’ are very strong, in particular. These syllabic sections contrast with melismatic scale passages but the ends of sentences usually land together on strong beats. While there is flexibility allowing for much ‘imitation’ it becomes a means of emphasising the words by repetition rather than obscuring them in multiple strands where they become simply a vehicle for contrapuntal complexity.
Despite this success, Pope Paul IV reinstated the rules of celibacy and dismissed Palestrina and several singers on the grounds that they were married. Palestina’s career quickly recovered and he became Maestro di Cappella of the great church of St Giovanni Laterano on 1 October 1555 where the renowned Orlando di Lasso (1532-94) had previously held the position. However, the chapel was underfunded and after five years Palestrina resigned taking his son Rodolfo, who was a chorister there, with him and returned to St Maria Maggiore.
He then became maestro at the new Seminario Romano which offered free education for his sons. From July – September 1564 he was also directing the music at the Villa d’ Este at Tivoli, household of Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, returning there between 1567 and 1571 combining the two positions. Palestrina’s reputation spread beyond Italy at this time as his widening circle of influential benefactors attest. His surviving correspondence with Duke Guiglielmo Gonzaga from 1568-87 records his opinions on musical matters, including proper declamation of text at St Barbara, Mantua. (He signed his letters ‘Giovanni Petraloysio’, and only very occasionally as ‘il’Palestrina’.) There were also offers from Emperor Maximillion II of Austria to go to Vienna as imperial choirmaster.
His second book of Masses published in 1567 including the missa Papa Marcelli and the third in 1570, motets for four voices 1563 and the first for five voices in 1569. Papal records show he was commissioned to write for the Sistine Chapel around 1565 and received a pension for works performed there.
From 1571 he returned to the Cappella Giulia and in 1583 considered leaving Rome to work for the Duke of Gonzaga at Mantua, but his terms were considered too high. He returned to St Pietro and remained there until his death. Throughout his career he was confident in his own abilities and often dissatisfied with terms and conditions of employment. Even wealthy patrons seemed to be unwilling to always give him the support he needed to fulfil his potential.
The last 23 years were more settled in terms of employment but were marred by personal tragedy, the deaths of his brother Silla and two of his sons Angelo in 1572 and Rodolfo 1575, victims of the plague. All three were composers and Palestrina included works by each of them in his Mottetorum Lieber secondus 1572. Six years later he was seriously ill himself and in 1580 his wife Lucrezia died. He considered joining the priesthood but in 1581 married Virginia Dormoli, the widow of a wealthy Roman merchant, which freed him from the financial stress of a choirmaster’s salary. As well as investing in his wife’s business as a fur merchant, together they invested in land and property on the outskirts of Rome. These were also productive years for composition with a new freedom to choose what and for whom he wrote, including many private freelance engagements (at least 12 recorded) writing devotional and semi-liturgical music for important Confraternities in new and up to date styles.
In the final years of his life this new financial freedom also enabled the publication of many more works: from 1581 Madrigali Spirituali, three books of motets from 1583-4, second book of four part motets also 1584, Lamentations 1588, hymns 1589, Magnificats 1591, Offertories 1593 and two further books of Mass settings, the seventh volume published a month after his death totalling 104 Masses, and a second book of Madrigali Spirituali.
His legendary reputation rests on the fact he was one of the most consistently prolific composers of church music of any age and his published works were widely circulated. His achievement was recognised during his lifetime: as early as 1575 the Duke of Ferrara wrote that Palestrina was “now considered the very first musician in the world” and his fame continued to grow during the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe, but not, of course, in Protestant England.
Just as Felix Mendelssohn revived public interest in the elder Bach, it was Vincent Novello (1781 -1861) who introduced Palestrina to early 19th Century British audiences. Novello’s father was a Catholic Italian émigré and the family worshipped at the Sardinian Embassy Chapel in London. Embassy chapels had their own European musical traditions and in 1797 at age of 16 Novello became organist at the Portuguese Embassy Chapel where he remained until 1824. During this time he was given permission to examine the manuscripts held in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Novello produced five volumes of 60 plates each, adding accompaniments for piano or organ thus making Palestrina’s music readily accessible in England during the 19th and 20th centuries. This coincided with the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 which allowed the Catholic Mass to be celebrated publicly in England for the first time since the 16th Century and Palestrina’s music could be performed as part of an act of worship, not just as something of historic interest.
An article in The Examiner, 29 January 1826, reported that the first volume had appeared, praising it as being among the “most important collection of Church Music which this country possesses … scarcely any of them have been printed. … An ‘Et incarnatus Est’ of Palestrina should be heard in the cloisters of some abbey… and the Gothic severity of his style would find its way into our hearts.”
It is probably significant that Novello was a friend of Mendelssohn’s who was close to Prince Albert. The Prince took a great interest in the Concerts of Ancient Music.
Each of the above concerts was reviewed on the following day in The Morning Post.
The concert of 30 April 1840 elicited the following:
“We shall step out of our usual path on this occasion in order that we may notice the sublime productions of the master-minds of those who have been long gathered to their fathers; among whom stands PALESTRINA, who was denominated in his day the Homer of Music. The Royal Director of the evening was very anxious to introduce a specimen of PALESTRINA’s compositions for voices only, and the one selected was from a service.”
while the reviewer of the concert of 17 May 1843 wrote:
“A great portion of this concert may be truly called a performance of ancient music; for we had a hymn founded on a chant composed by Pope Gregory nearly thirteen centuries ago, and a Sanctus and chorus, composed by the great Palestrina nearly three hundred years back; also a Corale [sic], by Lucas Osiander, whose name is new to us, about the same period nearly. There were no fewer than fourteen compositions heard last night at these concerts, for the first time; which evinced the extensive acquaintance which the Royal Director has with ancient musical lore of the Italian and German masters; and it reflects the greatest credit on his Royal Highness for producing works of sterling merit before the world, which otherwise might have been suffered to remain buried in the silent tomb with their authors. … In Palestrina’ s splendid Sanctus, Lablache electrified the company by the manner he sung “Pleni sunt coeli,” &c. …”
