Latter Renaissance Composers
Mass becomes less important to composers creatively; Motet becomes more important.
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
Þ famous, therefore romanticized
Þ 104 masses, 375 motets, 121 madrigals
Þ widely published, accessible writing
Þ 1555 serves at both Capella Sistina and as Maestro di Capella t St. John Lateran
Þ 1561 M.d.C. at S. Maria Maggiore
Þ job offers from Emporer Maximilian II and Duke Guglielmo Gonzago (patron of ….)
Þ influences include Josquin (through S.M.M.) and madrigal style (Lasso, Monte, etc.)
Þ Cantici Canticorum (1584)
Þ very few masses accurately dated
Þ most masses for 4, 5 or 6 vv.
Þ a few for 8 vv.
Þ 53 parody masses (31 on sources by other composers)
Þ 35 paraphrase masses (16 use plainsong)
Þ 7 tenor masses, including L’homme armé
Þ free masses include Papae Marcelli and Missa Brevis
Fellerer, Karl Gustav. Palestrina: Leben und Werk. Düsseldorf: Musikverlag Schwann, 1960.
Reese, Gustave. The New Grove High Renaissance Masters: Josquin, Palestrina, Lassus, Byrd, Victoria. New York: Norton, 1984.
Roche, Jerome. Oxford Studies of Composers: Palestrina. London: Oxford University Press, 1971.
Andrea Gabrieli (ca. 1510-1586)
Claudio Merulo (1533-1604)
§ greatest organist of the period
§ four 5 vv parody masses from 1573 (CM 51, volume 1)
§ 8 vv. parody mass and 12 vv. parody mass (CMM 51, vol. 2)
Giovanni Gabrielli (ca. 1533-1612)
v his music represents the height of Venetian composers
v almost certainly taught by uncle, and also employed by Duke Albrecht
v substituted for Merulo in 1584, then got the job permanently
v unlike other Venetians, composed mostly sacred and instrumental music; ignored the lighter forms
v cori spezzati most recognized style
v taught Schutz who adopted the polychoral style
v collected ed. in CMM
a footnote:
Jacobus Kerle was commissioned to write for the Council of Trent……homorhythmic Preces speciales
ü music was rapidly diffused because of performance opportunities
ü spent most of life in Italy
ü fondness for functional harmony
ü melodic figures whose natural rhythms run counter to written meter
ü like Josquin, desire to express text, even if it meant breaking the rules
ü even-handed use of modes
ü severe regard for preservation of original contours of plainsong
Francisco Guerrero (1528-1553)
Ø more word painting; more adventuresome, especially in harmonic structure
Ø used instruments in vocal works
Ø based mainly in Seville
Ø emphasis on Marian compositions
Ø 18 masses
Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
q with Palestrina, Byrd and Lasso, one of the masters of the Renaissance period
q mixes Spanish temperament with Italian training
q worked in Rome, succeeded Palestrina, took vows
q from 1583, stayed in Madrid, happy and content
q 20 masses, 18 Mags, Lamentations, over 50 motets
q set only sacred Latin texts
q used secular model in only one place
q mixes meter—likes to move to triple time
q never wrote madrigals but used “madrigalisms”—word painting, unexpected harmonies and unexpected melodic motion
q relatively small role of plainsong
q moves toward full triads though it meant altering imitations
q 20 masses, 15 of them parody
q like Guerrero, fondness for paired imitation
q harmony more functional than modal
q frequent emphatic cadences (unlike Palestrina)