Few composers have shaped sacred music as profoundly as Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c1525-94). Hailed as Princeps Musicæ, his serene, balanced polyphony became the model of late Renaissance liturgical music and defined the sound of the Counter-Reformation. For centuries his style has inspired composers, theologians and liturgists alike. Why does Palestrina's music endure? What makes his compositions not only historically significant but spiritually resonant today? To explore these questions, I spoke with Thomas Neal: musicologist, conductor, and director of music at New College School in Oxford. A scholar of sacred polyphony, he is currently writing a biography of Palestrina and is recognised as one of today's leading experts on 16th-century Roman music.
10:00 AM
Sound of the sacred: the legacy of Italian composer Palestrina
Few composers have shaped sacred music as profoundly as Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. His serene, balanced polyphony became the model of late Renaissance liturgical music, defining the sound of the Counter-Reformation
Jan C. Bentz
7 min read
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