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Welcome to Harmonia . . . I’m Angela Mariani.

This hour, we’re throwing a 500th birthday celebration for Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who was born around 1525. We’re featuring music by [the birthday boy, himself] (Palestrina), and by composers he admired as well as those who looked up to him. We’ve invited a few of special guests: Cristóbal de Morales and Jacquet of Mantua have promised to attend, and Morales is bringing a birthday song for the occasion. The playlist also will include a world premiere recording of Palestrina’s music, sung by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. A big birthday bash like this only happens once every 500 years!

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MUSIC TRACK
El aire se serena: Music from the Courts and Cathedrals of 16th-Century Spain
Seldom Sene Recorder Quartet
Brilliant Classics 2016 | BC95304
Tomàs Luis de Victoria
Tr. 6: Ascendens Christus in altum (4:50)

We heard the motet, “Ascendens Christus in altum,” by Palestrina’s colleague Tomàs Luis de Victoria, performed by the recorder quintet Seldom Sene. / Victoria admired Palestrina’s style and incorporated it into his own music.

Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was born around 1525 and is one of the most significant composers of the 16th century. Though Palestrina’s style is often associated with the stile antico, or “old style,” of writing diatonic counterpoint that characterized Renaissance music, Palestrina used many styles, altering them according to the genres he used.

We’re marking 500 years after the birth of this exalted composer. The first piece on our party playlist is Palestrina’s mass, the Missa Memor esto verbi tui for five voices. The mass was published in his Eighth Book of Masses—five years after Palestrina died. This was made possible by his son Iginio who worked with the publisher to bring these masses to print. These publications are one of the few places where Palestrina wrote about his views on music. In the second book of masses, for instance, Palestrina writes, [quote] “The utility and pleasure afforded by the art of music is a gift of heaven greater than all human teachings.”

Let’s [open a gift of music now and] hear the Kyrie and Gloria from Palestrina’s Missa Memor esto verbi tui.

MUSIC TRACK
Palestrina Revealed: Masses and motets
(World premiere recordings) With works by Byrd, White and Mundy
Choir of Clare College, Cambridge; Graham Ross
Harmonia mundi 2025 / HMM905375 / B0DJWNY5GS
Palestrina
Tr. 13: Missa Memor esto verbi tui a 5: I.Kyrie (2:43) (total time: 7:50)
Tr. 14: Missa Memor esto verbi tui a 5: II. Gloria (5:17)

That was the Kyrie and Gloria from Palestrina’s Missa Memor esto verbi tui for five voices, performed by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, conducted by Graham Ross, on their recording Palestrina Revealed. We’ll be hearing more from this album, which we’re featuring later in the hour.

Next on our playlist are two madrigals that Palestrina wrote—one secular and one sacred. Palestrina composed over 140 madrigals. His first book of secular madrigals, for four voices, was published in Rome in 1555, and by 1600, it had been reprinted eight times! One of his most famous secular madrigals, “Io son ferito,” is for five voices and was well-known throughout Europe. Orlando Lassus used this madrigal to write an imitation mass.

Palestrina’s sacred madrigals are all composed for five voices. The first book was published in Venice in 1581 and contains the piece we are about to hear, “Vergine chiara e stabile in eterno.” This piece comes from Palestrina’s setting of Petrarch’s Vergine cycle.

We’ll hear La Compagnia del Madrigale singing “Io son ferito,” and the Hilliard Ensemble singing “Vergine chiara e stabile in eterno.”

MUSIC TRACK
Si breve è 'l tempo: Madrigals in the Low Countries
La Compagnia del Madrigale
MUSIQUE EN WALLONIE 2024 / MEW2410
Palestrina
Tr. 17: "Io son ferito" (1561) (3:18)

MUSIC TRACK
Palestrina: Canticum Canticorum – Spiritual Madrigals
Hilliard Ensemble
EMI/Virgin Classics 2003 / 724356223950
Palestrina
Tr. 35: VI. "Vergine chiara e stabile in eterno" from Il primo libro de madrigali a cinque voci (1581) (3:15)

We heard two madrigals by Palestrina. The first was the secular madrigal “Io son ferito,” from Palestrina’s 1561 book of madrigals, performed by the ensemble La Compagnia del Madrigale. Following that was a sacred five-voice madrigal, “Vergine chiara e stabile in eterno,” performed by The Hilliard Ensemble, led by Paul Hilliard.

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You’re listening to Harmonia . . . I’m Angela Mariani.

MUSIC TRACK
Bálint Bakfark: Lute Music - Complete
Daniel Benko, lute
Hungaroton 1997 / HCD31564-67
Jacquet of Mantua; arr. Valentin Bakfark
Tr. 7: Aspice Domine: Motetta a 5 (trans. for lute) (6:35)

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Welcome back. This hour, we’re celebrating Palestrina’s birthday milestone: the big five-oh-oh. We’ve put together a playlist of music by Palestrina, his pals, and other surprise guests. Next is one of Palestrina’s motets for three choirs. Eight of these polychoral motets have survived, including the piece we’ll hear, “Ad te levavi oculos meos” for 12 voices sung by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge.

MUSIC TRACK
Palestrina Revealed: Masses and motets
(World premiere recordings) with works by Byrd, White and Mundy
Choir of Clare College, Cambridge; Graham Ross
Harmonia mundi 2025 / HMM905375 / B0DJWNY5GS
Palestrina
Tr. 10: Palestrina: Ad te levavi oculos meos a 12 (3:47)

That was the world premiere recording of Palestrina’s triple-choir motet, “Ad te levavi oculos meos” for 12 voices, sung by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. Graham Ross conducted.

Spanish composer Cristóbal de Morales is one of our party guests. Morales’ music influenced Palestrina so much that Palestrina modeled his first book of masses upon Morales’s second book of masses, published ten years earlier. Palestrina’s publication even used the same woodcut as Morales’, with an image of the composer kneeling before the pope to present his masses. Though, in Palestrina’s version: the pope’s face and papal arms were updated, as was the face of the composer. [The words of the mass were also deleted, but the music was left the same. Thus, the image of the music in Palestrina’s woodcut is actually Morales’ music!

We’ll hear a piece written for Christmas Matins, a day that celebrates another birthday, that of Jesus Christ. Here’s Ensemble Weser-Renaissance Bremen performing Morales’ four-voice motet, “O magnum mysterium.”

MUSIC TRACK
Cristóbal de Morales: O Magnum Mysterium - Christmas Motets
Ensemble Weser-Renaissance Bremen, Manfred Cordes
CPO 2013 / 777820-2
Cristóbal de Morales
Tr. 1: O magnum mysterium (3:08)

We heard Ensemble Weser-Renaissance Bremen performing Cristóbal de Morales’ “O magnum mysterium.”

Another composer who proved influential to Palestrina was Jacquet of Mantua, a renowned composer of sacred polyphony. Jacquet himself wasn’t Italian. He was a Frenchman who moved to Mantua, where he became the music director of Mantua Cathedral [under the patronage of Ercole Cardinal Gonzaga, Bishop of Mantua]. Jacquet’s most famous motet, “Aspice Domine,” was the basis of Palestrina’s parody mass, Missa Aspice Domine. This usage of the word “Parody” doesn’t mean “satire,” as it does in a more modern sense, but rather simply copying something, as some musical elements of the original motet were borrowed and incorporated into the mass. In fact, Jacquet’s motet is found in over 40 sources, including seven instrumental arrangements.

Here’s one for lute played by Daniel Benko and arranged by the sixteenth-century Hungarian lutenist and composer, Valentin Bakfark.

MUSIC TRACK
Bálint Bakfark: Lute Music - Complete
Daniel Benko, lute
Hungaroton 1997 / HCD31564-67
Jacquet of Mantua; arr. Valentin Bakfark
Tr. 7: Aspice Domine: Motetta a 5 (trans. for lute) (6:35)

That was an arrangement of Jacquet de Mantua’s motet, “Aspice Domine,” played on the lute by Daniel Benko.

Another piece with ties to the city of Mantua is Palestrina’s Missa Sine nomine for six voices, which was originally composed for the Gonzaga court. Scholars debate the authenticity of this mass, or even the correct name of the motet that it references. Nevertheless, our next surprise party guest, Johann Sebastian Bach, knew of this mass, and he referred to it as the Missa Sine nomine, or “Mass without a name.” On the cover of his arrangement, Bach inscribed the name, “Prenestino,” as Palestrina was also sometimes known.

Here’s Concerto Palatino performing the Sanctus and Benedictus from Bach’s arrangement of Palestrina’s mass.

MUSIC TRACK
The Sound of Martin Luther
Concerto Palatino / Hilliard Ensemble
Warner Classics 2016 / 190295893705
Palestrina, arr. Bach
CD1, Tr. 7: Missa sine nomine a 6: Sanctus (1:43)
CD1, Tr. 8: Missa sine nomine a 6: Benedictus (2:10)

We heard the Sanctus and Benedictus from Palestrina’s Missa Sine nomine for six voices, arranged by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Concerto Palatino.

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You’re listening to Harmonia . . . I’m Angela Mariani.

We’ll continue our celebration of Palestrina’s 500th birthday with our featured recording. And surprise! – The album Palestrina Revealed, by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, includes many pieces by Palestrina that have never been recorded before. We heard such a piece already this hour, and now we’re going to take a deeper dive.

In addition to Palestrina, Director Graham Ross includes music by other English composers: William Byrd, Robert White, and William Mundy. Ross writes, [quote] “I was keen to place these works into context by including settings of the same texts by Palestrina’s English contemporaries… I think that these make for fascinating side-by-side comparisons of different European styles.” [end quote].

Now, let’s listen to the world premiere recording of Palestrina’s Magnificat secondi toni for five voices.

MUSIC TRACK
Palestrina Revealed: Masses and motets
(World premiere recordings) with works by Byrd, White and Mundy
Choir of Clare College, Cambridge; Graham Ross
Harmonia mundi 2025 / HMM905375 / B0DJWNY5GS
Palestrina
Tr. 1: Palestrina: Magnificat Secundi Toni a 5 (10:02)

We heard the world premiere recording of the Magnificat secondi toni for five voices by Palestrina, sung by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge under the direction of Graham Ross on their 2025 album Palestrina Revealed, released on the harmonia mundi label.

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Harmonia is a production of WFIU and part of the educational mission of Indiana University.
Support comes from Early Music America: a national organization that advocates and supports the historical performance of music of the past, the community of artists who create it, and the listeners whose lives are enriched by it. On the web at EarlyMusicAmerica-dot-org.

Additional resources come from the William and Gayle Cook Music Library at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

We welcome your thoughts about any part of this program, or about early music in general. Contact us at harmonia early music dot org. You can follow us on Facebook by searching for Harmonia Early Music.

The writer for this edition of Harmonia is Jaime Carini.

Thanks to our studio engineer Michael Paskash, and our production team: LuAnn Johnson, Aaron Cain, Brock Hamman, and John Bailey. I’m Angela Mariani, inviting you to join us again for the next edition of Harmonia.

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