Did Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina save Renaissance polyphony? There’s a famous story that he did; and if it’s not exactly true, it’s still a great story. The short version is that Renaissance settings of the mass were becoming highly ornate and the church fathers were increasingly concerned about the text being obscured by the complex polyphony (two or more voices with independent melodies). The Council of Trent was convened to discuss a number of church matters, and one of them was banning polyphony. As the story goes, Palestrina composed a mass setting that used polyphony in a way that made each word understandable, and convinced the Council that it could work.
Palestrina is probably the best known of the Renaissance polyphonists (“saving polyphony” will do a lot for your reputation), but there were other great masters in continental Europe and England who were of equal stature. Flemish masters like Josquin Desprez and Orlande de Lassus wrote some of the richest, most inventive music of the age. In Spain the stark, intensely spiritual work of Tomás Luis de Victoria was the musical equivalent of El Greco’s religious art. Thomas Tallis and William Byrd were the giants of English polyphony and were the first composers to be granted a publishing monopoly by Queen Elizabeth I. These are just a few composers who were part of a glorious tradition popularized on recordings by such famous ensembles as The Sixteen, the Tallis Scholars, the Huelgas Ensemble, and rising stars like Stile Antico and New York Polyphony.
Our new recording of Palestrina’s Missa “Assumpta est Maria” features The Sixteen under the direction of Harry Christophers. The Sixteen’s recordings of English polyphony and music of Victoria have all been critically acclaimed, so this new Palestrina album is an eagerly awaited addition to their discography.
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by Craig Zeichner
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