Mead 1 The Influence of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina on the Music of Tomas Luis de Victoria by Brendan Mead As a composer, Giovanni

Pierluigi da Palestrina was one of the most influential composers of his time. Throughout the Renaissance, Palestrinas music was thoroughly enjoyed by all. His music is frequently characterized by expansive polyphony while still accurately declaiming the text. His influence can even be seen in the music of prominent composers of the Renaissance, most importantly the music of Tomas Luis de Victoria. Luis de Victoria used similar styles, using polyphony as a tool in many of his songs while preserving the Spanish composing style that was prevalent at the time. Though each composer contributed to the music of their time, the reflection of Pierluigi da Palestrinas work within the music of Tomas Luis de Victoria is evident and must be examined to better understand the beauty of each composer. In order to better understand the influence of Palestrina on Luis de Victoira, we must first look at the history and style of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrini. Palestrina was born in the small city of Palestrina, near Rome, and raised in Italy. Being raised in Italy, his influence was widely based on music composed and performed in Italy. Similarly, the musical ideas that personified the Renaissance prevailed in nearly all of Palestrinas music. Prevalent composers of polyphony during Palestrinas childhood were Guillaume Dufay and Josquin des Prez, whose influence can be seen throughout the Renaissance as well as among the music of Palestrina. (Lockwood) Palestrina began studying music under his parents, becoming the organist for St. Agapito, the church of his hometown in 1544. He remained in this position until 1551, when Pope Julius III selected Palestrina to direct his own personal papal choir at St. Peters. While he served for his first term at St. Peters, Palestrina composed several works that were performed for the

Mead 2 Masses within the church. He left St. Peters sometime in the mid 1550s, holding similar positions at many chapels throughout Italy. Around 1560, Palestrina moved to the German College founded by St. Ignatius Loyola. It is here that Tomas Luis de Victoria became a student of Palestrina. Luis de Victoria later accepted the position of maestro when Palestrina left the seminary. By 1571, Palestrina had returned to St. Peters, where he lived and composed for the remainder of his life. (Lockwood) His style was greatly perfected during his time at St. Peters after studying music at several different churches. Palestrinas music may also have suffered a deep change that related more personally to his life. The 1570s marked a time of death for his family, including the loss of his wife, two of his sons, and his brother to outbreaks of the plague. After the death of his wife, it is believed that Palestrina considered becoming a priest. However, he instead remarried to a wealthy woman, allowing him to leave his less-than-well-paying job as a choirmaster to compose more prolifically. Palestrina was renowned for his expansive output of music. In his short lifetime, he composed over 600 pieces including 105 full masses and 300 motets. (Fillipi) His madrigals are consistently recognized as prime examples of the madrigal style. His style developed consistently throughout his masses, which can almost be lined up chronologically and perfectly reflect the evolution of his style. By the 1560s, Palestrina had perfected the style that most scholars would refer to as the Palestrina style. (Lockwood) Stylistically, Palestrinas major difference included using dissonances primarily on secondary beats and avoided adding dissonances on strong beats. This created a more consistent flow within the polyphony, allowing the text to be better understood and the voices to line up more evenly. (Fillipi) The music itself, because of the placement of the dissonances, is easier to

Mead 3 listen to despite its expansive use of counterpoint. Many educators believe that the study of Palestrina is essential to understanding counterpoint because Palestrinas style is so effective at using counterpoint as a tool. (Lockwood) Now that we understand the music and background of Palestrina, we must next consider the background of Tomas Luis de Victoria. Luis de Victoria was born in 1548 in a small town in the province of Avila, Castile. His family was well-known, with famous relatives dating back for centuries. As a boy, he served as a choirboy at the Cathedral in Avila. There, we can assume he was first exposed to contrapuntal music. Victoria also excelled as an organist, which he is believed to have studied from a young age. Some of his earliest works are believed to have been composed throughout his time as an organist and a choirboy, though the exact date of his earlier works is undetermined. (Stevenson) In 1565, however, Luis de Victorias compositions had been heard as far as the King of Spain. The King granted Victoria a grant to attend a music college in Germany where he would perform as a cantor. It is believed that sometime in his travels to Germany, Victoria met and studied with Palestrina. (Stevenson) Palestrina held the position of maestro at the Pontifical Roman Seminary where Victoria frequently studied music and attended services. (Lockwood) When Palestrina left the seminary, Victoria replaced him as maestro. Some scholars believe that this position led to his reflection of Palestrina. (Stevenson) After holding his position for some time, Victoria moved to other churches, most notably at S. Appollinare. He was still widely renowned as a composer and organist, but began to tire of Italy. (Stevenson) In 1587, Victoria returned to Spain where he became a chaplain to the Dowager Empress Maria, sister of the King. Victoria served her until her death for a total of 17 years. As a

Mead 4 chaplain, Tomas Luis de Victoria was granted much more money and freedom than if he had remained a choirmaster. His position with the Dowager Empress Maria allowed him to travel much more freely and frequently. He visited Rome for two years from 1593 to 1595 in which time he attended the funeral of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. (Stevenson) As a composer, Luis de Victoria is considered one of the most important composers of the Counter-Reformation within the Catholic church. His sacred music, to which he dedicated the majority of his efforts, is highly regarded as the best example of late-Renaissance music. (Stevenson) He does exceedingly well at paying homage to his Spanish roots in all of his music while displaying significant amount of emotion throughout his works. One quality to note is Victorias more rhythmic and harmonic complexity within his music as compared to Palestrina. Victorias music is generally more filled with emotion, as well, with expressivity being more prevalent. Tomas Luis de Victoria was not overly fond of counterpoint, preferring more homophonic textures. His music contains many dissonances that are generally delegated to the weak beats, though he took many liberties throughout his music. His sacred music, at times, reflects the qualities that are generally found within madrigals. He also used expansive wordpainting in his music, a feature that was becoming less uncommon in sacred music but was still far from common (. Now that we have studied both the music of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Tomas Luis de Victoria, we must compare their styles to examine the similarities and differences. First, it must be noted that both Palestrina and Victoria worked extensively within the church during the Renaissance. While this may not be a definite factor, knowing that they both composed sacred music during the Renaissance helps to explain why their styles may be so similar. In

Mead 5 addition, it must also be noted that Victoria studied under Palestrina for at least a short time in Italy. Again, this information may not be earth-shattering, but it does help to explain why some of these similarities would exist (Stevenson). Stylistically, Palestrina and Victoria are very similar. Both used dissonances throughout their music, usually delegating dissonances to weak beats with Victoria being more liberal with the placement of dissonances. Their dissonances are also very similar, with many of the dissonances being created by one voice holding through to create a dissonance and resolving on the next chord (Rees 170-172). In order to adequately recognize the similarities between them, you must first understand the differences between Palestrina and Victoria. Victoria considered himself to be a strictly sacred artist, composing almost exclusively for the church (. Palestrina, on the other hand, composed outside of the church using texts in the vernacular. Victoria was also much more experimental with intervals, occasionally using intervals that were not usually allowed in the counterpoint of the Renaissance. Palestrinas music is generally much more rhythmically and harmonically simple while Victoria explored more complex rhythms and used thicker, more dissonant harmonies. The Spanish traditions of Victoria were not lost in his music in the fact that some of his sacred music uses instruments, a practice that was sometimes found in Spanish church music. While exploring the similarities between these two prolific composers, I found a striking example of Palestrinas influence on Victoria. The incident occurs in their individual settings of O Domine Jesu Christe. Victorias setting by that name uses the mixolydian mode and is written for 6 parts as pictured in Figure 1. (Stevenson) In the beginning, Victorias setting starts with all parts singing the O Domine Jesu Christe in counterpoint with one another. Next, he

Mead 6 has three voices sing the in cruce vulneratum with the three remaining voices imitating in the next section. Before the te deprecor section, there is a dramatic pause to emphasize the meaning of the text, which is I beseech thee. Next, he goes into the sit vita mea section, with the suspension being passed between parts. Lastly, the final note is sustained in one voice for a total of 6 beats. (Stevenson)

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 2

Mead 7 In Palestrinas setting of the O Domine Jesu Christe, the mode is mixolydian and the song is written for six parts as seen in Figure 2. The text used is nearly identical to that used by

Victoria, with the te in the deprecor section at the beginning of the phrase instead of the end. In the in cruce vulneratum section, only three voices sing the text which is immediately echoed by the remaining three voices. Next, there is a large pause before the te deprecor section to emphasize the meaning of the text. In the last section, the sit vita mea, the suspension and resolution is passed between voices. Also, the final note is sustained in two voices for a total of six beats. (Stevenson) The similarities between the Tomas Luis de Victoria setting and the Palestrina setting are so remarkable that any attempt to claim that they are not related would be almost laughable. Both settings use nearly identical text with the only difference being the placement of te in the deprecor te section of the piece. Both settings use mixolydian as a mode and employ six voices. Both settings put the O Domine Jesu Christe in counterpoint within the parts. Both settings place the first in cruce vulneratum in three voices with an echo in the remaining three voices immediately following. Palestrina added a dramatic pause before his deprecor te

Mead 8 section, as did Victoria. Finally, both composers pass the suspension and resolution of the sit vita mea section between the voices with a single voice or two voices sustaining the final note over 6 beats while the remaining voices resolve. (Stevenson) These several similarities are, what I believe, concrete evidence that Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrinas musical styles and ideas absolutely influenced the musical compositions of Tomas Luis de Victoria. Any argument that would claim that these similarities between each composers setting of O Domine Jesu Christe are merely coincident would be absolutely misguided and, in my opinion, incorrect. First, the evidence suggests that Palestrina and Victoria grew up in the Renaissance, a musical era that glorified polyphony and employed counterpoint extensively. However, the idea that dissonance should be delegated to the weak beat was most commonly used by Palestrina, a device mimicked by Victoria in much of his music. Second, both composers were composing for the church with the majority of each composers music being sacred music. This similarity in occupation would have led to Victorias exposure to the music of Palestrina, thus bringing Palestrinas influence further into the life of Victoria. In the 1560s, it is nearly certain that Tomas Luis de Victoria studied under Palestrina while Victoria was a student at the German College. (Lockwood) Because of this, we can be certain that Victoria was exposed even more to the styles of Palestrina through his studies and attendance of the mass. Later, it is documented that Victoria indeed attended the funeral of Palestrina, perhaps paying homage to the man he so frequently mimicked and respected. Whether Victoria did indeed copy Palestrina purposefully or by coincidence is still uncertain throughout the music community. However, the evidence I have provided should leave more answers to the ongoing argument. Regardless, both composers were essential to the development and preservation of polyphony and counterpoint throughout the Renaissance. Both

Mead 9 Palestrina and Victoria capture the emotion of the listener and can be appreciated by audiences of all generations.

Mead 10
Bibliography

Lockwood, L., O'Regan, N., & Owens, J. A. (n.d.). Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da. In Grove Music Online. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from Oxford Music Online. Stevenson, R. (n.d.). Victoria, Tomas Luis de. In Grove Music Online. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from Oxford Music Online. Fillipi, Daniel V. "Where has classical polyphony gone? Working on Palestrina and Victoria today." www.academia.edu. N.p., 9 June 2010. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. Stevenson, Robert. Spanish Cathedral Music. Anaheim, CA: University of California Press, 1961. 430-42. Print. Rees, Owen. "Triple-choir works by Palestrina and Victoria." Early Music 24.1 (1996): 170-72. Print. Victoria, Tomas Luis de. O Domine Jesu Christe. 1562. N.p.: Choral Public Domain Library, Web. Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da. O Domine Jesu Christe. 1559. N.p.: Choral Public Domain Library, Web. Liber primus motettorum.