GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA

Palestrina Missa Ecce ego Johannes

Laudate pueri Peccantem me quotidie Tribulationes civitatum
Tu es Petrus Magnificat quarti toni Cantantibus organis
THE CHOIR OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL JAMES ODONNELL

IOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA (his name derives

from a town not far from Rome) was probably born in
1525 or 1526. After seven years as maestro di cappella
at the cathedral of his native town, he went to Rome at the
summons of Pope Julius III to become chapelmaster of the
Cappella Giulia at St Peters. He later became a singer at
the Sistine Chapel but was dismissed by Paul IV on account
of his unacceptable married status. After other appointments,
Palestrina returned to the Julian Chapel in 1571 as chapelmaster. He died in 1594.
Still thought of today as the grand master of the polyphonic
style, Palestrina was highly regarded and much published
in his lifetime. His output comprises one hundred and four
firmly attributed Masses, over three hundred and seventyfive motets, sixty-eight offertories, at least sixty-five hymns,
thirty-five Magnificats, four (possibly five) sets of Lamentations, and over a hundred and forty madrigals. His publications
bear dedications to men of great power: discerning and wealthy
patrons of the arts such as Guglielmo Gonzaga, foreign princes
and potentates (there are two books of Masses inscribed to
Philip II of Spain) and, increasingly in his later years, popes.
The six-voice Missa Ecce ego Johannes is based on an
unknown model. The text Ecce ego Johannes, from the Book
of Revelation, is used for the chapter (capitulum) at Vespers
on All Saints Day, and it appears elsewhere (in the Sarum
books, for example) as an antiphon at Matins for the same
feast. The character of Palestrinas setting, however, suggests
that it might well have been based on a polyphonic model.
It is a powerful, confident work, something evident from the
very first notes of the Kyrie. As with the Missa Papae Marcelli,
it is a model of Palestrinian word-setting. There is a constant,
subtle use of homophonic writing throughout which gives it
tremendous rhetorical power. A good example is the reflective
chordal opening of the second Kyrie, which not only contrasts
with the more flowing, transparent textures of the Christe before
it, but gives rise to imitative writing, out of which arises the
climactic second phrase of the cantus, soaring up the octave.

The Gloria and Credo are customarily characterized by

more declamatory writing on account of the length of their
texts. In this case, so interwoven is the use of homophony and
imitation in the various subdivisions of the choral ensemble
that it is hard to say where one ends and the other begins.
Thus it is that the exultant ascending scales at rex caelestis
in the Gloria arise completely naturally out of the more static
chordal writing preceding them, and the same is true of the
contrapuntal writing following the block chordal Domine Deus.
There is a marvellous flowering, using a descending scalic
motif, at the final phrase of the Gloria, like an illuminated initial
placed at the end of a text rather than at the beginning. Such
scalic figures also appear in order to decorate the otherwise
straightforward cadences at et incarnatus est and et homo
factus est in the Credo, and the reduced-scoring Crucifixus
develops them further. The triple-time of the Et in Spiritum
Sanctum is a real surprise after such delicate tracery, though
this lasts only until Et unam sanctam.
The Sanctus is powerful and majestic; again descending
and ascending scalic figures feature prominently, and they
give a special colour to this section when doubled in thirds,
sixths or tenths, as at et terra, or at several places in the
substantial Benedictus. Less effusive melodically, the Agnus
Dei is triumphant and thrilling. The opening of the second
recalls the beginning of the second Kyrie.
Tribulationes civitatum and Peccantem me quotidie
are both penitential motets. The former appeared in the 1584
Motectorum liber quintus, published in Rome, the latter in
Motettorum liber secundus, published twelve years earlier
in Venice. Both make use of soaring melodic phrases and quite
abrupt harmonic and textural contrasts: the block chords at
Timor in Tribulationes civitatum, for example, which clearly
make the word stand out, or the subsequent harmonic change
at et super liberos. At the end of the first part there is a real
sense of imploring for mercy at the words Domine miserere,
characterized by a descending motif. In the second part such
procedures are continued; most remarkable of all is the

sudden harmonic stasis caused by the use of pedal notes at

iniuste egimus; this is followed by two sequential descents
onto bare fifths at iniquitatem fecimus. Peccantem me
quotidie is even more haunted by the need for repentance
and the fear of death: the words timor mortis conturbat me
(so chillingly reiterated by the fifteenth-century Scottish poet
William Dunbar in his Lament for the Makers) are set in
simple block chords, but move symbolically into new harmonic
territory. There is an audible darkening, so to speak, with the
despairing descending phrases of nulla est redemptio, but
with the startling plea for mercy at Miserere mei, Deus, the
end of the work is bathed in the light of hope: these two motets
seem to incarnate the dictum of the Orthodox monk Staretz
Silouan, who said Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not.
If it is still today unfashionable to read such spiritual concerns
into this music, it should not be forgotten that Palestrina was
working at the very centre of the development of CounterReformation spirituality: as Lewis Lockwood has written: His
career exhibits not only enormous artistic power and fecundity,
exercised with great restraint, but also a strong religious
feeling coupled with a sense of worldly purpose (Palestrina,
in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians).

Laudate pueri, from the 1572 collection of motets, and

Cantantibus organis, published in 1575, show the festive
side of Palestrina, with exuberant melismatic writing and,
especially in the former, for two choirs, a dextrous handling of
textural contrast. The seven-voice Tu es Petrus, from the 1569
Liber primus motettorum, and less familiar than the later sixvoice setting, is also a joyous celebration of confident faith in
the church of Peter. Its seamless polyphonic flow, though not
its harmonic language, suggests composers such as Morales
and, especially, Gombert. The Magnificat recorded here is one
of five which Palestrina wrote in Tone 4. He set the text of the
Magnificat, in fact, no fewer than thirty-five times; sixteen of
them appeared in the Magnificat octo tonum liber primus
published in Rome in 1591. It is a pity indeed that they are
nowadays somewhat little known, for they are quintessential
Palestrina: the servant of the Church quietly writing magnificent music which speaks directly to mankind evenand
perhaps especiallytoday.
IVAN MOODY 1999

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3

1 Laudate pueri Dominum:

Praise the Lord, ye servants:

O praise the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
from this time forth for evermore.
From the rising of the sun till its setting,
the Lords name is praised.
The Lord is high above all heathen
and his glory above the heavens.
Who is like unto the Lord our God,
that has his dwelling so high: and yet humbles
himself to behold the things in heaven and earth?
He takes up the simple out of the dust,
and lifts the poor out of the mire:
that he may set him with princes,
even with the princes of his people.
He makes a barren woman to keep house,
and be a joyful mother of children.

laudate nomen Domini.

Sit nomen Domini benedictum,
ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum.
A solis ortu usque ad occasum,
laudabile nomen Domini.
Excelsus super omnes gentes Dominus
et super caelos gloria eius.
Quis sicut Dominus Deus noster,
qui in altis habitat, et humilia
respicit in caelo et in terra?
Suscitans a terra inopem,
et de stercore erigens pauperem:
ut collocet eum cum principibus
cum principibus populi sui.
Qui habitare facit sterilem in domo,
matrem filiorum laetantem.
PSALM 112 (113)

2 Peccantem me quotidie,

Sinning daily,
and not repenting,
the fear of death troubles me.
In hell there is no redemption.
Have mercy on me, O God, and save me.

et non me paenitentem,
timor mortis conturbat me.
Quia in inferno nulla est redemptio.
Miserere mei, Deus, et salva me.
SEVENTH RESPOND AT MATINS FOR THE DEAD

3 Tribulationes civitatum audivimus

We have heard of the tribulation which the cities

have suffered,
and we have grown faint.
Fearfulness and dullness of mind
have fallen upon us,
and upon our children.
Lord have mercy.
Like our forefathers we have sinned,
we have committed injustice and done evil things.
Lord have mercy.

quas passae sunt

et defecimus.
Timor et hebetudo mentis
cecidit super nos,
et super liberos nostros.
Domine miserere.
Peccavimus cum patribus nostris,
iniuste egimus, iniquitatem fecimus.
Domine miserere.
SEVENTH RESPOND AT MATINS

Missa Ecce ego Johannes

4 Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

4

5 Gloria in excelsis Deo

Glory to God in the highest

and on earth peace to men of good will.
We praise you. We bless you.
We adore you. We glorify you.
We give you thanks for your great glory.
Lord God, king of heaven,
God the Father almighty,
Lord, only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ,
Lord God, lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you who take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us;
you who take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
you who sit at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
For you only are holy. You only are Lord.
You only are most high, Jesus Christ.
With the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.

et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.

Laudamus te. Benedicimus te.
Adoramus te. Glorificamus te.
Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.
Domine Deus, rex caelestis,
Deus Pater omnipotens,
Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe,
Domine Deus, agnus Dei, Filius Patris,
qui tollis peccata mundi,
miserere nobis;
qui tollis peccata mundi,
suscipe deprecationem nostram;
qui sedes ad dexteram Patris,
miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus sanctus. Tu solus Dominus.
Tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe.
Cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patris.
Amen.

6 Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem,

I believe in one God, Father almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,
of all visible and invisible things.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages,
God from God, light from light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father,
by whom all things were made.
Who for us men, and for our salvation,
came down from heaven.
And was incarnate by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary,
and was made man.
He was also crucified for us:
under Pontius Pilate he died and was buried.
And on the third day he rose again in accordance
with the scriptures. And ascended into heaven:
he sits at the right hand of the Father.
And he will come again with glory to judge the living
and the dead: there will be no end to his kingdom.

factorem caeli et terrae,

visibilium omnium, et invisibilium.
Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum,
Filium Dei unigenitum,
et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula,
Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine,
Deum verum de Deo vero,
genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri,
per quem omnia facta sunt.
Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem,
descendit de caelis.
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria virgine,
et homo factus est.
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis:
sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est.
Et resurrexit tertia die, secundum
scripturas. Et ascendit in caelum:
sedet ad dexteram Patris.
Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos
et mortuos: cuius regni non erit finis.
5

Et in Spiritum Sanctum Dominum, et vivificantem:

qui ex Patre Filioque procedit,
qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur
et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per prophetas.
Et unam sanctam catholicam
et apostolicam ecclesiam.
Confiteor unum baptisma
in remissionem peccatorum.
Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum,
et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.

And in the Holy Spirit, Lord and giver of life:

who comes from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son together is adored
and glorified; who spoke through the prophets.
And in one holy, catholic
and apostolic church.
I confess one baptism
for the remission of sins.
And I await the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

7 Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth.

Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts.

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua.

Hosanna in excelsis.

8 Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

Hosanna in excelsis.

9 Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,

Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.

miserere nobis.

bl Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,

Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world,
grant us peace.

dona nobis pacem.

bm Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram

You are Peter and on this rock

I will build my church.
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I shall give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

aedificabo ecclesiam meam.

Et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam.
Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum.
MATTHEW 16: 1819

bn Magnificat anima mea Dominum.

My soul doth magnify the Lord.

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my saviour.
For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden:
for behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me:
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him
throughout all generations.
He hath showed strength with his arm:
he hath scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat,
and hath exalted the humble.

Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo, salutari meo.

Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae:
ecce enim ex hoc
beatam me dicent omnes generationes.
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est:
et sanctum nomen eius.
Et misericordia eius a progenie in progenies
timentibus eum.
Fecit potentiam in bracchio suo:
dispersit superbos
mente cordis sui.
Deposuit potentes de sede,
et exaltavit humiles.
6

Esurientes implevit bonis:

et divites dimisit inanes.
Suscepit Israel, puerum suum,
recordatus misericordiae suae.
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros,
Abraham, et semini eius in saecula.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper,
et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

He hath filled the hungry with good things:

and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy
hath holpen his servant Israel.
As he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham and his seed for ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

LUKE 1: 46 55

bo Cantantibus organis Caecilia virgo

While organs played the virgin Cecilia

sang to the Lord alone saying:
Lord, make my heart and my body
pure so that I might not be confounded.
Praying every second and third day with fasting,
she commended herself to the Lord whom she feared:
Lord, make my heart and my body
pure so that I might not be confounded.

soli Domino decantabat dicens:

Fiat Domine cor meum et corpus meum
immaculatum ut non confundar.
Biduanis ac triduanis ieiuniis orans,
commendabat Domino quod timebat;
Fiat Domine cor meum et corpus meum
immaculatum ut non confundar.
FIRST RESPOND AT MATINS ON THE FEAST OF ST CECILIA, 22 NOVEMBER

Recorded in Westminster Cathedral on 910 and 1516 February 1999

Recording Engineers ANTONY HOWELL, JULIAN MILLARD
Recording Producer MARK BROWN
Executive Producers EDWARD PERRY, SIMON PERRY
P Hyperion Records Limited, London, 1999
Hyperion Records Limited, London, 2012
(Originally issued on Hyperion CDA67099)
Front illustration: St John the Evangelist (from the St Thomas altarpiece) by Pedro Berruguete (c14501504)
Convent of St Thomas, Avila / The Bridgeman Art Library

THE CHOIR OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL

treble TIMOTHY LACY, BENEDICT DOLLARD, WILLIAM DOLLARD, NICHOLAS MORRELL, TIMOTHY SEMKEN, HUGO WALKER, WILLIAM DERRICK, DAVID DE WINTER,
RICHARD JONES, EDMUND LATHAM, HENRY OGDEN, PETER WIMBLETT, BENEDICT CURRAN, BENJAMIN FOULDS, EDWARD GROCOTT, OLIVER MITCHELL
alto RICHARD ANDERTON, GREGORY BRETT, MARCUS PATHAN
countertenor IAN AITKENHEAD, KEITH ROBERTS, DAVID GOULD, ROBERT JONES, RICHARD WYN-ROBERTS
tenor CHRISTOPHER WATSON, NICHOLAS KEAY, CLIFFORD LISTER, ED GARDNER, ANDREW CARWOOD, DANIEL NORMAN, BENJAMIN RAYFIELD, NICHOLAS TODD,
MATTHEW VINE, TOBY WATKIN
bass STEPHEN ALDER, JONATHAN BROWN, COLIN CAMPBELL, ROBERT MACDONALD, MICHAEL BUNDY, ROBERT EVANS, BRUCE HAMILTON,
CHARLES POTT, GILES UNDERWOOD
7

IOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA (der Name geht auf

eine Stadt unweit Roms zurck) wurde wahrscheinlich
1525 oder 1526 geboren. Nachdem er sieben Jahre als
maestro di cappella der Kathedrale seiner Heimatstadt gedient
hatte, zog er auf Gehei von Papst Julius III. nach Rom, um
Kapellmeister der Cappella Giulia am Petersdom zu werden.
Spter war er in der Sixtinischen Kappelle als Snger ttig,
wurde jedoch wegen seines unannehmbaren Ehestandes als
verheirateter Mann von Paul IV. entlassen. Nachdem er eine
Weile andere mter bekleidet hatte, kehrte Palestrina 1571
als Kapellmeister an die Julianische Kappelle zurck. Er starb
1594.
Palestrina, der noch heute als der herausragende Meister
des polyphonen Stils gilt, war zu Lebzeiten hoch angesehen
und seine Werke wurden weithin verlegt. Sein Gesamtwerk
umfat einhundertvier ihm eindeutig zugeschriebene Messen,
mehr als dreihundertfnfundsiebzig Motetten, achtundsechzig
Offertorien, mindestens fnfundsechzig Kirchenlieder, fnfunddreiig Magnificats, vier (mglicherweise fnf) Folgen von
Lamentationen und ber einhundertvierzig Madrigale. Seine
Publikationen sind mit Widmungen an Mnner in Machtpositionen versehen: anspruchsvolle und reiche Kunstliebhaber
wie Guglielmo Gonzaga, auslndische Frsten und Potentaten
(zwei Bnde mit Messen sind Philipp II. von Spanien zugeeignet)
und gegen Ende seines Lebens immer hufiger auch Ppste.
Die sechsstimmige Missa Ecce ego Johannes beruht auf
einer unbekannten Vorlage. Der Text Ecce ego Johannes aus
der Offenbarung wird beim Vespergottesdienst an Allerheiligen
als capitulum verlesen und ist anderswo (zum Beispiel in
den Sarum books der Liturgie von Salisbury) als Antiphon
bei der Morgenandacht fr denselben Festtag verzeichnet.
Andererseits deutet der Charakter von Palestrinas Vertonung
darauf hin, da sie nach einem polyphonen Vorbild entstanden
sein knnte. Da es sich um ein kraftvolles, zuversichtliches
Werk handelt, macht sich schon in den allerersten Tnen des
Kyrie bemerkbar. Wie bei der Missa Papae Marcelli ist es ein
Musterbeispiel Palestrinascher Textunterlegung. Die Stimmen

werden immer wieder und auf raffinierte Art homophon

gefhrt, was der Messe ungeheure rhetorische Kraft verleiht.
Ein gutes Beispiel hierfr ist die besinnliche akkordische
Einleitung des zweiten Kyrie, das sich nicht nur von den
eher flieenden, transparenten Strukturen des vorausgegangenen Christe abhebt, sondern auch zu einer imitativ
gesetzten Passage fhrt, aus der die ber die Oktave
aufsteigende krnende zweite Phrase des cantus hervorgeht.
Gloria und Credo sind wegen der Lnge ihrer Texte wie
blich eher deklamatorisch vertont. In diesem Fall ist die
Verwendung von Homophonie und Imitation in den diversen
Unterabschnitten des Chorensembles soweit verflochten, da
nur schwer festzustellen ist, wo eines endet und das andere
beginnt. So ergibt sich die jubelnd emporstrebende Tonleiterpassage bei rex caelestis im Gloria vollkommen natrlich aus
dem vorangegangenen statischeren Chorsatz, und das gleiche
gilt fr die kontrapunktische Stimmfhrung im Anschlu an die
Akkordblcke von Domine Deus. Ein wunderbares Aufblhen
wird mit einem abwrts gerichteten Tonleitermotiv in der
Schluphrase des Gloria erreicht, wie eine illuminierte Initiale,
die ans Ende eines Textes statt an seinen Anfang gestellt
wurde. Solche Tonleiterfiguren treten auch in Erscheinung, um
die ansonsten schlicht gehaltenen Kadenzen bei et incarnatus
est und et homo factus est im Credo zu verzieren, und
das kleiner besetzte Crucifixus entwickelt sie weiter. Der
Dreiertakt bei Et in Spiritum Sanctum ist nach all diesem
zarten Flechtwerk eine echte berraschung, auch wenn er nur
bis Et unam sanctam andauert.
Das Sanctus ist eindrucksvoll und majesttisch; auch hier
finden sich auffllig viele ab- und ansteigende Tonleiterfiguren,
und sie verleihen diesem Abschnitt eine besondere Klangfarbe,
wenn sie wie bei et terra oder an mehreren Stellen des
umfangreichen Benedictus in Terzen, Sexten oder Dezimen
verdoppelt werden. Das melodisch weniger berschwengliche
Agnus Dei ist triumphal und mitreiend. Die Erffnung des
zweiten Agnus Dei ruft den Anfang des zweiten Kyrie in
Erinnerung.

Tribulationes civitatum und Peccantem me quotidie

sind beide Bumotetten. Die erste ist in dem 1584 in Rom
erschienenen Motectorum liber quintus vertreten, die zweite
im Motettorum liber secundus, das zwlf Jahre zuvor in
Venedig herausgekommen war. Beide machen von schwebenden
melodischen Phrasen und recht krassen harmonischen und
strukturellen Kontrasten Gebrauch: in den Tribulationes
civitatum zum Beispiel die Blockakkorde bei Timor, die
das Wort deutlich hervorheben, oder der anschlieende
harmonische Wechsel bei et super liberos. Am Ende des
ersten Teils hat man bei den Worten Domine miserere, die
durch ein abwrts gerichtetes Motiv gekennzeichnet sind,
wahrhaftig das Gefhl, da hier um Erbarmen gefleht wird. Im
zweiten Teil wird weiter so verfahren; besonders bemerkenswert ist der pltzliche harmonische Stillstand bei iniuste
egimus, der durch den Einsatz von Orgelpunkten hervorgerufen wird; es folgen zwei sequenzierende Abstiege auf leere
Quinten bei iniquitatem fecimus. Die Motette Peccantem me
quotidie ist noch strker von dem Bedrfnis nach Bue und
der Angst vor dem Tod getrieben: Die Worte timor mortis
conturbat me (die William Dunbar, ein schottischer Dichter
des fnfzehnten Jahrhunderts, in seinem Klagegesang Lament
for the Makers so erschtternd aufgenommen hat) sind in
schlichten Blockakkorden gesetzt, betreten jedoch symbolisch
neues harmonisches Terrain. Es findet bei den verzweifelnd
absteigenden Phrasen von nulla est redemptio sozusagen
eine hrbare Verfinsterung statt, doch mit dem erschreckenden
Flehen um Gnade bei Miserere mei, Deus wird das Ende des
Werks vom Licht der Hoffnung umstrmt. Beide Motetten
setzen, so scheint es, den Spruch des orthodoxen Mnchs
Staretz Silouan um, der da lautet: Bleib in Gedanken bei der
Hlle und verzweifle nicht. Auch wenn es heute noch als
berholt gilt, derlei spirituelle Anliegen in seine Musik

hineinzulesen, darf man nicht vergessen, da Palestrina mit

seinem Schaffen bei der Herausbildung einer Spiritualitt der
Gegenreformation an ganz zentraler Stelle stand. Wie Lewis
Lockwood es beschrieben hat: Seine Laufbahn zeichnet sich
nicht nur durch enorme knstlerische Kraft und Produktivitt
aus, die er mit groer Zurckhaltung walten lt, sondern auch
durch tiefe Frmmigkeit, gepaart mit einer gewissen weltlichen
Strebsamkeit (Stichwort Palestrina im Musiklexikon The
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians).
Laudate pueri aus der 1572 erschienenen Motettensammlung und das 1575 verffentlichte Cantantibus organis
zeigen Palestrina von seiner festlichen Seite, mit berschumender melismatischer Stimmfhrung undvor allem
beim ersten, fr zwei Chre angelegten Werkgeschicktem
Umgang mit strukturellen Kontrasten. Das siebenstimmige
Tu es Petrus aus dem Liber primus motettorum von 1569, das
weniger bekannt ist als die sptere sechsstimmige Vertonung,
ist auerdem eine Verherrlichung des unverbrchlichen
Glaubens an die Kirche Petri. Das nahtlose polyphone Flieen,
wenn auch nicht das harmonische Idiom des Werks lassen an
Komponisten wie Morales und insbesondere Gombert denken.
Das vorliegende Magnificat ist eines von fnfen, die Palestrina
im Tonus 4 geschrieben hat. In der Tat hat er den Text des
Magnificat nicht weniger als fnfunddreiigmal bearbeitet;
sechzehn seiner Vertonungen sind im Magnificat octo tonum
liber primus erschienen, das 1591 in Rom herauskam. Es ist
ausgesprochen schade, da man sie heutzutage kaum kennt,
denn sie sind typisch fr Palestrina: ein Diener der Kirche, der
in aller Stille prachtvolle Musik schreibt, die selbst heute
wahrscheinlich besonders heutedie Menschheit direkt
anspricht.
IVAN MOODY 1999
bersetzung ANNE STEEB/BERND MLLER

IOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA (dont le nom vient

dune ville non loin de Rome) naquit probablement en
1525 ou 1526. Aprs tre demeur sept ans maestro
di cappella la cathdrale de sa ville natale, il partit Rome,
sur convocation du pape Jules III, pour devenir matre de
chapelle de la Cappella Giulia (Saint-Pierre de Rome). Puis il
fut chanteur la chapelle Sixtine, avant dtre renvoy par
Paul IV, en raison de son inacceptable statut dhomme mari.
Pass dautres nominations, il reprit son poste de matre de
chapelle la Cappella Giulia (en 1571) et mourut en 1594.
Aujourdhui encore considr comme le grand matre du
style polyphonique, Palestrina fut, de son vivant, fort pris
et publi. Sa production comprend cent quatre messes
dauthenticit avre, plus de trois cent soixante-quinze motets,
soixante-huit offertoires, au moins soixante-cinq hymnes,
trente-cinq magnificats, quatre, peut-tre cinq, corpus de
Lamentations et plus de cent quarante madrigaux. Ses
publications sont ddies des hommes de grand pouvoir : de
riches et sagaces mcnes des arts, tel Guglielmo Gonzaga ;
des princes et potentats trangers (deux livres de messes sont
ddis Philippe II dEspagne); et, de plus en plus vers la fin
de sa vie, des papes.
La Missa Ecce ego Johannes six voix repose sur un
modle inconnu. Le texte Ecce ego Johannes , extrait de
lApocalypse, est utilis comme capitule (capitulum) lors des
vpres de la Toussaint, il apparat ailleurs (dans les livres de
Sarum, par exemple), comme antienne lors des matines de la
mme fte. Le caractre de la mise en musique de Palestrina
suggre, cependant, un possible modle polyphonique. Il sagit
dune uvre puissante, assure, chose vidente ds les toutes
premires notes du Kyrie. Comme la Missa Papae Marcelli,
elle constitue un parangon de composition palestrinienne.
Un usage constant et subtile de lcriture homophonique lui
confre une immense puissance rhtorique, comme latteste
louverture rflchie, en accords, du second Kyrie, qui non
seulement contraste avec les textures transparentes, plus
fluides, du Christe prcdant, mais donne naissance une

criture imitative, elle-mme gnratrice de la seconde phrase

paroxysmique du cantus, slevant loctave.
Les Gloria et Credo sont, comme de coutume, caractriss
par une criture plus dclamatoire, lie la longueur des
textes. Ici, le recours lhomophonie et limitation dans les
diverses sous-divisions de lensemble choral est tellement
entreml quil est difficile de dire o lune sachve et o
lautre commence. Les exultantes gammes ascendantes,
rex caelestis , naissent ainsi tout fait naturellement de
lcriture en accords, plus statique, prcdant le Gloria ; et il
en va de mme pour lcriture contrapuntique faisant suite
au Domine Deus , en blocs daccords. La phrase finale du
Gloria recle un merveilleux panouissement, recourant un
motif en gammes descendantes, telle une lettrine enlumine
place non en dbut, mais en fin de texte. Pareilles figures en
gammes apparaissent galement pour orner les cadences,
autrement simples, et incarnatus est et et homo factus
est du Credole Crucifixus , la distribution rduite,
les dveloppe encore. La mesure ternaire Et in Spiritum
Sanctum survient comme une relle surprise aprs une si
dlicate dentelle, mme si elle ne dure que jusqu Et unam
sanctam .
Le Sanctus est puissant et majestueux : de nouveau, des
figures en gammes descendantes et ascendantes occupent
le premier plan, confrant cette section une couleur particulire lorsquelles sont doubles en tierces, en sixtes ou en
diximes, comme et terra ou en plusieurs endroits du
substantiel Benedictus. Moins mlodiquement effusif, lAgnus
Dei est triomphant et saisissant. Louverture du second Agnus
Dei rappelle le dbut du second Kyrie.
Tribulationes civitatum et Peccantem me quotidie sont
deux motets de pnitence respectivement parus dans le
Motectorum liber quintus (Rome, 1584) et dans le Motettorum
liber secundus (Venise, 1572). Tous deux recourent des
phrases mlodiques slanant vers les cieux, ainsi qu de
forts brusques contrastes dharmonie et de texture : ainsi les
blocs daccords, Timor (dans Tribulationes civitatum),

10

qui font clairement ressortir le mot, ou le changement

harmonique subsquent, et super liberos . La fin de la
premire partie recle un rel sentiment dimploration de la
misricorde, aux mots Domine miserere , caractriss par
un motif descendant. Ces procds sont poursuivis dans la
seconde partiele plus remarquable de tous est le soudain
repos harmonique caus par lusage de notes pdales
iniuste egimus ; sensuivent deux descentes, pour atteindre
de simples quintes, iniquitatem fecimus . Peccantem me
quotidie est encore davantage hant par le besoin de
repentance et la crainte de la mort : les mots timor mortis
conturbat me (repris, de manire si glaciale, par le pote
cossais du XVe sicle, William Dunbar, dans son Lament for
the Makers) sont mis en musique dans de simples blocs
daccords, mais se meuvent symboliquement en un nouveau
territoire harmonique. Un assombrissement se fait ensuite
entendre, avec les phrases descendantes dsespres de
nulla est redemptio ; mais avec le saisissant appel la
misricorde, Miserere mei, Deus , la fin de luvre est
baigne dans la lumire de lesprance : ces deux motets
semblent incarner la maxime du moine orthodoxe, Silouane
lAthonite, qui disait Garde ton esprit en enfer, et ne
dsespre point . Sil est, aujourdhui encore, peu la mode
de voir en cette musique pareilles proccupations spirituelles,
il ne faudrait pas oublier que Palestrina travailla au cur
mme du dveloppement de la spiritualit de la ContreRforme. Pour reprendre Lewis Lockwood (dans larticle

Palestrina , in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and

Musicians) : Sa carrire fait montre non seulement dune
puissance et dune fcondit artistiques immenses, exerces
avec une intense retenue, mais aussi dun fort sentiment
religieux, doubl dun sens des besoins temporels.
Laudate pueri, extrait du recueil de motets de 1572,
et Cantantibus organis (publi en 1575) laissent voir le
Palestrina festif, lcriture mlismatique exubrante et
(surtout dans le premier motet, pour deux churs) traitant
habilement les contrastes de textures. Tu es Petrus, sept
voix (extrait du Liber primus motettorum de 1569)moins
familier que le Tu es Petrus ultrieur, six voixest une autre
clbration joyeuse de la foi confiante en lglise de Pierre.
Son flux polyphonique homogne suggre, contrairement son
langage harmonique, des compositeurs comme Morales et,
surtout, Gombert. Le Magnificat enregistr ici est lun des cinq
magnificats composs par Palestrina dans le ton 4. En ralit,
le compositeur mit ce texte en musique pas moins de trentecinq foisdont seize parurent dans le Magnificat octo
tonum liber primus (Rome, 1591). Il est fort dommage que ces
uvres soient, de nos jours, un peu mconnues, car elles
reprsentent la quintessence de Palestrinaun Palestrina
serviteur de lglise, crivant en toute quitude une musique
magnifique qui parle directement lhumanit, mme (et peuttre surtout) aujourdhui.
IVAN MOODY 1999
Traduction HYPERION

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1 Upper James Street, London W1F 9DE

11

CDH55407

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

(1525/6 1594)

1 Laudate pueri 8vv

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2 Peccantem me quotidie 5vv

3 Tribulationes civitatum 5vv

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Missa Ecce ego Johannes 6vv

4
5
6
7
8
9
bl

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kyrie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gloria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Credo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sanctus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Benedictus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Agnus Dei I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Agnus Dei II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

bm Tu es Petrus 7vv

[6'38]

[4'38]

[7'24]

[27'55]
1

[4'47]

[4'49]

[7'37]

[2'36]

[2'41]

[2'18]

[2'38]

[3'52]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[7'50]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[5'50]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

bn Magnificat quarti toni 4vv (odd)

bo Cantantibus organis 5vv

THE CHOIR OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL

JAMES ODONNELL The Master of Music

NOTES EN FRANAIS + MIT DEUTSCHEM KOMMENTAR

For sheer beauty of sound this recording is unsurpassed (Gramophone)

GRAMOPHONE EDITORS CHOICE GRAMOPHONE CRITICS CHOICE

CDH55407
Duration 65'05

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

1 Laudate pueri 8vv [6'38]
2 Peccantem me quotidie 5vv [4'38]
3 Tribulationes civitatum 5vv [7'24]
4 Missa Ecce ego Johannes 6vv [27'55]
bm Tu es Petrus 7vv [3'52]
bn Magnificat quarti toni 4vv (odd) [7'50]
bo Cantantibus organis 5vv [5'50]
Yet another superb disc from Westminster Cathedral many consider not only the finest
cathedral choir in Britain, but one of the best in the world. The sound is quite glorious (Goldberg)

THE CHOIR OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL

JAMES ODONNELL The Master of Music

A HYPERION RECORDING

DDD

MADE IN ENGLAND

Recorded on 910 and 1516 February 1999

Recording Engineers ANTONY HOWELL, JULIAN MILLARD
Recording Producer MARK BROWN
Executive Producers EDWARD PERRY, SIMON PERRY
P Hyperion Records Limited, London, 1999
Hyperion Records Limited, London, 2012
(Originally issued on Hyperion CDA67099)
Front illustration: St John the Evangelist (from the St Thomas altarpiece) by Pedro Berruguete (c14501504)
Convent of St Thomas, Avila / The Bridgeman Art Library

HELIOS
CDH55407

PALESTRINA MISSA ECCE EGO JOHANNES

THE CHOIR OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL / JAMES ODONNELL

(1525/6 1594)

PALESTRINA MISSA ECCE EGO JOHANNES

THE CHOIR OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL / JAMES ODONNELL

HELIOS
CDH55407

Joyous performances (BBC Music Magazine)