He was an Italian renaissance composer, his work is said to be
the apex of renaissance polyphony which is 2 or more different
melodies
1
He is named after his birth place, but signs name with middle
instead of last could be coz of shame "Giovanni Petraloysio."
2
Palestrina was organist of the principal church (St. Agapito) of
his native city. For seven years Pope Julius 3 liked his book of
masses so much, in 1551 he made Palestrina maestro de cappella.
3
Although he was heavily inclined with the church, and did
compose mostly religious songs, in his first book of madrigals he
included many secular songs.
Unfortunately this was when the forgiving regime of Julius III
ended and the sterner regime of Paul IV came to be
4
Palestrina married Lucrezia Gori. Three sons were born to them:
Rodolfo, Angelo, and Iginio. Only the last outlived his father.
5
AFTER actually joining the choir for a little bit, he got kicked
off because a law was passed that married men were not allowed to
sing in the choir.
For the next five years Palestrina directed the choir of St.
John Lateran, but his efforts were continually fuIle because his
choir lacked talent and number
And also was restricted because very little money was available
for music.
Nevertheless, he gained admission for his eldest son, Rodolfo,
then about 13, as a member of the choir.
But the social environment wasn’t that great so his son le^.
The chapter archives of St. John Lateran record that in July
1560 he and his son suddenly departed.
6
A plague killed his wife and his two elder sons, both of whom
showed great musical promise.
He also fell ill.
Grieving over his wife’s death, he announced his intention of
becoming a priest, to the delight of the pope, Gregory XIII.
however, he cancelled that to marry Virginia Dormoli, a wealthy
widow.
Although he spent lots of time using her money, he kept his
position at St. Peter’s and continued to compose.
7
He wrote 105 masses; embrace many different styles, and the
number of voices used ranges from four to eight.
He had a very mysterious aZuIcde towards his madrigals because
of all the variety in them
8
Palestrina also assumed an active role in his new wife's
businesses, successfully investing in real estate and even selling
altar wine out of his family vineyard.
9
Palestrina remained in memory much more than any of his
contemporaries.
His compositions became a permanent part of the repertoire of
the SisIne Chapel, which never happened. His composition was known
as sIle anIco (old style)—as opposed to the modern style that came
to be associated with noIons of purity and spirituality that was
his music.
10
He died in Rome in 1594.
Palestrina was buried on the same day he died, in a coffin with
a lead plate on which was inscribed Libera me Domine. There was ‘A
five-part psalm for three choirs; that was sung at the funeral.
