Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

ROUTLEDGE MUSICAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES

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Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
A Guide to Research

Clara Marvin

Routledge
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Published in 2002 by
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An Imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

Copyright © 2002 by Clara Marvin

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form
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10987654321

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

- -

Marvin, Clara.
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: a guide to research / Clara Marvin.
p. cm. — (Composer resource manuals ; v. 56)
Includes discography (p. 383) and indexes.
ISBN 0-8153-2351-4 (acid-free paper)
1. Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da, 1525?-1594—Bibliography. L Title. II. Series.
ML134.P2 M37 2001
016.7822'2'092—dc21
00-068435

Printed on acid-free, 250–year-life paper

Manufactured in the United States of America
Contents

Introduction vii
Abbreviations xv

1. Chronology and Biographical Outline 1

2. Primary Sources: Printed Music 13
I. Early Editions of Printed Music by Palestrina as Sole Composer 13
II. Printed Compositions in Musical Anthologies 54
III. Contemporary Arrangements of Palestrina's Works 70
IV Prints in Books, Theoretical Treatises, Manuals of Instruction, and
Similar Sources Dating from before 1800 75
3. Primary Sources: A Checklist of Manuscripts 79
4. Modern Editions of Palestrina's Music I:
Comprehensive Editions 135
I. The "Haberl" Edition (1862-1907) 135
II. The "Casimiri" Edition (1939-1987) 164
III. The Palestrina Foundation Series (1975—) 187
5. Modern Editions of Palestrina's Music II:
Collected an d Individual Works 189
I. Selections in Anthologies, Collections, Sets, and Series 189
II. Individually Issued Items 221
6. Bibliography of Secondary Literature 253
I. General Background, History, and Contemporaries 253
II. Biographical Literature 265
III. Studies of Sources, Music, and S ty le 281
IV Reception History 323
1. From the Sixteenth Century to 1750 323
2. From 1750 to 1914 342
3. From 1914 to the Present 366
7. Discography 383

Index 437
Index of Titles and First Lines of Musical Works 437
Index of Names and Subjects 463
This page intentionally left blank
Introduction

It has been justly said that the reputation of Giov an ni Pierluigi da Palest ri na
(c.1525-1594) is unlike that of any other musician. He is the oldest composer who has
been present continuously in the consciousness of the Weste rn art tradition since his
death over four centu ri es ago. For many historians writing from the seventeenth century
to well into the early twentieth, Palest ri na was the pivotal figure in the progressive
development of music. Musical historiography was rich with metaphorical language
emphasizing the composer's role both as an originator of "true" polyphony and as a
foundation for the organic development of the a rt of his professional successors. Not
only did many histo ri es divide music into "before and after Palest ri na" phases, but they
established the composer as a new musical foundation, the mighty root out of which
subsequent music had its growth and flower. Palest ri na was also the linchpin in many
genealogies of music: not only did the lines of musical descent, improving the musical
heritage from one generation to another, converge on and culminate in him, but those
who came after him were true followers only insofar as they continued to project quali-
ties epitomized in his style. Palest ri na was the musical Everest, the flagship on the sea of
harmony, the virtual Counter-Reformation saint, complete with a miracle—the "salva-
tion" of polyphony—to his credit. To Baini, his worshipful biographer, he was amanu-
ensis Dei, "God's secretary."
But Palestrina's reputation evolved in a series of shifting phases. Although he has not
needed reviving by mode rn scholarship, his historical image has undergone a remark-
able series of changes an d colorations, perhaps none more radical than in the twentieth
century. Even more than being regarded as a perfect model for the contrapuntal tech-
nique of the late Renaiss an ce, his name an d style early became a metaphor for an ideal
of pious devotion in ecclesiastical music, the semidivine purity of which vanquished the
indecorous an d the inept. Associated with these featured qualities were a cluster of dis-
tinct but intricately connected ideas whose links an d historical crosscurrents have not
always been fully understood. Many agendas have been at work in the history of Palest-
ri na reception which reach far beyond the specific assessment of the quality of his
music. In turns his fame was caught up in Roman Church history and reform, music the-
ory and technique, politics, poetics an d aesthetics, rationalist revision, antiquarianism,
spi ri tual and religious revival movements, nationalist pride, and sociological and scien-
tific study.
Unquestionably Palest ri na was greatly esteemed by his contemporaries. As an
incumbent of some of the most prestigious musical posts in Europe, he was described by
a diplomat in 1575 as "now considered the very first musician in the world." Late in his
life he was even presented with a printed collection of compositions by students and
friends dedicated to his honor—an early Festschrift, as it were. His own works contin-
ued to be printed until well after his death, and some of them were perpetuated in copies
that were well-used through not only the seventeenth but the eighteenth centu ri es. Yet
there is a difference between lasting regard, however strong, and becoming a "legend,"
viii Introduction
the real particulars of which in Palestrina's case did not evolve fully until well into the
seventeenth century.
This elevation in status was brought about by the intersection of several factors.
Musically, it came about in part because in the theory of style in baroque music, the
canons of generic propriety for compositional technique became increasingly severe,
especially for ce rt ain kinds of church music. The theory and practice of this st ri ct style
came to be regarded as the criterion by which quality and refinement of music for the
church were to be judged. Not only technical skill but conceptual insight into the contra-
puntal foundations of the tradition was the sine qua non for a truly learned and sophisti-
cated musicus. Producing effective exemplars of the style was not only a matter of spiri-
tual loyalty but an issue of professional dignity and pride.
Powerful cultural and political factors played a role in establishing Palest ri na as a
major role model for composers in the seventeenth century. As Jean Lionnet and
Arnaldo Morelli have established, direct evidence that Palestrina's music was cited as
an ideal model for emulation in the Sistine Chapel is not readily available before the
1660s. In the mid-seventeenth century, however, as the papacy ceased to play a critical
role in European political affairs and lost much of its ideological hegemony, it contin-
ued to assert its spi ri tual primacy in other ways. It presented itself as the fons et origo
and epicenter of a "t ru e" religious culture as exhibited in the institutional traditions that
it held should be transmitted to the rest of the world. It was during this period that
Palest ri na, the "p ri nce of musicians" who had once reigned over the pope's own musi-
cal chapels, was increasingly heralded as the great restorer of the music of the Roman
Catholic tradition.
Transmitted to the eighteenth century by such writers as Antimo Liberati and Adami
da Bolsena, this "tradition" was disseminated through such theorists as Fux and his suc-
cessors in methods of species counterpoint, and by composers who continued to emulate
the osservato or stile antico schools, with greater or lesser intensity depending on their
religious an d stylistic o ri entation. While this era tended to emphasize Palestrina's tech-
nical mastery and elegance, insofar as they had experienced it, by the later part of the
century a romanticized version of the "legendary" image began to reassert itself. Emerg-
ing with the nascent Romantic movement was a search for an aesthetic sense of spiritual
exaltation, as well as for a kind of noble and archaic simplicity—for "origins"—that led
to a revival of active interest in the composer. In 1814, E.T.A. Hoffmann predicated in a
famous essay a restoration of church music based on the transcendent purity of the
Palest ri na style, asserting that for sublimity it was the vocal counterpart of the absolute
symphonic style. To a startling extent, Giuseppe Baini's landmark biography of the
composer, published in 1828, reflected the romantic program of the composer as the
archetypically solitary, afflicted genius, one whose manner was at once grandly reli-
gious and sublimely simple. In Ian Bent's words, Palestrina's style was perceived to be
one "in which all antitheses are resolved: nature is wed to a rt , rhetoric and philosophy
are reconciled, and a rt and science join forces." But also thanks to the pioneering Baini,
Palest ri na was also the first of the pre-1600 composers whose biography an d works were
addressed in detail with some of the tools of documentary scholarship. While Baini
could not inte rv iew his subject, he was surrounded at the Vatican by a wealth of manu-
script and archival materials. He sought both to know something of Palestrina's person-
ality and to make a serious attempt to describe the composer's stylistic methods over
time as a series of phases in a stylistic development.
The resurgence of devoted interest in Palest ri na in the nineteenth century was pa rt of
Introduction ix
a general revival of older music, which was in itself a function of the period's aestheti-
cized nostalgia for the past. This was especially true within the Roman Catholic commu-
nity, many of whose European institutions, both monastic and secular, had been
destroyed or attenuated during the last decades of the eighteenth century. The church
music restoration movement was closely related to a general Catholic renewal in France,
and in central and southern Germany a strong continuity existed between the Romantic
revival and the various artistic, philosophical, and religious programs of the Cecilians.
By the 1880s there were also some in Italy who were reacting against the hegemony of
the current operatic style, and they looked to the stile alla Palestrina as a potential
model for a restoration of church music to spi ritual simplicity. Although the papacy
itself retreated politically into the Vatican after 1848, it continued to be powerfully con-
cerned with musical religious reform, and even during the most visible phase of the
movement for the recovery of Gregorian chant, it was recognized that there was a practi-
cal liturgical place for polyphony based on Palestrinian models. But interest in Palest-
rina was by no means exclusively associated with Roman Catholicism. His historical
prestige as spi ritual musician and contrapuntist par excellence was such that many High
Church Anglican and Lutheran circles in particular increasingly sought the music of the
older Roman school for their antiquarian and musicological studies, choral societies,
and liturgies through much of the nineteenth century.
Palestrina's music was also indirectly drawn into national and political issues. The
second modern edition of his music, announced by Monsignor Casimiri in 1934, was in
part a monument to the Italian striving at that time to recover the magnificent cultural
heritage of its own more remote past. To a number of early-twentieth-century Italians, it
then appeared that the continuity of their historical musical culture—seemingly swal-
lowed up by the great maw of nineteenth-century opera on the one hand and an apparent
German hegemony in instrumental music on the other—needed to be reasserted. While
the fascista mentality may have capitalized upon such thinking to some extent, these
stirrings had in fact been present virtually since Italy's birth as a united nation in the
1860s and '70s. Casimiri's edition was by his own admission meant not only to take
advantage of the tools of modem scholarship but to provide a particular kind of native
sensibility and commitment, both of which would act as a corrective to Haberl's treat-
ment of Latin and Italian prosody and text underlay.
Twentieth-century musicology has tempered some of the past extravagances
addressed to Palest rina. The hagiographies of the nineteenth century, with their imagi-
nary conversations with the composer and their sometimes treacly religious sentiment,
have been largely superseded, but the modified picture that has emerged, particularly
since 1960, is rich and various on its own terms. The composer's image has been put on
a more scientific and sociological footing. Palest rina has been discovered to be not only
for the ages, but also a man and citizen of his own time: a sophisticated working artist
among others in an energetic musical marketplace, a craftsman, a businessman, and a
family man, as well as a spi ritual being. Renewed studies of his music are being made
with a much more extensive knowledge of both his contemporaries and the structures
and practices of the cultures in which he lived. As a result, not only the "timeless" but
the modern and forward-looking qualities of his personal style have been rediscovered
and celebrated: his attention to sonority and color, his interest in vertical as well as linear
sound, his use of large-scale sonic groupings and contrasts and polychorality, his elegant
"finish"—the seemingly effortless art that conceals study, that quality so prized by
Renaissance culture—and his sophisticated attention to text setting.
x Introduction

In a postmodern era dominated by unpredictability, unceasing change, continuous

readjustment, and overwhelming cultural irony, Palestrina's music retains an immutable
quality that may be one of its great current at tractions. It seems to possess a magical
combination of exquisite technical comprehensibility and a ce rtain indefinable `other-
ness." Perhaps, in the wave of the `new age' phenomenon, some of the present at traction
of Palestrina's music may be due less to the association of his name with ce rtain tradi-
tions than to the sense of its differentness—to the sense that it is not really of our time.
How else to explain Sicut cervus being played on the boombox as "cooled-out" mood
music for Generation Xers while they throw steaks on the barbecue of a summer
evening? Perhaps it is the case, as James Erb has suggested, that notwithstanding the
magnificent range and breathtaking technique of even an Orlando di Lasso, Palest rina
has managed to keep an image of posthumous preeminence (whether deserved or not)
over Lasso, among many others, precisely because Palestrina's music is less turbulent
and more predictable in its parameters. These qualities, surely, seem to be different from
the life of our time. Indeed, the minutest aspects of Palestrina's technique have been
pondered, literally, for centu ries. But the precise relationship between Palestrina's per-
sonality and his music remains elusive, and that very elusiveness has created a defense
against final deconstruction and postmodern fatigue.
One of the recent remarkable discoveries about Palest rina is that, for a composer
whose entire oeuvre, more or less, has been available in collected editions for a century,
the range of prospective research options and projects yet to be done is remarkably wide.
Over the course of his research Noel O'Regan has pointed out the challenges in the area
of source work alone, where there is an ongoing need to establish manuscript and print
traditions of music and to review documents. In her disse rtation on a group of Palest-
rina's imitation masses, Veronica Franke has pointed out the need to address the difficult
problems of establishing a proper chronology of the composer's works: "The problem
[of mass chronology] ... remains almost entirely unresolved. The dates of few masses
can be ascertained. The majority were published posthumously and had been in manu-
script for many years. Stylistic elements in ce rtain masses as well as comments in some
of the composer's formal letters of dedication would seem to indicate that a fair number
of the masses published during Palestrina's lifetime were composed well before their
appearance in p rint" [Item E0232].
There have been excellent studies since 1975 of aspects of Palestrina's compositional
process, although much remains to be done with respect to his imitation technique, his
recomposition of model material, and parody procedures—not only those in masses but
in other genres cultivated in his time. In recent years several scholars have explored the
liturgical and paraliturgical use of particular genres, notably spi ritual madrigals as well
as motets in nonchurch contexts. Some notable work has been done with Palestrina's
activity for confraternities and devotional processions that has expanded understanding
of the cultural uses of music in a variety of social contexts. For that matter, knowledge of
the practical liturgical uses of Palestrina's motets might benefit from further investiga-
tion. In addition, it would be profitable to build upon some of the recent work on per-
formance practice in this repertory—its resources, vocal techniques, and ornamenta-
tion—not only to enhance perform ances in our time, but to understand better how the
execution of Palestrina's music has been understood in the past.
The present Composer Resource Manual is meant to facilitate some of the prelimi-
nary steps required for general or more specialized research in any of these suggested
directions. It presents a picture of primary sources, mode rn editions, current secondary
Introduction xi

literature, and the history of recordings of Palestrina's music. It is also designed in rt

pa
to provide a digest of the secondary literature, much of which is in languages other than
English, in order to assist researchers with acquiring some control over a wide-ranging
body of material. It is intended for use by students, researchers, and scholars as well as
practical musicians (primarily choral directors) involved in the preparation of perform-
ances of Palestrina's music. Items are identified by unique sigla that are identified and
explained in the List of Abbreviations, page xv, an d cross-listed in the indexes.
Chapter 1 contains a biographical outline of the composer's life and activities in
chronological order, based primarily on documentary sources. For researchers desiring a
more integrated or comprehensive biography, full studies can be located in the "Bio-
graphical Literature" section of the annotated bibliography in chapter 6.
Chapter 2 lists primary printed sources for Palestrina's music dating approximately
from before 1700. A remarkably large propo rt ion of the composer's oeuvre was printed
during his lifetime, sometimes clearly under his supervision, or within a few years of his
death by his immediate heirs. A number of these prints, particularly those associated
with Dorico, can be considered as reliable representations of the composer's text, as he
himself is believed to have had an editorial or supervisory function in their preparation.
The list is based on RISM, the collection and examination of individual prints, an d
library catalogues. The lists in this chapter include prints in anthologies dating from
before 1700, as well as prints and significant printed examples found in published theo-
retical treatises an d in studies of counterpoint or of musical style dating from before
1800. Here, an d throughout the text, irregularities in Latin and Italian spellings in the
primary sources have been preserved unless otherwise indicated.
Chapter 3 is a provisional checklist of primary manuscript sources for Palestrina's
music. It includes works that circulated and remained in manuscript; manuscript copies
of prints that were used usually for local ferial liturgical practice, when this can be deter-
mined, and works attributed to the composer but that, on examination of available evi-
dence, are doubtful or questionable. I have not separated manuscript copies of printed
material from copies that belong distinctly to a circulating manuscript tradition. This
area is very problematic and yet it clearly holds impo rt ant evidence on chronology and
performance tradition. Generally speaking, I have attempted to include significant man-
uscript music clearly datable up to about 1700 and some post-1700 manuscript material
associated with ce rt ain relatively well-documented and catalogued traditions such as
that of the Sistine itself. I have excluded most later eighteenth- and nineteenth-century
manuscript material, including scorings and arrangements made of the composer's
music by amateurs an d scholars. This includes most of the indisputably impo rt ant mate-
rial by Martini, Santini, Proske, an d others, unless it represents otherwise undocumented
or poorly documented music possibly associated with Palest ri na. Explanations are pro-
vided as necessary.
Chapters 4 and 5 present listings of mode rn printed editions of Palestrina's music
that have been published since approximately 1770. Chapter 4 is essentially a register of
the "Haberl" and "Casimiri" comprehensive editions, including a complete list of their
contents with page numbers and information on reprintings. It also includes desc ri ptions
of the presently available volumes in the series of p ri ma ry -source photoreproductions
that the Palest ri na Foundation began to publish in 1975. Chapter 5 is in two sections, the
first listing items from collected editions, sets, and anthologies, while the second is a
selective list of individual publications. Whenever possible, disposition, perform an ce
indications, and special remarks are added. Included here are a number of pedagogical
xii Int roduction
works on classical vocal polyphony, because they may contain extensive musical exam-
ples; there is some overlap in this case with material in the annotated bibliography in
chapter 6. A number of unusual nineteenth-century arr angements of works are included
here as evidence of performance traditions (either of a place or of a performer) that in
very recent years have been the subject of articles in the secondary literature. These
materials are often of genuine scholarly interest, even if they would not be recognized as
"editions of choice" for present-day performing groups.
Chapter 6 is an annotated bibliography of secondary literature. This contains cita-
tions from sources in English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, and Latin, together
with occasional entries in other languages if a tr an slation or summary in one of the listed
languages is provided. It deals primarily with books, jou rn al art icles or articles in com-
pendia or Festschriften, and doctoral disse rt ations. A more general book is included if it
is dedicated to a clearly Palestrina-related topic or contains a substantial po rt ion of rele-
vant material or a passage of impo rt ance for reception history. Items from newspapers
and reviews of books or other items such as recordings have been omitted unless a
review contains significant independent writing or presents new information that anno-
tates another source. The listing originated in the collation of a number of shorter and/or
unannotated bibliographies, plus an independent general search for literature after 1950.
General bibliographies consulted include Lino Bianchi's "Bibliografia brevis" in his
Palestrina nella vita, nelle opere, nel tempo (Palest ri na, 1996, pp. 911-913); Michael
Heinemann's in his Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and seine Zeit (Laaber, 1994, pp.
285-309); Knud Jeppesen's in his a rt icle on Palest ri na in the first edition of Die Musik
in Geschichte and Gegenwart (1962); Lewis Lockwood's in his a rt icle on Palest ri na for
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980); Peter Liittig's in his Der
Palestrina-Stil als Satzideal (Ttitzing, 1994); an d Giancarlo Rostirolla's dedicated "Bib-
liografia palestriniana" in La casa di Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina(Palestri na, 1986,
pp. 213 -259), as well as its amplified and updated version, Bibliografia degli scritti su
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1568-1996) (Palestrina, 1997). Searches for literature
after 1950 were performed in RILM, The Music Index, the Social Sciences and Humani-
ties Index, OCLC, National Union Catalog, B ri tish Union Catalogue, an d Doctoral Dis-
sertations in Musicology. The bibliography represents a significant percentage of the
available literature, but it remains selective. Needless to say, given the specified research
parameters, a sizable amount of material was disqualified that may be of interest to some
serious researchers, who are encouraged to consult some of the additional bibliographies
listed here. Some judgment calls also had to be made, of course. Items which in the pres-
ent author's opinion were clearly peripheral, unoriginal, poorly written, repetitive, or
factually insubstantial, or did not contribute usefully to Palest ri na reception history were
eliminated, save for a few peculiar items included—with an explanation—because they
seemed representative of a type. I apologize in advance for inconvenience caused by the
absence of any more impo rtan t items that may have escaped my notice or did not fall
within my parameters for inclusion.
This bibliography is divided into four primary sections: 1) Selected studies offering
historical background on musical, social, and cultural life in sixteenth-century Italy that
offer useful information or insight into the contexts of Palestrina's creative, intellectual,
social, and personal life; 2) Biographical literature, consisting of full-length works and
selected source studies, documents, and iconographical items. The citations of full-
length biographical studies can be profitably examined in association with those for
reception history, with careful attention to publication dates and milieux of o ri gin; 3)
Introduction xiii
Studies of sources, music, an d style, involving citations of works dealing with aspects of
individual works, characteristics of genres, works of style analysis, music history, or
music history as applied to Palestrina's oeuvre. This section also contains historical
research on performance conditions and practices as they would have applied in Palest-
rina's time; 4) Reception history, embracing how Palestrina influenced, an d how his
influence has been assessed by, others. These items have been sorted roughly by date of
origin or the time frame they address, although there are inevitably items that overlap,
and a certain fogginess in the boundaries between subsections. They are divided roughly
into the periods dating from Palestrina's lifetime to about 1750; from about 1750 to
about 1914; from 1914 to the present. Included in this last category, in addition to
assessments as such, are items dealing with questions concerning the performance of
Palestrina's music in a late-twentieth-century context.
With respect to nineteenth-century reception history, the present author has had to
treat two topics with great selectivity. The personalities and activities of the Cecilian
movement form a major topic in themselves. I have included literature if the item was
directly relevant to image-making about Palest ri na; the recovery, editing, and perform-
ance of his music; if his music was used as a direct model for the work of another com-
poser; or if the item provided contemporary critical insight into the relevance of the
actual style to the musical or cultural life of the period. Items such as full-length biogra-
phical studies of ecclesiastics nominally associated with Cecilianism, for inst an ce, have
not been included, even if Palestrina is mentioned at times. The other topic involves the
literature about Hans Pfitzner's "musical legend," the opera Palestrina. The bibliogra-
phy does not survey the literature on this work. I have, however, included a few items
that deal with quotations or reworkings of Palestrina's music within the opera or that dis-
cuss how the image of Palestrina was refracted through nineteenth-century issues of
solitary genius, integrity, the defense of a rt , an d so forth, as found in Pfitzner's work.
This material—especially Pfitzner's own comments on these subjects—falls clearly
within the topic of Palest ri na reception.
Chapter 7 contains a discography of Palestrina's music, providing coverage of Euro-
pean an d No rt h American recordings made since 1900. It has often been said how rap-
idly a discography can become outdated, how full of erroneous information, and how
confusing the history of a recorded perform an ce can be in the retelling. I can only hope
that this doubtless incomplete discography is not a monument to the truth of those obser-
vations. It is arranged in alphabetical order according to the name of the recording com-
pany, beneath which are provided citations as complete as my direct examination of
discs and information resources allowed, including a list of the Palest ri na works
recorded. The reader is directed to search the title index for the work for which a record-
ing is sought, and to follow the sigla cited there back to the main discography. As I have
not been able to hear all of these recordings personally, I have annotated a few post-1960
recordings as well as ce rt ain older ones of particular historical interest, for choral direc-
tors desiring to gain ideas of style in performance, or for students and instructors who
wish to document and study aspects of music and style.
However one regards this particular effo rt at discography, careful study of the Palest-
ri na recorded repertory has its own fascinations. Through recordings alone, the history
of various national performing tr aditions for Palestrina's music can readily be followed
an d analyzed—Italian, German, and B ri tish especially. Perform an ce practices can be
traced not only nationally but chronologically, even to the very beginning of the twenti-
eth century, right to the very heart of the tr adition: the Sistine Chapel itself. Apparently
xiv Introduction

the very earliest extant and available recording of Palestrina's music is (to present sensi-
bilities) the rather strange—and yet historically priceless—performance from 1904 of
Palestrina's mad rigal La cruda mia nernica, which included Alessandro Moreschi, the
only true castrato known to have been recorded in the West.
In the preparation of this guide, I have had the great good fo rt une to benefit from the
assistance and advice of many people and numerous institutions. For their kindness I
would like to acknowledge the Edward Johnson Library of the University of Toronto,
where much of the initial research for this project was carried out, with special thanks to
Kathleen McMorrow, John Fodi, Suzanne Meyers Sawa, and all the other members of
the staff; to my gracious colleague Vivien Taylor, of the Music Library and Special Col-
lections at Queen's University, Kingston, for her generous help and advice on organizing
and accessing the information in this manual. My gratitude also goes to the staff of the
Queen's University Music Library, especially Susan Chan and Paula Werden, for their
constant cheerful help and their kindness and patience with a very demanding client; and
to the music libraries and staff of the Loeb Music Library of Ha rv ard University; the
Sterling Music Library, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, an d the Seeley W.
Mudd Library, all of Yale University; and the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Additional thanks to the numerous libraries in Europe where I made my initial first-
hand acquaintance with much primary and secondary material referenced in this vol-
ume, especially to the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome, the Civico Museo Bibli-
ografico Musicale, Bologna, and the B ri tish Library, London; to Professor Noel
O'Regan of the University of Edinburgh, for responding to several queries an d for his
kind encouragement; to Ms. Susan Rosenstein and the Hispanic Society of America for
providing me with information on several manuscripts of Hispanic provenance; to Leo
Balk of Garland Publishing, who initially agreed to this project, and to my editors at
Garland and Routledge, who helped me in many ways, showed much patience, and
probably saved me from many a folly. All have my heartfelt thanks.
To Tim Bemers-Lee and the world of electronic communications, and to Chester
Carlson, inventor of photocopying, my thanks for their indispensible aid and comfort to
me as a researcher.
Finally, whatever is good in this work is dedicated with gratitude and affection to
three people:
To Professor Ma ry Ann Parker of the University of Toronto for her encouragement,
an d whose ongoing friendship and mentorship I cherish; to the memory of Al Raskin, a
wise and able man of boundless generosity who always expressed a genuine interest in
whatever I was doing (or said I was doing); and, as always, to Lawrie Raskin, who con-
tinues somehow to put up with household chaos and my long hours and has offered con-
stant good-humored support to this project. By now, he sure knows who Palest ri na is.

CLARA MARVIN
Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
Abbreviations

Guide to the Enumeration Classes Used in this Volume

A Early printed editions of music: dedicated prints, anthologies, collections, theoreti-

cal or didactic works (chapter 2)
B Manuscript sources (chapter 3)
C Comprehensive editions (chapter 4)
D Modern editions of printed music: sets, anthologies, series, and individual items
(chapter 5)
E Bibliography (chapter 6)
F Discography (chapter 7)

The siglum letter is followed by a number pertaining to the individual item, thereby indi-
cating both its unique identity and conveying general information about its type (printed,
manuscript, sound recording, etc.). It is also designed to offer more immediate recogni-
tion of a type of source referenced in an Index listing.

Abbreviations

4to quarto
5 quintus, quinta pars, quinto, fifth pa rt
6 sextus, sesta pars, sesto, sixth pa rt
8vo octavo, ottavo
A, a, alt alto
arr arranged by, arrangement
B, b, bas bass
Bar, bar baritone
be basso continuo
Cas Palestrina Works, ed. Raffaele Casimiri, et al. (1939—present)
c, ca. circa
ed edition, edited by
Eitner Robe rt Eitner, Quellen Lexicon (repr. Graz 1959)
-

facs facsimile
Hab Palestrina Works, ed. Haberl, et al. (1862-1907)
MGG Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (first edition)
MS, ms manuscript
mot motet
NdA Note d'Archivio (jou rn al)
p, pp page, pages
repr rep ri nt, reprinted
rev revised, revised edition
xvi Abbreviations
RILM Répertoire Inte rnationale de la Littérature Musicale
RISM Répertoire Internationale des Sources Musicales
S, s, sop soprano
SATB soprano, alto, tenor, bass
SATB56 soprano, alto, tenor, bass, quinto, sesto
T, t, ten tenor
trans translation, translated by
treb treble
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
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Chapter 1
Chronology and Biographical Outline

Part I: 1525-1544

Giovanni Pierluigi is bo rn , probably between February 3, 1525 and February 2, 1526,

either in the town of Palest ri na or in Rome, to Santo (also spelled Sante) Pierluigi and
his wife, Palma. The precise date of the child's birth remains unknown, but the obituary
written by Melchior Major describes him as having lived sixty-eight years. It has been
suggested that his birthday might have been December 27, the feast day of the com-
poser's name saint, John (Heinemann 1994). In a Rom an census in early 1527, one
"Santo de Prenestino" is listed as head of a household of twelve in the none Monti, a
neighborhood near the church of St. John Lateran (Casimiri 1918-1922).
The first documentary evidence of his life is in the form of a will made on October
22, 1527 by his paternal grandmother, Jacobella (Cametti 1903). In the will she divided
her estate among her four children, two sisters, a daughter-in-law Palma (Santo's wife),
and "il piccolo Giovanni," her grandson. The particular mention of Giovanni suggests
that he may have been a firstborn grandchild (Bianchi 1995 [E0079]).
On January 16, 1536, the composer's mother, Palma Pierluigi dies.
A contract dated October 25, 1537 lists "Giovanni da Palest ri na" as the second of six
pueri chorialis at Santa Ma ri a Maggiore (Casimiri 1918-1922) entitled to receive musi-
cal inst ru ction and an education as well as clothing and care. Hypothetically, he may
have entered the basilica as early as 1533, for the typical age of admission for such chil-
dren was around six to eight years of age. The music masters at the basilica in the period
1538-1540 included Rubino Mallapert (1538-1539), "Robert" (perhaps Robe rt de
Fevin), and Firmin Le Bel (1540).
On May 11, 1540, Santo Pierluigi, Giovanni's widowed father, married Ma ri a Gis-
mondi. Five children were eventually born of the marriage.

Part II: 1544-1571

1544— A contract dated October 28, 1544 indicates that "Giovanni figlio di Sante
1549 Pietro Aloisio da Palest ri na" has been engaged as an organist at the church of
S an Agapito in Palest ri na. He was required to play the organ on feast days and
to lead the choir at mass, vespers, an d compline. He was also expected to
instruct the clergy in plainchant or else to undertake the musical education of
some of the choirboys (Casimiri 1924; see item E0105). Further documenta-
tion of Giovanni's professional activities in Palest ri na is lacking until 1551.
On December 13, 1545, the Council of Trent (the Nineteenth General
Council of the church) is opened.
On June 12, 1547, Palestrina marries Lucrezia Gori, the daughter of the
deceased Francesco de Goris. On November 7, the couple receive a dowry of
130 florins from the estate of Lucrezia's father, while on November 16 the
2 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
division of property is made, and Lucrezia receives various household items
from her family inheritance. Sancta Gori, Lucrezia's mother, dies on Decem-
ber 13.
In Rome, Philip Neri with Persiano Rosa founds the confraternity of SS.
Trinità dei Pellegrini in 1548, while Marcello Cervini (afterwards pope)
becomes head of the Vatic an Library.
Lucrezia and Giovanni's son Rodolfo is born sometime in 1549 or 1550
(and dies in 1572).

1550 On February 8, after an extended conclave due to political conditions, Cardi-

nal Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte (bishop of Palestrina) is elected Pope
Julius III. The new pope's successor in the bishopric of Palestrina, Cardinal
Luigi Borbone, names Giovanni Pierluigi as organist and maestro di cappella
at San Agapito.

1551— Palestrina's second son Angelo is born (dies 1571). On September 1, Pope
1553 Julius III appoints the composer maestro di cappella at the Cappella Giulia
(San Pietro). He receives a salary of 10 scudi per month, plus four more for the
maintenance of two choirboys. Mallapert meanwhile leaves the Vatican to
assume another position at S anta Maria Maggiore. Together with the chapel
choir, Palestrina probably also participates in confraternity, processional, and
other extramural activities. Some Magnificat and other works are datable to
this early Vatic an period, around 1552.

1554 Palestrina publishes Missarum liber primus [Doricol with a dedication to Pope
Julius III (Giovanni Maria del Monte). This is the first single publication of
masses issued in Rome by a native Italian composer. In the same year, the
madrigal Con dolce altiero appears in a Venetian anthology published by Gar-
dano.

1555 On January 13, Palest rina is admitted to the Sistine Chapel at the command of
Pope Julius, in spite of being married and without being examined or with the
consent of the singers. As he was not considered to have a particularly good
voice, he was most likely admitted on the basis of already demonstrated com-
positional skill (Shen 1994). On March 23, however, Julius III dies, and on
Ap ri l 9 he is succeeded by the humanist cardinal Marcello Cervini, who takes
the name Marcellus II. On Ap ri l 12, three days after his election, as reported in
the diary of Angelo Massarelli, the new pope's private secretary, Marcellus
admonishes the papal singers to sing the divine services "with properly modu-
lated voices, and ... in such a way that everything could be heard and under-
stood." However, after a pontificate of only three weeks, Marcellus dies (Ap ri l
30). He is succeeded on May 23 by Giovanni Pietro Caraffa, Pope Paul IV.
Beginning in mid-July, the composer apparently suffers from a serious ill-
ness for several weeks.
On July 30, a decretal is issued forbidding the presence of married singers
in the chapel membership. In September, Palest rina and two other married
singers are dismissed from the Cappella Sistina as the chapel's rule requiring
celibacy of its members is enforced. He receives a pension, however. But on
Chronology and Bibliographical Outline 3
October 1, he is named maestro di cappella of St. John Lateran, the pope's
episcopal seat, where he remains until 1560. His payment is 6 scudi per
month.
During this year, Il primo libro di madrigali a quattro voci is published by
Dorico.

1556 Between 1556 and 1561, Palestrina composes versions of the Improperia and
Lamentations (MS Lateran 59). In 1556, the town of Palest rina is sacked by
troops of the duke of Alba, enemy of the Caraffa, the current pope's family.
The tragedy is apparently compounded by devastation caused by weather con-
ditions. It is possible that early documentation of the Pierluigi family is lost at
this time.

1557 On May 30, the composer, together with his sons Rodolfo and Angelo,
receives the rights of Roman citizens.
In July, another sack of the town of Palestrina occurs, this time by troops of
Marcantonio Colonna, an ally of the duke of Alba. The destruction continues
for three weeks. Some of Palestrina's relatives, including his father, are in the
town or have fled from it.

1558 The composer's son Iginio is born (dies 1610).

In addition to his other duties, Palest rina imports wine from his hometown
to the Lateran.

1559 Palestrina's father, Santo, apparently dies around this time, for a cross is noted
next to his name on a list of members of the Compagnia del Corpo di Cristo in
Palestrina.
Pope Paul IV dies; as he was feared as the founder of the Inquisition, the
news of his death is received joyously. In December, Giovanni Angelo Medici
is elected as Pope Pius IV.

1560 Near the end of July, Palestrina is in disagreement with the chapter of St. John
Lateran over salaries and over the costs of instructing the pueri, and on August
3, he abruptly leaves the post. His son Rodolfo, a choirboy, leaves with him.
Cardinal Carlo Borromeo (nephew of Pope Pius IV) is appointed papal sec-
retary of state and archbishop of Milan.

1561 On March 1, Palestrina enters employment at Santa Ma ria Maggiore. He

receives 16 scudi per month for his services and for the upkeep of four of the
chapel's choirboys.
The composer has legal dealings with officials in the town of Palest rina,
apparently connected with the settlement and distribution of his father's estate.

1562 In the town of Palestrina, Palma Pierluigi, the composer's sister, marries Gio-
vanni di Tommaso Bovis, and the composer provides a dowry for the mar-
riage. This may be more indirect evidence that the composer was an eldest son
who effectively became head of the family on his father's death.
During this year, there is an exchange of music between Rome and
4 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Munich, involving cardinals Borromeo and Vitelli in Rome and Duke Albrecht
V of Bavaria. In November, Palestrina's music, particularly a Missa Bene
dicta is sent to Munich through agency of Cardinal Truchsess von Waldburg. -dicta,
1563 In addition to his other duties, the composer takes pa rt in processional activi-
ties outside Santa Ma ri a Maggiore.
On September 17, the twenty-third session of the Council of Trent
addresses music in church: "Ab ecclesiis verp musicas, ubi sive organ sive
cantu lascivum aut impurum aliquid misceatur, arceant (ordinarii locorum) ut
domus Dei vere domus orationis esse videatur ac dici possit." In the twenty-
fourth council session on November 11, decisions regarding the implementa-
tion of the decretal of September 17 are expressly referred to the discretion of
bishops within their own respective dioceses.
Formal adjournment of the Council of Trent.

1564 Palestrina's Motecta festorum is published with a dedication to Cardinal

Rodolfo Pio Carpi. In his prefatory remarks, Palest ri na describes his use of
antiphons and his avoidance of all secular or questionable melodic content as
the basis for his motet material.
From July to September, Palest ri na works for Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este as
maestro dei concerti, receiving an honorarium of 6 scudi.
In October, the composer's recently married sister Palma dies. He travels to
Palestrina, where on October 26 he makes a formal declaration that Palma's
dowry has reverted to him.
Appointment of commission of cardinals by Pope Pius IV (including Car-
dinals Borromeo an d Vitelli) to carry out decrees of Trent within Rome.

1565 Between January and August, a commission of cardinals, including Carlo

Borommeo and Vitellozzi Vitelli, negotiates with the singers of the papal
chapel on size of its membership, sala ri es, and regulations. In September, Bor-
romeo leaves Rome permanently for Milan.
On January 20, Cardinal Borromeo orders his vicar in Mil an "to reform the
singing so that the words may be as intelligible as possible."
On February 1, the Seminario Romano (for the formation of priests) is
opened by Francesco Borgia. Palest rina does some work for the institution.
On March 10, Borromeo sends an order to Vincenzo Ruffo, maestro di cap-
pella at the Mil an Cathedral, for a mass "that should be as clear as possible
an d send it to me here [in Rome]."
The Sistine diaries record that on Ap ril 28, the singers of the papal chapel
"were assembled in the home of Cardinal [Vitelli] to sing some masses and
test whether the words could be understood, as their Eminences desire" It is
possible, although uncertain, that the Missa Papae Marcelli was among the
music performed.
The diaries also record that on June 6, 3 scudi, 13 baiocchi were paid to
Palestri na for the composition an d preparation of several works for the use of
the chapel musicians. The pope also bestows on Palest rina the title modulator
pontificus (papal composer). Records of the Sistine Chapel indicate that
Palestrina's pension is increased "owing to certain compositions he has written
Chronology and Bibliographical Outline 5
and is to write for the use of the chapel." He now receives 9 scudi per month
and has a position among the active singers. (Jeppesen MGG 1962). In Octo-
ber, Palestrina is paid by the papal chapel for "various musical compositions
that he has had copied for the chapel and is to have copied."

1566 Palestrina teaches music at the Seminario Romano (Casimiri 1935; see E0013)
until 1571. On Apri l 17, his two older sons, Rodolfo and Angelo, enter the
seminary as students, probably for the next five years, to receive instruction in
music, Latin and Greek, logic, and philosophy, and probably as partial recom-
pense for the composer's services. (After Rodolfo's early death, he is
described as accomplished in all these areas and could also play "all sorts of
instruments.")
At the death of Pope Pius IV, Michele Ghislieri is elected as Pius V. He pur-
sues seriously the ongoing reformation of the liturgy. Revisions of the cate-
chism and breviary appear.
Palestrina's po rtrait is painted in this year; it currently su rvives in a private
collection and is known as the "Gorga—de Rensis" portrait.

1567 During Holy Week (Ap ril), Palestrina is involved in music for services at St.
John Lateran, suggesting that he may no longer be working at S anta Maria
Maggiore (although documentation for this is lacking).
On August 1, Palestrina enters the full-time se rvice of Cardinal Ippolito II
d'Este, which continues until March 1571.
On November 8, Palestrina is approached by agents of Emperor Maximil-
ian II of Austria with an offer to become maestro of the imperial chapel in
Vienna. Palestrina makes a counteroffer asking for a salary of 400 scudi per
annum. Negotiations eventually break down when Palestrina's terms are found
to be too high. (In May of the following year, Philippe de Monte, who was
being considered before Palest rina entered the negotiations, is hired at a salary
of 300 scudi plus some payments in kind.)
In this year Dorico publishes Palestrina's second book of masses. In the
preface dedicating these works to Philip II of Spain, the composer stresses
their new method of composition.

1568 In this year, a remarkable exchange of correspondence begins between Palest-

rina and Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga of Mantua, which continues until
Guglielmo's death in 1587.
On February 2, by way of the Mantuan agent Annibale Capello, Palest rina
sends Duke Guglielmo some masses commissioned for the private use of his
chapel, noting "I beg you to let me know how you prefer it: whether long or
short or composed so that the words may be understood." The masses use an
alternatim technique, with chant specially composed for the Mantuan liturgy
alternating with Palestrina's polyphonic sections.
In a letter dated May 1, Duke Guglielmo sends an honorarium of 50 ducats
for the masses.
On July 31, Cardinal Scipio Gonzaga, titular bishop of Jerusalem and the
brother of Duke Guglielmo, sends to Mantua copies of some motets by Palest-
rina which he has heard in Rome. The composer receives a commission for
6 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
new works on texts selected by the duke, which due to illness are not dis-
patched to Mantua until December.
In Fronimo (published in Venice by Scotto), Vincenzo Galilei publishes an
intabulation of Palestrina's mad ri gal lo son ferito, citing the work for its skill-
ful expression of text through musical means.

1569 The first book of motets for five to seven voices, dedicated to Cardinal Ippolito
d'Este, is published by Dorico with a preface dated May 7 of this year.
On May 8, Palestrina signs a contract with the brothers Marzio and Vin-
cenzo Ceci for the purchase of a house at Via dei Giubbonari in Rome for 725
scudi. He probably lived there from 1566, and some pa rt of the purchase price
may have been paid in the intervening years.

1570 Sometime before March 3, Duke Guglielmo sends Palest ri na some motets an d
a mad rigal of his composition with a request for a c ri tique by the composer.
On March 3, in response to Guglielmo's request, Palest ri na gives his opin-
ion and suggestions, in the course of which he discusses matters of voice-lead-
ing as well as the challenges of making a text set to polyphony audible to the
listener.
In this year, the third book of masses is published by Dorico with a dedica-
tion to Philip II of Spain, whose daughter has just married Maximilian II of
Austria. Heinem an n suggests that this might have been a move on the com-
poser's pa rt to attract the renewed bounty of a previously generous patron at a
time when Palestrina's personal financial situation may have been strained.

Part III: 1571 1594 and Aftermath

-

1571 In Ap ri l, after the death of Animuccia on March 25, Palestrina returns to the
post of maestro di cappella in the Cappella Sistina, then under the patronage
of the chapel's patron director Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. The composer is
contracted to receive 100 scudi per annum (8 scudi, 33 baiocchi per month),
plus 12 scudi for the use of his house for the care of four choirboys. Cardinal
Alessandro Farnese becomes patron director of the Capella Giulia.
On December 4, a triumphal procession is held in Rome to mark the vic-
tory at Lepanto on October 7. Palestrina probably writes the mad ri gal Le
selv'avea (pub. 1574) for this event.
In this year, there is the possible, although unproved, development of a
relationship with Filippo Neri. Palestrina may have composed some works for
Neri's oratory.
The composer, his wife, and their children, as well as other persons living
in the household, are mentioned in the Roman census taken this year.

1572 Guglielmo Gonzaga visits Rome an d meets Palest ri na.

In September, Palestrina's second book of motets (published by Scotto in
Venice) appears with a dedication to Guglielmo Gonzaga. It contains works
for the special Mantuan liturgy as well as music by Palestrina's sons Rodolfo
and Angelo an d his brother Silla. Duke Guglielmo in return sends a gift of 25
scudi.
Chronology and Bibliographical Outline 7
On November 20, Palestrina's apparently gifted son Rodolfo dies.
Pope Pius V dies, and Ugo Buoncompagni is elected Pope Grego ry XIII.

1573 On January 1, the composer's brother Silla dies.

Angelo Pierluigi marries Doralice Uberti, the niece of a neighbor of Palest-
rina's, Giacomo Uberti. She brings a dowry of 1,000 scudi to be paid in install-
ments. Palestrina apparently invests this dowry money in property.
During the summer the composer visits the town of Palest rina.

1574 In a letter dated April 7, Palest rina mentions that he is writing Lamentations
for the use of the papal chapel.
On April 17, Palestrina returns to Guglielmo Gonzaga a mass composed by
the duke and sent to the composer for a critical review.
In a letter of June 5, he describes payments for and the purchase of a house
in Rome.
On November 7, Aurelia, the first child of Doralice Uberti and Angelo Pier-
luigi, is born.
Late in the year, the composer writes the motet Jubilate Deo it 8 for the
opening of the Holy Door, which inaugurates the Holy Year 1575. The work is
published in 1576.

1575 In diplomatic correspondence of this year, the agent of the duke of Ferrara
writes that Palestrina is "now considered the very first musician in the world."
On February 9, Palest rina informs Duke Guglielmo by letter that some
texts for which he has requested settings have been completed.
On April 14, the payment records of the Cappella Giulia indicate that
Lamentations by Palest rina were copied for the use of the chapel.
On December 11, the composer's son Angelo dies during an epidemic of
influenza that began in July and killed about 10,000 people in Rome.
In this year, Palestrina's salary at St. Peter's is increased to 240 scudi per
annum, possibly to prevent his transferring to S anta Maria Maggiore.
Palestrina also dedicates a third book of motets (published in Venice by
Scotto) to Alfonso d'Este, brother of his now-deceased patron Cardinal
Ippolito.

1576 On January 14, Doralice Uberti, the widow of Angelo Pierluigi, gives birth to a
posthumous son, Angelo.

1577 Doralice Uberti remarries and requires restitution of the dowry payments con-
tracted for her first marriage to Palestrina's late son. Palest rina apparently has
some liquidation difficulties and has a mortgage on the ground floor of his
house, but the matter is resolved on July 3, when his eighteen-year-old son
Iginio contracts to marry Virginia Guarnacci, who brings with her a dowry of
1,500 scudi. The wedding takes place on August 15.
On October 25, Palestrina and Annibale Zoilo are entrusted with the revi-
sions of the plainchant of the Roman Gradual and Antiphoner by Pope Gre-
gory XIII (Ugo Buoncompagni). Palestrina was responsible for work on the
proprium de tempore, while Zoilo addressed the feasts of the saints. They were
8 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
charged with removal of the "superfluities ... barbarisms and obscurities"
from these books. Palestrina evidently worked earnestly at this task for a few
years, but then his activity apparently diminished. The revisions were eventu-
ally completed by Francesco Soriano and Felice Anerio in 1614 to 1615 and
published as the Editio Medicea.

1578 Duke Guglielmo commissions Palestrina to write a series of masses based on

chant which had been specially composed for the Mantuan liturgy. Comple-
tion is delayed when Palestrina suffers from a serious illness in October, but
the first mass is delivered by way of the Mantuan commissioner for Rome,
Annibale Capello, on November 1. Two weeks later another is sent, and in
December four settings are sung in Mantua.
Gregory XIII reorganizes the Sistine Chapel into two choirs of twelve
singers each. Although the regulation stipulating that singers must be unmar-
ried remains in place, Palestrina's position as composer for the papal chapel is
confirmed.
On November 5, in a letter to Duke Guglielmo, Palest rina mentions his
work on the revision of the Gradual and purgation of the chant of "barbarisms
and bad sounds."
On November 23, Tommaso Pierluigi, the first child of Iginio Pierluigi and
Virginia Guarnacci (who together would eventually have ten children), is bap-
tized. Palestrina's patron, Cardinal Guglielmo Sirleto, is the boy's godfather.
In this year, Palest rina receives a payment of 80 scudi (partially payments
in kind or produce) for musical services to the Confratemità della Trinità dei
Pellegrini.

1579 In a letter of March 21, Palest rina thanks Duke Guglielmo for receipt of 100
scudi, and with the letter sends three more masses to Mantua.

1580 On June 16, Gregorio, son of Iginio Pierluigi and Virginia Guarnacci, is born.
On August 2, Lucrezia Gori, Palestrina's wife, dies suddenly during an epi-
demic. She is buried in the Cappella Nova in St. Peter's.
On November 13, Pope Gregory XIII receives Palestrina's petition for ordi-
nation to the priesthood. On December 7, the composer receives minor orders
and the tonsure in S an Silvestro al Quirinale, whose patron is his friend Cardi-
nal Sirleto.

1581 On January 18, Palest rina, still apparently planning to enter the priesthood, is
named chierico perpetuo beneficiato at the cathedral of Santa Maria Mag-
giore. The prebend, which carries with it no duties, provides an annual income
of 24 scudi.
On February 24 and 26 and March 5, however, banns are published indicat-
ing that the composer is contemplating remarriage. On March 28, with little
advance warning, Palestrina marries Virginia Dormoli, the widow of the papal
fur merchant Giuliano Guerrazzi, who had died in 1576 at the age of thirty-six.
The marriage takes place in the Dormoli house (rather than a church) by spe-
cial permission, and the couple settle in their own house on via Armellino. It is
evidently an advantageous match for both parties and finally provides the
Chronology and Bibliographical Outline 9
composer economic security. Virginia brings to her marriage with the now
internationally renowned Palest rina a dowry of 1,500 scudi, and he in turn will
play an important role in the management of her fur an d wine businesses.
Gregorio Pierluigi, the year-old son of Iginio, dies on June 21 and is buried
in the Cappella Nova with other members of his family.
Aurelia Pierluigi an d Angelo Pierluigi, the composer's two grandchildren
by Doralice Uberti an d his late son Angelo, also die within a sho rt period of
one another in August and September.

1582 On September 25, Palest ri na buys a parcel of land in the town of Palest rina
from Pietro Paolo Appolloni.
In October, Pope Grego ry XIII's calendar reform is implemented; eleven
days are added, and October 4 is followed the next day by October 15.

1583 The Mantuan ambassador to Rome indicates that Duke Guglielmo is looking
for a new maestro di cappella. After considering alte rn a ti ve c an didates, Palest-
rina enters into discussion with Guglielmo in March about the possibility of
transferring to Mantua himself as maestro. The composer may have seriously
considered the move but ultimately found the inducement to leave Rome
insufficient.
A letter to Mantua states that Francesco Soriano is among his pupils, and it
states that Marenzio is "not greater than Soriano, either in knowledge or in
managing musicians."

1584 Formation of the Vertuosa Compagnia de i Musici di Roma, founded under

papal auspices for the purposes of fraternal association, the perform an ce of
music, and probable job networking. Palestrina becomes one of the members.
At the end of 1583 an d beginning of 1584, the composer publishes the
fourth book of motets (Canticum canticorum) with a dedication to Grego ry
XIII Palestrina hastens to send a copy to Guglielmo Gonzaga in April with anXI.
insc ripti on.
On July 11, Virginia Dormoli makes a new will, increasing the value of
what she plans to leave to her second husband.

1585 Early in the year Palest ri na edits an d corrects some compositions by Duke
Guglielmo. In a letter of March 23, he thanks the duke for the privilege of
being allowed to advise him, "even at his advanced age."
On April 10, Pope Grego ry XIII dies.
On April 24, Felice Peretti is elected pope, and takes the name Sixtus V.
At this time Palest ri na is involved for several months in some conflict with
the other papal choirmaster, Antonio Boccapaduli, over privileges. Eventually
some singers are expelled from the chapel over this matter.

1586 By September 1, the papal chapel is reorganized: the leader of the chapel will
be chosen yearly from among the more senior members. Palest ri na remains
composer to the chapel while also serving as head of the Cappella Giulia.
The composer takes a partner, Annibale Gagliardi, into his wife's fur busi-
ness.
10 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
1587 On July 6, Palestrina writes his last letter to Duke Guglielmo, who dies on
August 14. At the duke's request, the composer has found a Roman bass singer
to serve at the Mantuan establishment.

1588 The composer has Lamentationes printed. Its dedicatory preface suggests an
elegiac, even depressed turn of mind, but he also asserts that "not even under
the most difficult circumstances have I neglected the study of music."

1589 The anthology Le gioie, a collection of madrigals by members of the Vertuosa

Compagnia de i Musici di Roma, assembled by Felice Anerio, is published.
Palestrina contributes the mad rigal Dunque perfido amante.
In the dedication of the volume of hymns published in this year, Palest rina
writes: "Nothing ... is so congenial to me, as to be able to give myself to that
study of music ... when I can abide by my purpose of embracing topics which
most fully show forth God's praise, and which, pondered in all their weighti-
ness and dignity of word and idea, and embellished with some amount of
musical art, may well move the heart of man to devotion."

1590 A large number of reprints of Palestrina's music are issued from presses in
Venice and Milan.
On August 20, Pope Sixtus V dies; Cardinal Giambattista Castagna is
named Pope Urban VII, but dies only a few weeks later; Cardinal Niccola
Sfondrato becomes Pope Grego ry XIV.

1591 On October 15, Pope Grego ry XIV dies; Cardinal Antonio Facchinetti is
elected Pope Innocent IX and crowned on November 3, but he dies on Decem-
ber 30.

1592 Palestrina receives the dedication of an anthology of vespers psalms for five
voices edited by G. M. Asola and containing works by Baccusi, Croce, Gas-
toldi, and Costanzo Porta.
In Prattica di musica, published in Venice in this year, Lodovico Zacconi
cites passages from Palestrina's masses Virtute magna, Ad coenam agni pro-
vidi, and L'homme armé as valuable studies in compositional problems of pro-
portion and rhythm.
After the death of Pope Innocent IX, Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini is
elected Pope Clement VIII on January 30 (dies 1605).

1593 Palestrina makes plans to transfer to the post of maestro di cappella at San
Agapito, the cathedral at Palestrina, the original home of the Pierluigi family.

1594 In the first weeks of January appear the last publications by the composer to be
published during his lifetime, the sixth book of masses for four and five voices
and the second book of spiritual madrigals.
On February 2, Palestrina dies in Rome. In the records of the Cappella Giu-
lia it is noted: "Giovanni da Palestrina died 2 February and was buried in our
basilica." The puntatore of the Cappella Sistina recorded: "Wednesday on the
2nd. This morning Sig. Giovanni Pierloisci, the most excellent musician our
Chronology and Bibliographical Outline 11
colleague and master of the Chapel in St. Peter's, passed from this life to a bet-
ter one.... At 24 hours he was borne to the said church, accompanied not only
by all the musicians of Rome but also by a multitude of people and, according
to our custom, in accord with our constitution, we sang the responsory Libera
me Domine..... He is buried in the crypt in which lie his first wife, his prede-
ceased sons Rodolfo and Angelo, and other family members. The Sistine
diaries note a memorial service held in his honor on February 14. Ruggiero
Giovanelli is elected in his place as maestro di cappella of the Cappella Giulia,
while Felice Anerio takes his place as the papal composer.
As the composer apparently dies intestate (rather surprisingly; his final ill-
ness must have been sudden and rapid), Iginio, the sole surviving son, spends
the next several months concluding his father's business affairs.
Shortly after the composer's death, Pope Clement VIII indicates interest in
having some of Palestrina's unpublished music printed for use in churches.
For Palestrina's seventh book of masses, the pope underwrites the publica tion
to the amount of 100 scudi. Most of the posthumous printing of the com-
poser's music, however, does not occur under Clement's direct auspices; but
Iginio Pierluigi continues to publish his father's music for several subsequent
years.
On March 14, Iginio signs a contract with Raimondi to publish the books
of Gregorian chant on which his father worked. This relationship is unsuccess-
ful and devolves into a series of lawsuits. The so-called Medicean edition does
not appear until 1614.
On May 30, Gregorio (a younger brother of the Gregorio who died in 1581)
and Olimpia, children of Iginio and Virginia, are confirmed in St. Peter's.

1595— Two more children are eventually born to Iginio and Virginia Pierluigi: Cate-
1678 rina in 1597 and Margherita on October 30, 1600 in Palest rina. Late in 1599,
with Iginio's agreement, his stepmother Virginia Dormoli has her dowry
returned to her. On June 12, 1605, his daughter Caterina is confirmed in St.
Peter's.
In 1608, Iginio's wife dies in Palestrina, and after her death, Iginio takes
holy orders, becoming a priest in 1609. However, he does not long enjoy his
clerical estate; Iginio dies on October 9, 1610. Two months later, on December
10, Virginia Dormoli, the composer's widow, dies and is buried next to her first
husband in San Girolamo della Carità.
Immediate descendants of the composer live on in the town of Palest na ri
until late in the seventeenth century. Iginio's son Tommaso (born 1578), also a
priest, becomes a canon of the cathedral there from 1621 until his death in
1633. Tommaso's brother Gregorio marries Maddalena Sepia, and together
they have seven children. The fifth child, Agapito, in his turn becomes a priest
and canon in Palestrina, where he dies on April 26, 1677, the last direct male
survivor in the family, although descendants in the female line su rvive until
circa 1880. The family house in Palestrina remains in the family's possession
until 1678. Since the 1960s it has undergone restoration, and it is presently the
seat of the Palest rina Foundation.
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Discography
Clough, Francis F., and G.J.Cuming, eds. The World's Encyclopedia of Recorded Music. London:
Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd, 1952.
First Supplement April 1950-May-June 1951. London: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd, 1952.
Second Supplement 1951–1952. London: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd, 1953.
Third Supplement 1953–1955. London: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd,.1957
A major guide to recordings, through 1955.
Coover, James. Medieval and Renaissance Music on Long-Playing Records. Detroit: Information
Service, 1964. 122pp. ML156.2.C67.
A guide to recordings from the early LP, era.
Croucher, Trevor. Early Music Discography. From Plainsong to the Sons of Bach. Vol. 1: Record
Index. Vol. 2: Composer, Plainsong, Anonymous Work and Performer Index. London: Library
Associated Publishing, 1981. ML156.2.C76.
Darrell, R.D., with Lawrence Gilman. The Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia of Recorded Music. New
York: The Gramophone Shop, Inc., 1936. Revisions: 2nd ed., New York: Simon and Schuster, 1942;
3rd ed. revised and enlarged, New York: Crown Publishers, 1948.
Major source for identification of 78 rpm, LPs.
Gautier, Jean-François. Palestrina, ou I'esthétique de I'âme du monde. Actes Sud, 1994.
Discography. pp. 111–119. Recent short discography which annotates most of the items listed and
offers a few review-style comments on various recordings.
Modugno, Maurizio. “Discografia di Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.” Atti del II convegno
internazionale di studi palestriniani, ed. Lino Bianchi and Giancarlo Rostirolla. Palestrina: Fondazione
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina/Centro di Studi Palestriniani, 1991. pp. 589–607.
Offers useful overview of the history of recording, Palestrina's music in this century. Notes the
difficulty in dating many of these recordings, the more regrettable given the peculiar performance
practice history of Palestrina's oeuvre. Does not indicate original recording technology (acoustic,
electrical) or recorded medium.
Roche, Elizabeth. “;Early Music on Records in the Last Twenty-Five Years.”; Musical Times 120
(1979): 34–36, 215–217.
Discusses improved presence of music before 1800 on, recordings.
Numerous monthly or annual issues of, the Schwann, Gramophone, and Bielefelder recording
catalogs were also consulted, as well as various library catalogs. Discs were personally examined
whenever possible.