Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
Palestrina Volume 9
The Sixteen/Harry Christophers
rec. 2021, St Augustine’s Church, Kilburn, London
Texts and translations included
Reviewed as a 16/44 download from RDMR
Coro COR16197 [71]
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was one of the most revered composers of his time; the many printed editions of his oeuvre during his lifetime attest to that. The drastic change in musical taste around 1600, which is generally known as the seconda pratica or stile nuovo, did not harm his reputation at all. Some of his compositions were the subject of passaggi by the main representatives of that genre, and motets were adapted for a performance according to the taste of the time. Moreover, during the entire 17th century composers continued to write sacred music in the style of Palestrina. The latter was especially the case with music for Roman churches, as they could hardly escape the attention of the ecclesiastical authorities which were very critical of the modern fashions influenced by opera.
In the 18th century, Bach studied Palestrina’s music and arranged one of his masses. In the 19th century, a true Palestrina revival took place, when attempts were made to restore the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church to its former glory. Palestrina was the hero of the Cecilian movement, and this resulted in the printing of his complete oeuvre in a modern edition. He was the very first composer of the Renaissance on whom that honour was conferred. Today, his name is inextricably connected to one work, the Missa Papae Marcelli. Other works frequently performed are the Missa Tu es Petrus and the Stabat mater. It would, however, be an exaggeration to say that his music is frequently performed; in fact, the number of review copies with music by the likes of Josquin, Gombert, Lassus and English composers of the Renaissance exceeds the number of Palestrina discs I have received over the years. Most recordings of his music which have come my way, are part of the present series of The Sixteen, directed by Harry Christophers.
The concept of the project is simple. Each disc includes one mass, and a few items from the collection of motets on texts from the Song of Songs, which Palestrina published in 1584. Obviously, a mass was intended for liturgical performance. In this project they are sung as they have been printed. The lack of their liturgical context is compensated for by a choice of motets which can in one way or another be connected to the mass. That is also the case in the 9th Volume, the subject of this review.
The programme opens with a mass, the Missa Ut re fa sol mi la. These six notes are known as hexachord. These notes are named after the first syllables of the lines of the hymn Ut queant laxis: Ut queant laxis resonare fibris mira gestorum famuli tuorum, solve polluti labii reatum, Sancte Joannes. The last words indicate that this hymn is connected to John the Baptist; it was intended for performance at the feast of his decapitation, 29 August. This explains that Harry Christophers selected motets which have been written for one of the feasts for him.
First, the mass. It is an example of a cantus firmus mass, which means that a melody is quoted literally, either complete or fragmentary, throughout. Here, it is given to the second soprano in the Kyrie and the Agnus Dei, where this part includes the hexachord in long notes, moving upwards and downwards. It is more hidden elsewhere, where it appears in other voices as well. The mass is scored for six voices (SSAATB), but – as was so often the case – in the Agnus Dei an additional part is added, a third alto part. In some sections the number of voices is reduced to four: the Crucifixus (Credo) is sung by the two sopranos and the two altos (until ‘Et in Spiritum Sanctum’), as is ‘Pleni sunt coeli’ (Sanctus). The Benedictus is also in four parts, this time SATB. The hymn Ut queant laxis could not be omitted. However, it is sung here in a version which is different from the traditional chant, and which was common in Palestrina’s time.
Fuit homo missus a Deo is a motet for John the Baptist’s Nativity; it is in ABCB form, and scored for five voices. Puer qui natus est is probably intended for the same occasion: “The child that is born is more than a prophet; for this is he of whom the Saviour said: Among them that are born of women, there hath not risen any greater than John the Baptist.” The text of Iustus est palma does not give a clue as to its liturgical place, but the liner-notes mention that it is marked In Nativitate S. Ioannis Baptistae. Misso Herodes seems to be written for the feast of John’s decapitation, as it describes how Herod sends an executioner to the prison, in which John is held.
The section of the programme about John the Baptist is followed by three motets from the collection of settings of texts from the Song of Songs. Palestrina’s settings were published as his fourth book of motets. The first edition’s title doesn’t refer in any way to the origin of the texts. The popularity of such compositions is reflected by the fact that this book was reprinted several times; later editions are more explicit about their character. Since ancient times, the love poetry of the Song of Songs has been given a spiritual interpretation. In his notes to Pro Cantione Antiqua’s recording (Hyperion, 2002), Bruno Turner writes: “But the Songs must be seen, and the music heard, in the context of an age of Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation fervour, an age devoted by Roman authority to the triumph of the Virgin as well as her tenderness. The Spouse of the allegory is not only the Church or the individual soul but the bride who is represented by Our Lady the Mediator and by the Queen of Heaven, the One arrayed for battle, even the woman of the Apocalypse; certainly to Palestrina’s contemporaries, the Virgin who won the Battle of Lepanto (1571) and for whom the Papacy instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory.” This also explains why Palestrina dedicated this collection to Pope Gregory XIII. Although Palestrina undoubtedly intended these motets for performance in domestic circles of the aristocracy, motets on such texts were also performed during the liturgy. One of the most frequently set texts is Pulchra es, amica mea.
The last section of the programme returns to John, but this time to another one: the Evangelist, and close friend of Jesus, also the author of the Gospel, several pastoral letters and of Revelation. A large part of Palestrina’s oeuvre was printed in his time, but Hic est beatissimus Evangelista has been preserved in manuscript. It is scored for six voices (SAATTB) and divided into two sections; the text is taken from the sermons of St Augustine. In the second section the words “Beatus Apostolus” are emphasized. Valde honorandus est refers to the Passion of Christ; it is mentioned how John was close to him at the Last Supper, and how Jesus commended his mother Mary to him. Hic est discipulus ille is a setting of words from the end of the Gospel after John, where he presents himself as the witness of the Passion of Christ and his death, and proclaims that his testimony is true.
In his introduction to the discs in this series, Harry Christophers states that it is not his intention to record a complete Palestrina; that would be impossible, given the size of the composer’s output. It is not entirely clear how many discs we may expect; I suspect there is still one to go. The way the discs are put together makes much sense, and this 9th Volume is a good example, as I have pointed out. Christophers is impressed by the mass, and rightly so. It is a magnificent work, which breathes a kind of peace and quiet, probably due to nature of the hexachord (although the Credo is notably lively). The motets performed here are probably not well-known; I certainly have not encountered them on disc. They give a good impression of the importance of John the Baptist in the church’s doctrine. The singing is of the same high level as in the previous volumes. The Sixteen is not an ‘early music ensemble’, as it has a wide repertoire from the early Renaissance to the present day, and I have not always been enthusiastic about its recordings: Byrd’s ‘Psalmes, Songs and Sonnets’ of 1611 (Coro, 2022) was a disappointment. Here, I very much enjoy the performances which are as differentiated as Palestrina’s music allows the performers to be. Christophers acknowledges that Palestrina’s music can sound “too perfect and occasionally academic”. He wanted to avoid that, and he has succeeded in doing so. Those who own the previous volumes won’t hesitate to add this one. Others, who may have stayed away from Palestrina, probably for the reasons Christophers mentioned, should give it a try; it makes a really good case for him.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
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Contents
Missa Ut re mi fa sol la a 6
Fuit homo missus a Deo a 5
Puer qui natus est a 5
Iustus ut palma a 5
Misso Herodes a 4
Ut queant laxis a 5
Pulchra es, amica mea a 5
Quae est ista, quae progreditur a 5
Descendi in hortum meum a 5
Hic est beatissimus Evangelista a 6
Valde honorandus est a 4
Hic est discipulus ille a 5
