Thomas Tallis's masterwork, Spem in alium, was simultaneously a tribute to Striggio and a determined effort to upstage him, incorporating Italian techniques with his own native idiom.
Composition History
Striggio's 40-part motet, Ecce beatam lucem, was first performed in April 1561 in Florence in honor of two papal envoys, possibly as part of a spectacular 'sacra scena' with masked singers and instrumentalists descending on cloud machines.
Compositional Technique
In the concluding Agnus Dei, Striggio expands his 40 parts to an unprecedented 60, with the eight parts of each choir swelling to 12.
Composer Biography
Alessandro Striggio, born around 1536/7, was the natural son of a Mantuan nobleman and soldier, and became the highest-paid musician at the court of Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in Florence.
Instruments
Alessandro Striggio was a virtuoso player of the viol, lira da braccio, and especially the lirone, a multi-stringed, flat-bridged instrument that could play up to four contrapuntal parts.
Composition History
Striggio's Mass, based on Ecco sì beato giorno, was composed by 1566 and was believed lost until Davitt Moroney recently uncovered the parts in Paris.
Compositional Technique
Both Striggio's motet Ecce beatam lucem and the Mass are laid out for 40 parts, with the Mass being an early example of true polychorality, dividing the 40 parts into five choirs of eight parts each.
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