Palestrina: Lamentations for Easter, Book 3

Featuring

Martin Baker
Westminster Cathedral Choir
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

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Composer Biography

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, born around 1525, received his first musical training in Rome at S Maria Maggiore, where he was listed as a choirboy in October 1537.

Composition History

The Lamentations of Jeremiah settings on this album come from the Roman liturgy for Holy Week, which commemorates central events of the Christian religion.

Compositional Technique

Palestrina's settings of the Lamentations include the Hebrew prefatory letters (like Aleph, Beth, Vau) as reflective, often melismatic, interludes to the main text.

Historical Context

The Tenebrae service, part of the Holy Week liturgy, involved progressively extinguishing candles in the church, culminating in the hiding of the last candle to signify Christ's death.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Palestrina used a rich harmonic palette and flexible modality to avoid monotony in his Lamentations settings, creating contrast between the main narrative and non-liturgical elements.

Performer Biography

The Choir of Westminster Cathedral is acclaimed as one of the world's great choirs and is the only Catholic Cathedral choir in the world to sing daily Mass and Vespers.

Composer Biography

Palestrina was dismissed from the Pope's official chapel, the Cappella Sistina, in 1555 because he was married, as the new Pope Paul IV insisted on celibacy for its members.