Palestrina: Missa Tu es Petrus & Missa Te Deum laudamus

Featuring

Martin Baker
Nicholas Keay
William Gaunt
Westminster Cathedral Choir
Tomás Luis de Victoria
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

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Composer Biography

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, a major composer of polyphonic choral music, was born in Palestrina, a town near Rome, and received his first musical training in Rome.

Compositional Technique

Victoria's setting of the 'Te Deum' is unusual for an alternatim composition because virtually all the music for the choral verses is in a non-fugal homophonic style.

Composer Biography

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

Composer Biography

Tomás Luis de Victoria, considered the greatest composer of the Spanish 16th-century 'golden age' of polyphonic music, spent twenty years in Rome before returning to Spain.

Compositional Technique

Palestrina's Missa Te Deum laudamus is a paraphrase Mass, meaning it is based on an existing chant, the 'Te Deum', from which it draws musical material and melodic motifs.

Compositional Technique

Palestrina's Missa Tu es Petrus is a parody Mass, closely based on his own motet for the Feast of St Peter and St Paul, from which much of its musical material is drawn.

Historical Context

The 'Te Deum' is an ancient hymn of thanksgiving, with origins possibly before the mid-fourth century, used historically for processions, liturgical dramas, and celebrating victories.