- In addition to being a stunning example of late-Renaissance sacred polyphony, Palestrina’s Pope Marcellus Mass is famous for the legend surrounding its creation. Allegedly, Palestrina saved church music during the Counter-Reformation with this mass:
- In response to the elaborate polyphonic masses that had become the norm, council members of the Roman Catholic Church, including Pope Marcellus, wanted a return to simplicity in mass compositions where the emphasis would be made on the clarity of the text.
- According to the legend, Palestrina wrote his Pope Marcellus Mass to prove that counterpoint and clarity of text could coexist.
- Pope Marcellus Mass was published in 1567 and contains seven movements.
- The piece represents some of the composer’s best stylistic traits, such as elegantly soaring and descending vocal lines and unique chordal textures.1
Sources
- Dennis Keene, Essay in accompanying booklet, Prince Of Music: The Greatest Choral Music Of Palestrina performed by Voices of Ascension conducted by Dennis Keene, Delos 3210, 1999, compact disc.
Cut IDs
48776 48770 43083 45673