January 29, 2018.From Palestrina to Nono.This week covers an incredible 450 year span of European classical music, from Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, whose first compositions were published in 1554 to Luigi Nono, who died in 1990 and composed till his very last years.Franz Schubert and Felix Mendelssohn were also born this week, Schubert on January 31st of 1797, and Mendelssohn – on February 3rd of 1809.We’ve written about both many times and of course will come back to them in the future.
We celebrate Palestrina this week even though we don’t know for sure what year he was born: letters and records from Palestrina’s life suggest that he was born sometime between February 3, 1525 and February 2, 1526 but these February dates provide us with a good excuse to commemorate the great Italian composer this week.Palestrina’s life is rather well documented; we know that he started his training at the great basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, that he was later appointed to the Capella Giulia at Saint Peter and sometime later to the more prestigious Cappella Sistina.In 1561 he succeeded Orlando di Lasso as maestro di cappella at San Giovanni in Laterano.Funds were lacking, and the capella never reached the level sought by Palestrina; in 1566 he quit.After serving for several years at his alma mater, Santa Maria Maggiore, and then, for a brief period, at the employ of Cardinal Ipolitto d’Este, at the Villa d’Este in Tivoli, he eventually returned to the Vatican’s Capella Giulia and stayed there till the end of his life.His fame grew across Italy and Europe; he was considered “the very first musician in the world” by a person close to Alfonso II d'Este - the Duke of Ferrara, who would know, since theDuke’s court was a major center of cultural life of Italy.Palestrina died in 1594 in Rome.He was widely published during his lifetime and admired by the popes for whom he worked, and other patrons of art:Philipp II of Spain, the Gonzagas and d’Este.Palestrina left a huge legacy: 104 masses, more than 300 motets, 140 secular madrigals and more.We have several of his works in our library but here’s other example, a motet Dies sanctificatus.
Almost half a millennium later, another Italian became famous as one of the most forward-looking composers of his generation. Luigi Nono’s music may sound as difficult as some of Palestrina’s masses, our ear being so used to the melodic tonality of the intervening centuries, but most music lovers would agree that it’s very interesting.Nono was born in Venice on January 29th of 1924.At the Venice Conservatory he studied with the noted composer Gian Francesco Malipiero.After graduation, Nono became friends with Bruno Maderna, a leading modernist composer of his generation.In 1950, Nono’s work, a 12-tone piece, was presented in Darmstadt, the mecca of the avant-garde.Soon after, Nono became a leading figure at Darmstadt, together with Maderna, Stockhausen and Boulez.It’s interesting to note that composers of both the 16th and the 20th century struggled with almost identical problems.In the 16th, the Catholic church was on the verge of banning polyphony masses because Cardinals deemed they made sacred texts incomprehensible.It’s thought that Palestrina "saved" the polyphony with his Missa Papae Marcelli, which demonstrated that a mass can be both, polyphonic and understandable.In the 20th century, Luigi Nono was accused by Stockhausen of the same - that words in Nono’s piece (Stockhausen was talking about Il canto sospeso) were impossible to understand, which, in Stockhausen’s opinion, made the whole idea of using texts absurd.That was a serious accusation, as Nono selected the texts from a poignant collection of arewell letters that captured Resistance fighters wrote before being executed by the Nazis.Nono strenuously objected but it seems Stockhausen was correct.You can judge for yourself.Il canto sospeso is a difficult piece but worth the effort.It’s here, SWR Symphonieorchester is conducted by Peter Rundel.
From Palestrina to Nono, 2018
January 29, 2018. From Palestrina to Nono. This week covers an incredible 450 year span of European classical music, from Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, whose first compositions were published in 1554 to Luigi Nono, who died in 1990 and composed till his very last years. Franz Schubert and Felix Mendelssohn were also born this week, Schubert on January 31st of 1797, and Mendelssohn – on February 3rd of 1809. We’ve written about both many times and of course will come back to them in the future.
We celebrate Palestrina this week even though we don’t know for sure what year he was born:
letters and records from Palestrina’s life suggest that he was born sometime between February 3, 1525 and February 2, 1526 but these February dates provide us with a good excuse to commemorate the great Italian composer this week. Palestrina’s life is rather well documented; we know that he started his training at the great basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, that he was later appointed to the Capella Giulia at Saint Peter and sometime later to the more prestigious Cappella Sistina. In 1561 he succeeded Orlando di Lasso as maestro di cappella at San Giovanni in Laterano. Funds were lacking, and the capella never reached the level sought by Palestrina; in 1566 he quit. After serving for several years at his alma mater, Santa Maria Maggiore, and then, for a brief period, at the employ of Cardinal Ipolitto d’Este, at the Villa d’Este in Tivoli, he eventually returned to the Vatican’s Capella Giulia and stayed there till the end of his life. His fame grew across Italy and Europe; he was considered “the very first musician in the world” by a person close to Alfonso II d'Este - the Duke of Ferrara, who would know, since theDuke’s court was a major center of cultural life of Italy. Palestrina died in 1594 in Rome. He was widely published during his lifetime and admired by the popes for whom he worked, and other patrons of art: Philipp II of Spain, the Gonzagas and d’Este. Palestrina left a huge legacy: 104 masses, more than 300 motets, 140 secular madrigals and more. We have several of his works in our library but here’s other example, a motet Dies sanctificatus.
Almost half a millennium later, another Italian became famous as one of the most forward-looking composers of his generation. Luigi Nono’s music may sound as difficult as some of Palestrina’s masses, our ear being so used to the melodic tonality of the intervening centuries, but most music lovers would agree that it’s very interesting. Nono was born in Venice on January 29th of 1924. At the Venice Conservatory he studied with the noted composer Gian Francesco Malipiero. After graduation, Nono became friends with Bruno Maderna, a leading modernist composer of his generation. In 1950, Nono’s work, a 12-tone piece, was presented in Darmstadt, the mecca of the avant-garde. Soon after, Nono became a leading figure at Darmstadt, together with Maderna, Stockhausen and Boulez. It’s interesting to note that composers of both the 16th and the 20th century struggled with almost identical problems. In the 16th, the Catholic church was on the verge of banning polyphony masses because Cardinals deemed they made sacred texts incomprehensible. It’s thought that Palestrina "saved" the polyphony with his Missa Papae Marcelli, which demonstrated that a mass can be both, polyphonic and understandable. In the 20th century, Luigi Nono was accused by Stockhausen of the same - that words in Nono’s piece (Stockhausen was talking about Il canto sospeso) were impossible to understand, which, in Stockhausen’s opinion, made the whole idea of using texts absurd. That was a serious accusation, as Nono selected the texts from a poignant collection of arewell letters that captured Resistance fighters wrote before being executed by the Nazis. Nono strenuously objected but it seems Stockhausen was correct. You can judge for yourself. Il canto sospeso is a difficult piece but worth the effort. It’s here, SWR Symphonieorchester is conducted by Peter Rundel.