February 4, 2013. Centuries apart: Palestrina and Berg.We missed Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina’s official birthday by one day: he was probably born on February 3, 1525, but back then church records were not kept very diligently, so we really cannot be sure: other records indicated that he may have been born a year later, on February 2, 1526.One way or another, this is as good a time as any to celebrate this supreme master of Renaissance polyphony.Palestrina’s name refers to the place where he was born, a small ancient town just outside of Rome (the town was a popular summer resort in ancient Roman times and was famous for the magnificent temple of Fortuna).Palestrina went to Rome as a boy and probably started as a chorister at the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.He then worked as the organist at several churches and started composing around that time: his first book of Masses was published in1551.It’s interesting to note that till that time, most of the church music performed in Rome was composed by the Franco-Flemish or Spanish composers, such as Guillaume Dufay, Orlando di Lasso, Josquin des Prez and Cristóbal de Morales.Palestrina’s music so impressed Pope Julius III that he made him maestro di cappella of the papal choir at St Peter's, the Cappella Giulia.Later he served as the choirmaster in other famous churches of Rome such as San Giovanni in Laterano and Santa Maria Maggiore, but eventually returned to St-Peters.Palestrina composed a large number of Masses, probably around 100, many madrigals and motets for several voices, from four to twelve.One of his Masses, Missa Papae Marcelli, is famous for saving, it is said, polyphony as art.In the mid-16th century, in reaction to the Reformation, the Catholic Church became concerned with the intelligibility of services, realizing that during Masses parishioners should understand the sacred words, something considered not important in earlier ages.The many-voiced Masses were often unintelligible and the Pope was about to ban them, when, upon hearing Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli, with its beautiful but well-articulated voicing, the Church officials relented and allowed the polyphonic music to continue.The Mass, as its name indicates, was composed in honor of Pope Marcellus II, who reigned for just three weeks in 1555.Here’s Sanctus and Benedictus, performed by The Tallis Scholars, Directed by Peter Phillips.
Three century after the death of Palestrina, on February 9, 1885 Alban Berg was born in Vienna.One of the three leading composers of the Second Viennese school, he, with Schoenberg and Webern, pretty much transformed our understanding of classical music.Berg started composing when the prevailing trends were those of the late Romanticism.His first piano Sonata, a very formidable opus 1, is written in this style, even though it already contains harmonies that would later develop into the atonal music of his mature period.In 1924 he wrote his first opera, Wozzeck, which became one of the most important compositions of the 20th century.In 1934 - 35 he wrote most of his second opera, Lulu: the first two acts were completed, but Berg managed to finish only parts of the third act.Berg died, impoverished, of blood poisoning at the age of 50, in 1935.One of the reasons he failed to complete Lulu was the break he took from writing the opera to compose a violin sonata.The sonata was a reaction to the death of Manon Groppius, the daughter of his friends Alma Mahler, the former wife of Gustav, and the architect Walter Gropius.Here it is, performed by the violinist Nana Jashvili with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Jonas Alexas conducting.
Palestrina and Berg 2013
February 4, 2013. Centuries apart: Palestrina and Berg. We missed Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina’s official birthday by one day: he was probably born on February 3, 1525, but back then church records were not kept very diligently, so we
really cannot be sure: other records indicated that he may have been born a year later, on February 2, 1526. One way or another, this is as good a time as any to celebrate this supreme master of Renaissance polyphony. Palestrina’s name refers to the place where he was born, a small ancient town just outside of Rome (the town was a popular summer resort in ancient Roman times and was famous for the magnificent temple of Fortuna). Palestrina went to Rome as a boy and probably started as a chorister at the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. He then worked as the organist at several churches and started composing around that time: his first book of Masses was published in1551. It’s interesting to note that till that time, most of the church music performed in Rome was composed by the Franco-Flemish or Spanish composers, such as Guillaume Dufay, Orlando di Lasso, Josquin des Prez and Cristóbal de Morales. Palestrina’s music so impressed Pope Julius III that he made him maestro di cappella of the papal choir at St Peter's, the Cappella Giulia. Later he served as the choirmaster in other famous churches of Rome such as San Giovanni in Laterano and Santa Maria Maggiore, but eventually returned to St-Peters. Palestrina composed a large number of Masses, probably around 100, many madrigals and motets for several voices, from four to twelve. One of his Masses, Missa Papae Marcelli, is famous for saving, it is said, polyphony as art. In the mid-16th century, in reaction to the Reformation, the Catholic Church became concerned with the intelligibility of services, realizing that during Masses parishioners should understand the sacred words, something considered not important in earlier ages. The many-voiced Masses were often unintelligible and the Pope was about to ban them, when, upon hearing Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli, with its beautiful but well-articulated voicing, the Church officials relented and allowed the polyphonic music to continue. The Mass, as its name indicates, was composed in honor of Pope Marcellus II, who reigned for just three weeks in 1555. Here’s Sanctus and Benedictus, performed by The Tallis Scholars, Directed by Peter Phillips.
Three century after the death of Palestrina, on February 9, 1885 Alban Berg was born in Vienna. One of the three leading composers of the Second Viennese school, he, with Schoenberg and Webern, pretty much transformed our understanding of classical music. Berg started composing when the prevailing trends were those of the late Romanticism. His first piano Sonata, a very formidable opus 1, is written in this style, even though it already contains harmonies that would later develop into the atonal music of his mature period. In 1924 he wrote his first opera, Wozzeck, which became one of the most important compositions of the 20th century. In 1934 - 35 he wrote most of his second opera, Lulu: the first two acts were completed, but Berg managed to finish only parts of the third act. Berg died, impoverished, of blood poisoning at the age of 50, in 1935. One of the reasons he failed to complete Lulu was the break he took from writing the opera to compose a violin sonata. The sonata was a reaction to the death of Manon Groppius, the daughter of his friends Alma Mahler, the former wife of Gustav, and the architect Walter Gropius. Here it is, performed by the violinist Nana Jashvili with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Jonas Alexas conducting.