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c. incorporation of popu lar songs in Masses
d. secular spirit in sacred music
e. irreverent attitude of church musicians
f. complex polyphony obscured the text
4. Council’s general recommendations:
a. favored pure vocal style
b. re spect integrity of sacred texts
c. avoid virtuosity
d. encourage piety
e. some advocated return to Gregorian chant,
abolish polyphony
C. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525–1594)
1. Italian composer, organist, and choirmaster
2. worked at St.Peter’s in Rome (Vatican)
3. pure a cappella style of vocal polyphony
a. typical of late Re nais sance
b. clear vocal declamation of text
4. output: mostly sacred, over 100 Masses
D. Palestrina and the Pope Marcellus Mass
1. all- male a cappella choir: soprano, alto, two
tenors, two basses
a. church choirs of the era were all male
b. sopranos: boy sopranos or male falsettists
c. altos: male altos or countertenors
d. trained professionals: more spiritually
power ful
2. Gloria: restrained, serene, celestial
E. LG 8: Palestrina, Pope Marcellus Mass, Gloria
(published 1567)
1. 6– part choir, a cappella
2. through- composed, short ideas exchanged
between voices
3. monophonic opening: officiating priest
4. homorhythmic and polyphonic textures follow
5. frequent changes in density of voices
OUTLINE
I. The Re nais sance Mass
A. Reenactment of the sacrifice of Christ
1. most solemn ritual of the Catholic Church
2. daily ser vice, two collections of prayers
a. Ordinary: fixed prayers (texts remain the same)
b. Proper: variable prayers
3. sung in Latin (except the Kyrie, sung in Greek)
B. Ordinary set to music
1. Kyrie: prayer for mercy
2. Gloria: hymn of praise
3. Credo: confession of faith
4. Sanctus: song of praise
5. Agnus Dei: “Lamb of God”
II. The Reformation and Counter- Reformation
A. Reformation: Protestant movement
1. Martin Luther (1483–1546), Augustinian monk
a. posted Ninety– Five Theses, 1517
b. excommunicated by Catholic Church
c. believed in monophonic congregational singing
in the vernacular as basis of Christian worship
d. admirer of Josquin, encouraged polyphonic
worship music
B. Counter– Reformation or Catholic Reformation
1. return to Christian piety
a. sweeping changes
b. increased efforts to help the poor, combat
heresy
2. Council of Trent (1545–1563) regulated every
aspect of religious discipline
3. Council of Trent concerns:
a. corruption of traditional chant, extravagant
embellishments
b. objected to certain instruments in church
CHAPTERfi19 Glory Be: Music for the Re nais sance Mass
ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS
1. Recall Josquin’s use of word- painting in his motet Ave
Maria . . . virgo serena. As you work through the lis–
tening guide for the Gloria from Palestrina’s Pope
Marcellus Mass, note any passages that incorporate
word- painting. Pay special attention to any shifts in tex–
ture, rhythm, melody (with re spect to range and contour),
and voice combinations.
2. Listening Guide 8 provides two recordings of the Gloria
from the Pope Marcellus Mass. What are the most
prefer one recording over the other?
TEACHING CHALLENGES
While listening to Palestrina’s Pope Marcellus Mass, the
class might miss passages that emphasize clarity of the words.
SUPPLEMENTAL REPERTORY
SUPPLEMENTAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lockwood, Lewis, ed. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Pope
Marcellus Mass. New York: Norton, 1975. Lockwood’s edited
score of Palestrina’s famous Mass includes a thorough review of
the work’s background, sources, reception, and context within
Counter– Reformation aesthetics and conciliar reforms.
YOUR TURN TO EXPLORE
Consider public events that use music to generate “commu-
nity spirit”: sports, po liti cal rallies and speeches, church ser–
6. focus on clarity of the words
7. full, consonant harmony
OVERVIEW
This chapter uses Palestrina’s Pope Marcellus Mass to intro–
duce students to the Re nais sance Mass. This well- known
work is discussed within the larger context of the Protestant
Reformation and Counter- Reformation movements of the six–
teenth century.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To understand and recognize the musical portions of the
Mass Ordinary and Proper
2. To understand the Protestant Reformation and the
Counter– Reformation and their respective musical
music, foreshadowing the musical recommendations of
the Council of Trent
1. Review the order of the musical sections of the Mass
Ordinary and Proper, as well as the dif fer ent text– setting
styles from Chapter14 (syllabic, neumatic, melismatic).
Display on the board the complete texts of the Mass
Ordinary and discuss how the length of each text might
affect the text- setting decisions of the composer. Which
Mass movements would we expect to be set syllabically
(Kyrie, Agnus Dei)? Melismatically (Gloria, Credo)?
Which would we expect to incorporate repetition (Kyrie)?
in worship?
3. Review the musical style of Josquin’s Ave Maria . . .
virgo serena. After introducing the musical ele ments of
the Credo from Palestrina’s Pope Marcellus Mass, ask
the class to consider how Palestrina’s approach to sacred
58 | Chapterfi19
the homophonic sections. In general, however, there also
seems to be much more vibrato pres ent in that per for mance,
and this sometimes makes it more difficult to hear the indi-
vidual lines in the polyphonic sections.
The differences in the two per for mances are most obvi-
ous at specific points in each recording. For example, the
opening line ( after the monophonic chant), “Et in terra pax,”
because there are many more voices singing in the Westmin–
ster choir, the contrast in texture is not as obvious because
there is always a sense of a fuller sound. This may be why they
chose to adjust the tempo to separate the dif fer ent sections.
The Sixteen provide a more satisfying per for mance of this
piece because of their attention to phrasing individual lines,
bringing out Palestrina’s subtleties in the texture, and a more
unified timbre.
RUBRIC
— The student has answered, in an or ga nized way, the two
— The student provides full details in terms of title, com-
poser, and performing ensembles.
— The student supports their opinion by providing specific
examples from each recording, using either the text or
By a professional rather than a nonprofessional musician?
Have you attended such an event where you were particularly
inspired by the music? Was it participatory or listener–
directed, or a combination of both?
MODEL RESPONSE
rience from one of listening to one of participating as the
crowd joins the president in finishing the song. By incorpo-
rating music, the president has transformed a routine speech
into a moving and impactful community experience.
“ANOTHER HEARING” SAMPLE
MINI- ESSAY & RUBRIC
Part 2, LG 8, p.fi102
Compare/contrast per for mances of Palestrina’s Gloria from
Pope Marcellus Mass (The Sixteen vs. Westminster Choir
College).
College per for mance has a fuller sound but the changing tex–
tures are easier to hear in the recording by The Sixteen. I
was surprised to find that I enjoyed the Sixteen much more
because the contrasts between the dif fer ent sections were