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Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

c. 1525 CEc. 1594 CE · Composer · Palestrina

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred polyphony, named for his birthplace near Rome. Trained as a chorister and organist, he spent his career in the service of the Roman Church, holding posts at the Vatican's Cappella Giulia, St John Lateran, and St Mary Major before returning to St Peter's for his final decades. He wrote more than 100 masses and some 250 motets, including the Missa Papae Marcelli, and became the most prominent figure of the Roman School. His clear, balanced counterpoint was later taught as a model of sixteenth-century vocal style. He died in Rome in 1594.

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