Palestrina portrayed

Giovanni Palestrina is one of the great sacred writers.  His masses, from his mid-16thC tenure in the Vatican, are one of the high points of Western culture. 

Missa Papae Marcelli of 1567, using six voices, and Missa Brevis are the best-known.  Even if you don’t know them by name, you’ll almost certainly recognise the melodies as they’re commonly used as scene-setters, denoting “Renaissance/High Church”, on television. 

Though few classical music listeners would rank Palestrina in their top five composers, many great musicians, better known than Palestrina, would beg to differ – he has always enjoyed a high reputation among later composers, who could wonder at his exemplary craft. 

And his reputation as a great cult composer among the listening public has been growing, slowly but inexorably: 450 years after his peak, Palestrina could well be a coming man.

The second part of BBC Four TV’s Sacred Music was a revealing tribute to the glory of Palestrina’s music.  You can catch a repeat, back-to-back with the first programme, on BBC Four on Sunday, 1900-2100.

And in a fortnight, the richly shot series reaches the Main Man – Johann Sebastian Bach.

Great art.  Wonderful arts television.  Highly recommended music for grown-ups. 

Gerry Smith

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