Palestrina and the Papal Chapel: a century of music from Rome

We return to Rome for our autumn concert as we explore the music of Palestrina the composers of the Papal Chapel from the 16th century. We are delighted to welcome Stephen Rice, Director of the Brabant ensemble as our guest conductor for this concert as we perform music by Palestrina and his contemporaries. The Papal Chapel has inspired composers from all ages and the 16th century was no exception with both singers and composers traveling from Northern Europe as well as other parts of Italy and Spain for the chance to perform there.

Palestrina is perhaps the composer who had the most enduring influence on the development of music from this time and his work is often seen as the high-point of Italian Renaissance polyphony. The centrepiece of our concert will be Palestrina’s eight part Missa assumpta est Maria. To complement Palestrina, we will also present music from the papal chapel which is considered to have inspired him. In particular, we will perform works by Guillaume du Fay, Giovanni Maria Nanino and Jean Bonnevin which whilst unfamiliar in the modern era, will have been the key influence on Palestrina’s writing.