Lassus & Palestrina

In the mid-16th century, a heated debate raged in the Vatican about polyphony in religious practice. The complex play of simultaneously sung lines made it difficult to understand the words, sceptics maintained, which was good reason to ban polyphonic music from the liturgy. Their most notorious opponent – as legend has it – was Pope Marcellus II. His adamant insistence that polyphony could in fact be clearly understood may have been the most remarkable statement of his papacy, which only lasted 22 days. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was charged with writing a new mass to prove the Pope right. The Missa Papae Marcelli is a success in every respect: transparent textures ensure the texts are fluent without the slightest compromise in terms of style or refinement. The piece became a paragon of Tridentine polyphony, inspiring generations of composers and leading to the epithet ‘saviour of polyphony’ for da Palestrina.
The first part of the concert will be devoted to the Belgian composer Roland de Lassus, born in Mons in 1532, whose Lamentationes are among the most sensitive works in the polyphonic repertoire.