classical music

I am learning about Giovanni Pierluigda Palestrina. He was a famous composer. He was the only one who saved church music during the Reinessence period. I am listening to one of his most famous works, “Missa Papae Macrcelli.” It is considered his best work.

Palestrina received his early music education as a choirboy in Rome. He was renamed after a town he was in. He wrote a lot of songs, including 106 masses total. Pope Julius III took Giovanni to Rome with him. Pope Julius died 1555, then someone took is place as Pope Julius II, but that only lasted about 3 weeks until he died, too. The next pope wanted to change the way music was used in church.

Musical instruments were not to be used to accompany church music and the thought was to go back to the old way – just chanting in church. The Pope, however, allowed Palestrina to make a mass with no instruments and then show him it. Palestrina was very frightened, because he had no idea what song to make that would work. One day when he was writing, he had a vision of angels singing heavenly harmonies. That did not scare him, but inspired him to write the song now known as the Missa Papae Macrcelli. When the Pope listened to the mass, he loved it and then music was back.

The parts of the mass are slow and high. When I listen to them I feel both calm and tired. The music sounds like angels are singing in heaven. My favorite part about the music is the first few parts of Gloria, because it only had one person singing. While listening to this mass, people will feel safe, calm and might even cry. Classical music can be slow and soft sometimes.