ear 



PALENCIA, ALONSO DE. 



PALESTRINA, GIOVANNI PIERLUIGU DA. 



633 



the time of Artaxerxes Mnemon, and to him Suidas ascribes a work 

 in five books entitled ' Of Things Incredible.' The third Palaephatus 

 was an historian of Abydoa, and a great friend of Aristotle. The 

 fourth is called a grammarian of Alexandria by Suidas, and a peripa- 

 tetic philosopher by Tzetzes and others ; the period iu which he lived 

 is not stated. Suidas mentions a work by him, entitled ' Explanation 

 of Things related in Mythology.' This seems to be the work which 

 has come down to us in one book, divided into fifty short chapters, 

 under the name of Palsephatus, and which is commonly entitled ' On 

 Things Incredible.' The author explain?, according to his fashion, 

 the origin of the mythical fables, such as the Centaurs, Pasiphae, 

 Actaeon, &c., to which he attributes an historical foundation disguised 

 or corrupted by ignorance or love of the marvellous. The best editions 

 of the text is that of Fischer, Leipzig, 1789, in which he has given all 

 the passages of ancient authors concerning the various writers of the 

 name of Palsephatus ; and that of Westermann in the ' Scriptores 

 Poetics Histories Grseci,' Brunswick, 1843. A Latin translation of the 

 work was published at Cambridge in 1671, and a French translation 

 was published at Lausanne in 1771. There are some other fragments 

 under the name of Palaephatus which have been published with the 

 work above mentioned one on the invention of the purple colour, 

 and the other on the first discovery of iron. 



PALE'NCIA, ALONSO DE, a celebrated Spanish historian of the 

 loth century, was born, as appears from his work ' De Syuonjmis," 

 cited by 1'ellicer (' Biblioteoade Traductores,' p. 7), in 1423. At the 

 age of seventeen he became page to Alfunso de Carthagena, bishop of 

 Burgos, and author of the ' Doctrinal de Caballeros,' printed at Burgos 

 in 1482, in whose family he acquired an early taste for letters. He 

 afterwards visited Italy, where he became acquainted with the learned 

 George of Trebizond, whose lectures on philosophy and rhetoric he 

 attended. On his return to hU native country he was raised to the 

 dignity of royal historiographer by Alfonso, younger brother of 

 Henry IV. of Castile. After Alfonso's death he attached himself to 

 the fortune of Isabella, and was employed in many delicate nego- 

 ciatiuus, particularly in arranging the marriage of that princess with 

 Ferdinand of Aragou. [FERDINAND.] On the accession of Isabella 

 to the throne of Castile he was confirmed in his office of national 

 chronicler, and passed the remainder of his life in the composition of 

 philological and historical works, and translations from the classics. 

 The time of his death is uncertain ; but he must have lived to a good 

 old age, since it appears from his own statement (Mendez, 'Typographic 

 Espanuola,' Mad., 179t>, p. 190) that his version of Josephus was not 

 completed till the year 1492. 



Ttie moat popular of Palencia's writiugs are his ' Chronicle of 

 Henry IV.' and his Latin ' Decades,' containing the reign of Isabella 

 down to the taking of Baza from the Moors in 1489 : an edition of 

 the former work has been published by the Spanish Academy of 

 History. Paleucia's style, far from the scholastic pedantry so common 

 among the writers of his age, exhibits the business-like manner of a 

 man of the world. His sentiments are expressed with boldness ; but 

 the scenes he describes, and in which he himself was an actor, are 

 sometimes delineated with party feeling. He passes however for one 

 of the best Spanish historians, and his works are very much com- 

 mended by Zurita, C'lemencin, and other critics. Besides the two 

 above-mentioned historical works, Paleucia wrote, ' El Universal 

 Vocabulario en Latin y Romance,' Sev., 1495 ; ' Los libros de Flavio 

 Josepho,' ib., 1491 ; ' Las Vidas de Plutarco,' ib., 1508 ; < El Espejo de 

 la Cruz,' ib., 1485; and several other works still iu manuscript. Two 

 copies of his manuscript ' Chronicle of Henry IV.' are in the library 

 of the British Museum, Bib. Kg., Nos. 297 and 298. 



(Prescott, HiMory of Ferdinand and Itabella, vol. i. p. 138 ; Nicolas 

 Antonio, Bib. Hitp. Vetiu, vol. ii p. 397; Cleuiencin, Eloyio de la 

 Keyna Catolica, in the sixth volume of the Mem. de la Acad. de la 

 Hi*.) 



PALESTRI'NA, GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA, a composer of the 

 greatest renown in the annals of music, was born at Palestrina, near 

 Rome (the ancient Promeste), according to his biographer the Abbe 

 Baini, in 1624. Of his family nothing is known, except that his 

 parents were mean in rank and in circumstances corresponding to 

 their station. The name of the master who is entitled to tbe credit 

 of having instructed him 'in an art in which he became so famous 

 seems to have been Claude Goudiuiel, a native of Besanyon, a disciple 

 of the Franco- Belgic school, a Huguenot, and one of the victims of the 

 Bartholomew massacre of 1572. 



Palestiiua was appointed Master of the Chapel to Pope Julius III. 

 in 1551, to whom in 1554 ho dedicated his first work, consisting of 

 four masses for four voices. Julius, to reward the composer, placed 

 him among the singers of the Pontifical Chapel, who were well paid 

 for their services. The college of chaplain-singers remonstrated, and 

 pleaded the law that no new member could be associated with them 

 unless elected by a majority of themselves ; but in vain : the mandate 

 of tbe infallible tiara was obeye'd, though not without a kind of pro- 

 test. In 1555 however Cardinal Caraffa succeeded to the papal 

 throne, und-T the title of Paul IV., and finding tlint Palestrina had 

 quitted a state of celibacy, which all the higher appointments in the 

 apostolic chapel enjoined, abruptly dismissed him. For some time 

 he felt severely his straitened circumstances; then gladly accepted 

 the place of Maestro di Capella of St. John iu the Lateran, which he 



exchanged in 1561 for a more lucrative situation at Santa Maria 

 Maggiore, and in 1571 was restored to his post in the Vatican. Up 

 to the year 1560 he composed many works for the Church, among 

 which Baini especially mentions those ' Improper!)',' " BO remarkable 

 for depth of science and perfect adaptation of music to the sense of 

 the words." "To hear them as executed on Good Friday in the 

 Sistine Chapel," says the abbe 1 , " the mind is subdued by emotions of 

 tenderness and awe; " but, judging from the ' Improperia ' published 

 by Dr. Burney in his collection of music performed in the Capella 

 Pontificia, it seems to us that theaa much-extolled compositions, con- 

 sisting of the simplest counterpoint, must owe their effect to place and 

 high-wrought feelings. 



During the above period however the Council of Trent, among 

 other matters, took the state of ecclesiastical music into serious con- 

 sideration, and appointed two cardinals whom they charged with its 

 reform, who called to assist them a committee of eight selected from 

 the college of chaplain-singers. Much discussion arose out of the case. 

 The cardinals reasonably demanded the abolition of all the secular 

 tunes which had been recklessly foisted into the sacred service, many 

 of them vulgar, some obscene, and required more simplicity in the 

 music. The singers defended tho melodies, and contended for the 

 florid and elaborate. At length it was agreed that Palestrina should 

 write a mass on the principle laid down by their eminences, and on his 

 success depended the fate at that time of music in the Roman Catholic 

 Church. In consequence of this determination he produced three 

 masses for six voices. The two first ware rather coldly approved, but 

 the third was considered as the perfection of art, and the singers even 

 could not restrain their expressions of admiration duriug its perform- 

 ance. This is known under the title of the ' Mass of Popo Marcellus.' 

 He applied all his powers on the work, and wrought himself up to tho 

 most enthusiastic pitch. On his manuscript were found the words 

 " Domine, illumiua oculos nieos." Th-3 pope, " before whom this 

 mass was performed, was enraptured, and compared it to the heavenly 

 melodies which the apostle John heard in his ecstatic trance." " By 

 this one great example the question was now for ever set at rest," 

 says Uanke (in his ' History of the Popes,' acknowledging Haini as his 

 authority) ; "a path was opened, in following which the most beauti- 

 ful, the most touching works, even to those who are not of the Church, 



were produced This art, which had been perhaps more 



completely alienated from the spirit and service of the Church than 

 any other, now became the most closely connected with it. Nothing 

 could be more important to Catholicism Spiritual senti- 

 mentality and rapture were the favourite themes of poetry and 

 painting. Music, which speaks a language more direct, more impres- 

 sive, more adapted to ideal expression than any other art, became the 

 interpreter of these emotions, and thus subjugated all minds to her 

 empire." (Mrs. Austin's translation of Raiike, vol. i.) We here 

 again find the warm expressions of an enthusiast, no doubt ; but it 

 must be borne in mind that the writer heard these compositions per- 

 formed under peculiar circumstances of a very influencing nature 

 under the roof of the grandest temple in the world, with every 

 advantage that the finest execution, a solemnity unequalled for 

 imposing effect, and the most exciting religious associations could 

 bestow. 



On the restoration of Palestrina to his office, his fame spread widely. 

 Cardinal Pacecco announced to him that Philip III. of Spain would 

 receive with satisfaction any work from the composer that he might 

 dedicate to him. To his other appointments was now added that of 

 'Maestro' to tne congregation of the Oratory. He also undertook 

 the direction of the school established by Gio. Maria Zannini. Soon 

 after this he was charged by Pope Gregory XIII. with the task of 

 reviving the Roman Gradual and Antiphoner, which however he did 

 not live to complete a duty performed by his son, au only surviving 

 child. Rather late in life his pecuniary circumstances must have been 

 much improved, for on his death-bed, after blessing his son, he added, 

 " I leave many unpublished works, and thanks to the Abbe 1 de Bautne, 

 the Cardinal Aldobrandini, and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, I leave 

 you also the means of publishing them." In January 1594 it became 

 evident that his life was rapidly drawing to a close ; and on the 2nd of 

 the following month, after receiving the last rites of the church from 

 tha hands of his friend (the future Saint) Filippo di Neri, ho expired. 

 Of his funeral, Torrigio ('Grotte Vaticano,' ii. 166) says, " Iu St. Peter's 

 church, near the altar of St. Simon and St. Jude, was interred, in 

 consequence of his extraordinary abilities, Pierluigi da Palestriua, the 

 great musical composer, and Maestro di Capella of this church. His 

 j funeral was attended by all the musicians of Rome, and ' Lilcra, me, 

 Domine,' as composed by himself, was sung by five choirs. On his 

 coffin was this inscription : ' Johannes Petrus Aloysius Proonestinus, 

 Muaic;o Princeps.' " 



Palestrina's music is learned and grave, and that written for the 

 church as well, indeed, as much that proceeded from the same school 

 when heard in the kind of place for which it is adapted, and attended 

 by pomp and pageantry, is strongly felt by all, and acts with irre- 

 sistible force on sensitive minds. But in the concert-room or chamber, 

 his compositions, whether sacred or secular, have, with few exceptions, 

 no charms for hearers who have not cultivated a taste for simple, solid, 

 airless harmony, or for the intricacies of fugal points well woven with 

 a skill that owed more to study than genius. His works are 



