Who was Giovanni da Palestrina?
Q: Who was Giovanni da Palestrina?
A: Giovanni da Palestrina was an Italian composer of church music during the Renaissance period.
Q: What type of music did he compose?
A: He composed mostly choral music, which is polyphonic in nature and has different voices singing different words and parts of the tune at the same time.
Q: Where was he born?
A: He was born in a town called Palestrina.
Q: What is known about his birthdate?
A: Unfortunately, any records of his birth were destroyed when the town burned in 1577, so we are not sure of the exact date.
Q: How did he become successful?
A: After being a choirboy in Palestrina, he got a job as organist and choir director at the Roman basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. His talent caught the attention of Pope Julius III who gave him the job as master of Capella Juliana, which was the top job for composers in Italy at that time.
Q: How many masses did he compose?
A: He composed 93 masses (musical settings for communion services).
Q: How does his work compare to other composers from this period?
A: Palestrina and Lassus were considered to be two greatest composers from late Renaissance period.
