Palestrina: Nella vita, nelle opere, nel suo tempo by Lino BianchiReview by: Richard SherrNotes, Second Series, Vol. 56, No. 2 (Dec., 1999), pp. 397-399Published by: Music Library AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/900015 .

Accessed: 16/06/2014 06:26

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Music Library Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Notes.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.34.78.242 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 06:26:33 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Book Reviews Book Reviews

tion of changes in the makeup of the naubat ensemble and in the use of ensem- bles in imperial processions and celebra- tions provide even more lavish contextual detail regarding musicmaking in Mughal India. Wade meticulously dissects the later paintings of the Mughal courts to reveal the beginnings of the key characteristics of present-day Indian music. She shows the emergence of modern instruments like the sarangi, svar mandal, and tanpura; the func- tional role of drone keeping; and the stan- dard small ensemble of soloist, melodic ac- companist, drone keeper, and percussionist that forms the core of modern perfor- mance practice in both North and South India.

Imaging Sound is more than a product of impeccable, painstaking scholarship. This book represents an important achievement in historical ethnomusicology. As a schol- arly field that has rushed zealously to embrace every new trend in cultural an- thropology over the last two decades, eth- nomusicology has become less interdiscipli- nary even as it professes the need to become more so. Wade's book stands as a superb example of an interdisciplinary study that draws on, but is not dominated by, the recent achievements of cultural anthropology-more specifically, cultural studies-in theorizing and problematizing power relationships and identity in increas- ingly sophisticated ways. Ethnomusicolo- gists would be well advised to make Imaging Sound required reading in their introduc- tory graduate seminars, as it is a truly multi- disciplinary work that has combined exten- sive study of art history with materials, methods, and theories of ethnomusicology, ethnography, elitelore, and folklore. Wade has not been content simply to provide an account of what exists in the historical sources she has examined; she has persis- tently searched for clues as to why the record exists as it does and has interjected a good deal of interpretive analysis through- out the work in her attempt to provide an- swers. The result of her prodigious effort is a vividly constructed and lavishly produced book that is informative, insightful, enrich- ing, and rewarding.

tion of changes in the makeup of the naubat ensemble and in the use of ensem- bles in imperial processions and celebra- tions provide even more lavish contextual detail regarding musicmaking in Mughal India. Wade meticulously dissects the later paintings of the Mughal courts to reveal the beginnings of the key characteristics of present-day Indian music. She shows the emergence of modern instruments like the sarangi, svar mandal, and tanpura; the func- tional role of drone keeping; and the stan- dard small ensemble of soloist, melodic ac- companist, drone keeper, and percussionist that forms the core of modern perfor- mance practice in both North and South India.

Imaging Sound is more than a product of impeccable, painstaking scholarship. This book represents an important achievement in historical ethnomusicology. As a schol- arly field that has rushed zealously to embrace every new trend in cultural an- thropology over the last two decades, eth- nomusicology has become less interdiscipli- nary even as it professes the need to become more so. Wade's book stands as a superb example of an interdisciplinary study that draws on, but is not dominated by, the recent achievements of cultural anthropology-more specifically, cultural studies-in theorizing and problematizing power relationships and identity in increas- ingly sophisticated ways. Ethnomusicolo- gists would be well advised to make Imaging Sound required reading in their introduc- tory graduate seminars, as it is a truly multi- disciplinary work that has combined exten- sive study of art history with materials, methods, and theories of ethnomusicology, ethnography, elitelore, and folklore. Wade has not been content simply to provide an account of what exists in the historical sources she has examined; she has persis- tently searched for clues as to why the record exists as it does and has interjected a good deal of interpretive analysis through- out the work in her attempt to provide an- swers. The result of her prodigious effort is a vividly constructed and lavishly produced book that is informative, insightful, enrich- ing, and rewarding.

STEPHEN SLAWEK

University of Texas at Austin STEPHEN SLAWEK

University of Texas at Austin

Palestrina: Nella vita, nelle opere, nel suo tempo. By Lino Bianchi. (Musica e Musicisti nel Lazio, 3.) Palestrina,

Italy: Fondazione Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, 1995. [xv, 945 p. L 70,000 (pbk.).]

The latest publication issued by the Fondazione Palestrina is this imposing monograph on Giovanni Pierluigi da Pales- trina as man and musician. Lino Bianchi, the final editor of the new complete-works edition (Le opere complete [Rome: Istituto Italiano per la Storia della Musica, 1953-]), has had a long and intimate connection with Palestrina that has led him to try to communicate here the "vitality of the man and composer": his life, works, and times as part of an "autobiography" (p. xiv; my translation). This, then, is not another dis- quisition on "the Palestrina style"-the composer as an iconic repository of contra- puntal techniques-but an attempt to show how the music "lives" as an expression of Palestrina's personality. To this end, Bianchi's encyclopedic knowledge of Pales- trina's biography and works is martialed to create a truly comprehensive study.

Not everything in this book is entirely new. Bianchi admits that he has reused the chapters on Palestrina's biography, madri- gals, and liturgical works (hymns, Lamenta- tions, Magnificats, litanies, etc.) that he contributed to an earlier book (Lino Bianchi and Karl Gustav Fellerer, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina [Turin: ERI, 1971]). Nonetheless, the biographical section has been edited to reflect recent research up to 1994; additions can be found in the text it- self and in the footnotes, and translations of the Latin dedications, absent from the earlier publication, have been added as well. More than half of the book, in fact, is entirely new: Fellerer's essay on the Pales- trina style has been replaced by a 450-page overview of the major sacred works-the Masses and motets-while a concluding chapter places Palestrina "in his times."

The biography contains no important new revelations; the basic trajectory of Palestrina's life has long been known, although we are still learning more, par- ticularly about his relationships with Roman confraternities. But the section does provide the reader with the relevant

Palestrina: Nella vita, nelle opere, nel suo tempo. By Lino Bianchi. (Musica e Musicisti nel Lazio, 3.) Palestrina,

Italy: Fondazione Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, 1995. [xv, 945 p. L 70,000 (pbk.).]

The latest publication issued by the Fondazione Palestrina is this imposing monograph on Giovanni Pierluigi da Pales- trina as man and musician. Lino Bianchi, the final editor of the new complete-works edition (Le opere complete [Rome: Istituto Italiano per la Storia della Musica, 1953-]), has had a long and intimate connection with Palestrina that has led him to try to communicate here the "vitality of the man and composer": his life, works, and times as part of an "autobiography" (p. xiv; my translation). This, then, is not another dis- quisition on "the Palestrina style"-the composer as an iconic repository of contra- puntal techniques-but an attempt to show how the music "lives" as an expression of Palestrina's personality. To this end, Bianchi's encyclopedic knowledge of Pales- trina's biography and works is martialed to create a truly comprehensive study.

Not everything in this book is entirely new. Bianchi admits that he has reused the chapters on Palestrina's biography, madri- gals, and liturgical works (hymns, Lamenta- tions, Magnificats, litanies, etc.) that he contributed to an earlier book (Lino Bianchi and Karl Gustav Fellerer, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina [Turin: ERI, 1971]). Nonetheless, the biographical section has been edited to reflect recent research up to 1994; additions can be found in the text it- self and in the footnotes, and translations of the Latin dedications, absent from the earlier publication, have been added as well. More than half of the book, in fact, is entirely new: Fellerer's essay on the Pales- trina style has been replaced by a 450-page overview of the major sacred works-the Masses and motets-while a concluding chapter places Palestrina "in his times."

The biography contains no important new revelations; the basic trajectory of Palestrina's life has long been known, although we are still learning more, par- ticularly about his relationships with Roman confraternities. But the section does provide the reader with the relevant

397 397

This content downloaded from 195.34.78.242 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 06:26:33 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

NOTES, December 1999

documents in transcription, and all the dedications are quoted in their entirety. The biography is usefully complemented by the recently published Iconografia Palestrin- iana, edited by Bianchi and Giancarlo Rostirolla (Lucca: Libreria Musicale Italiana, 1994), where one can find facsimi- les of almost all the documents that are mentioned and transcribed, as well as the title pages of all the composer's publica- tions and many other images related to Palestrina's life and career. With this wealth of information, Bianchi paints a convincing picture of a long, busy, active life with its successes and failures, its joys and sorrows, as Palestrina constantly struggled to make a

living and support a family while becoming the most important composer in Rome.

In his discussion of the music, Bianchi carries out his announced intent of show- ing how the works, particularly the Masses, are evidence of Palestrina as human being and great composer-not as counterpoint repository-and of his inventiveness in never repeating himself as he set the same words over and over. After some general re- marks, Bianchi discusses all of the pub- lished Masses in the order they appeared in print-the twelve numbered books of Masses and the publication of Masses for double chorus are each allotted a chapter -with Masses existing only in manuscript discussed last. Information about the Masses (model, disposition of clefs, length in modern measures, mensuration signs, final cadence tones, opening incipits) is provided in tables on pages 423-605. (One addition can be made here: the model for the Missa Inviolata, in the second book of Masses, is a motet by Jean Courtois.) Bianchi's discussion mixes technical com- ments about the music (the melodic struc- ture of the points of imitation, the use of motives from models, certain contrapuntal procedures) with an attempt to capture the "essence" of each Mass or individual move- ment as an expression of emotion and faith; he uses affective language in which words like "emozione" (emotion), "espres- sivita" (expression), "tenerezza" (tender- ness), "gioa" or "letizia" (joy), "tristezza" or "mestizia" (sadness), "malinconia" (melan- choly), and "dolore" (sorrow) come up again and again, along with descriptive words more often associated with Pales- trina: "scorrevolezza" (fluidity), "cantabil-

ita" (singing style), "semplicita" (simplic- ity), and even "perfezione" (perfection). There are no music examples. To give a fla- vor of Bianchi's approach, I quote this de- scription of Missa Tu es pastor ovium: "The

imposing solemnity is imbued, neverthe- less, with the trusting tenderness that the humble son of the enormous flock of the 'eternal' earthly church feels for the love of the Father shepherd" (p. 350; my transla- tion). Well, maybe. Bianchi may be trying too hard here to show that Palestrina is re-

ally an "emotional" composer whose deep faith is reflected in the Mass. On the other hand, the reader does get a true "feel" for the work, and the same can be said of the 103 other Masses Bianchi discusses. This is

quite impressive. The motets are treated likewise. Each

motet edition receives a separate chapter discussing its contents in the order they appear in the collection. Bianchi uses the same descriptive language he used for the Masses, highlighting "dramatic" moments in the settings. Although motet texts are more amenable to this approach, Bianchi

may again be trying too hard. Still, the reader, whether or not agreeing with Bianchi's views, gains an overview of each of the 250-odd motets and their editions.

After this massive discussion of the Masses and motets, a truly remarkable achievement, the shorter discussions of the

liturgical pieces and madrigals, taken from the earlier book, are a bit of a letdown (or perhaps a relief). I would have welcomed a

longer section on the madrigals-Pales- trina wrote 143 (95 secular and 49 sacred) -if only because these were the works

through which Palestrina first became in- ternationally known, and a few (such as Vestiva i colli) were in fact his most popular compositions. This is made clear in the final chapter, "Palestrina nel suo tempo" (newly written), which provides biographi- cal details and some discussion of the musi- cal style of the many composers whose works Palestrina knew from printed collec- tions, almost always of madrigals. Since these collections included most of the com-

posers of the time, this section can serve as a convenient biographical dictionary (al- though not organized alphabetically) of six- teenth-century musicians. In addition, it

provides a welcome recognition that Pales- trina was not the only important, prolific,

398

This content downloaded from 195.34.78.242 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 06:26:33 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Book Reviews Book Reviews

or well-known composer of the late six- teenth century. A list of the publications that appeared in the Palestrina year of 1994 (while this book was in press), a rather short bibliography, and an index of names and works round out the volume. There is no worklist, but all the pieces can be found in the index.

I do have some small criticisms. The book does not entirely escape the hagio- graphic attitude that affects most writing about Palestrina: the composer, it seems, never wrote a bad piece, never had a bad day, never produced anything that was not at the height of expressivity and emotion- something that could not be said of even Josquin Desprez and Ludwig van Beetho- ven. Bianchi generally gives the sources of the motet texts, but he does not seem to re- alize (at least he does not mention) that the frequently used AB CB form of motets in two sections indicates a setting of a re- sponsory; the repetition he points out sim- ply as a structural feature in fact reflects liturgical performance practice. His use of Heinrich Glarean's twelve-mode system to describe the tonality of the works strikes me as a bit strange; Palestrina himself seems not to have recognized this system, and Harold Powers's tonal types are a better means of classification. There are a few lapses regarding composers other than Palestrina. Bianchi apparently thinks that the Sanctus ofJosquin's Missa L'homme arme sexti toni is for five voices (p. 288), that Josquin composed a Missa Quem dicunt homines (p. 353), that Josquin died in "1521/4" (p. 895; a typographical error?). There is a bit of "wolf pack" confusion: the motet that is the model for the six-voice Missa In te Domine speravi, said to be by "Johannes Lupus" on page 363, is by Lupus Hellinck; the 'Johannes Lupus" mentioned on page 897 should be Johannes Lupi. Philip II of Spain is referred to more than once as the "imperatore di Spagna," which he was in reality but not in title.

The text seems very well produced. Generous margins surround the pages, part of the reason for the size of the vol- ume. The graphics, however, are less than satisfactory. Apart from the two color fron- tispieces on glossy paper (one, the earliest and certainly the best portrait of Palestrina, was only recently uncovered in an Ameri- can collection), the illustrations are poorly

or well-known composer of the late six- teenth century. A list of the publications that appeared in the Palestrina year of 1994 (while this book was in press), a rather short bibliography, and an index of names and works round out the volume. There is no worklist, but all the pieces can be found in the index.

I do have some small criticisms. The book does not entirely escape the hagio- graphic attitude that affects most writing about Palestrina: the composer, it seems, never wrote a bad piece, never had a bad day, never produced anything that was not at the height of expressivity and emotion- something that could not be said of even Josquin Desprez and Ludwig van Beetho- ven. Bianchi generally gives the sources of the motet texts, but he does not seem to re- alize (at least he does not mention) that the frequently used AB CB form of motets in two sections indicates a setting of a re- sponsory; the repetition he points out sim- ply as a structural feature in fact reflects liturgical performance practice. His use of Heinrich Glarean's twelve-mode system to describe the tonality of the works strikes me as a bit strange; Palestrina himself seems not to have recognized this system, and Harold Powers's tonal types are a better means of classification. There are a few lapses regarding composers other than Palestrina. Bianchi apparently thinks that the Sanctus ofJosquin's Missa L'homme arme sexti toni is for five voices (p. 288), that Josquin composed a Missa Quem dicunt homines (p. 353), that Josquin died in "1521/4" (p. 895; a typographical error?). There is a bit of "wolf pack" confusion: the motet that is the model for the six-voice Missa In te Domine speravi, said to be by "Johannes Lupus" on page 363, is by Lupus Hellinck; the 'Johannes Lupus" mentioned on page 897 should be Johannes Lupi. Philip II of Spain is referred to more than once as the "imperatore di Spagna," which he was in reality but not in title.

The text seems very well produced. Generous margins surround the pages, part of the reason for the size of the vol- ume. The graphics, however, are less than satisfactory. Apart from the two color fron- tispieces on glossy paper (one, the earliest and certainly the best portrait of Palestrina, was only recently uncovered in an Ameri- can collection), the illustrations are poorly

reproduced and uncaptioned in the text; they were apparently included simply to fill in white space created by beginning each small chapter of the biography section on a new page. (A list of illustrations appears at the end of the volume, p. 945.) The music incipits in the Mass tables are sometimes difficult to read. Words are occasionally hy- phenated in the middle of lines. I found very few typographical errors, and only one of real import. In the phrase "sesta e giusta ascendendo e discendendo" (p. 126) from Palestrina's letter to the Duke of Mantua, "giusta" should be "quinta." This correction is necessary to understand the passage, per- haps the only technical comments we have by Palestrina on the subject of counter- point.

Reviewing this impressive book reminds me of what is still lacking. For instance, al- though we have two complete editions of the works of Palestrina, we do not yet have a true critical edition; astonishingly, even the most famous Mass of all, the Missa Papae Marcelli, still lacks a critical evaluation of its sources. Questions of chronology and stylistic development, not considered in this book, still need to be addressed. The madrigals should be given their due. There is still much more specific work to be done in Palestrina studies, but anyone wishing to experience a masterful overview of the composer's life and works would be well ad- vised to begin with this volume.

RICHARD SHERR Smith College

Die Arciconfraterita di S. Maria della Morte in Bologna: Beitrage zur Geschichte des italienischen Orator- iums im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert. By Juliane Riepe. (Beitrage zur Geschichte der Kirchenmusik, 5.) Paderborn: Ferdinand Sch6ningh, 1998. [vi, 604 p. ISBN 3-506-70625-X. DM 78 (pbk.).]

Working through relevant layers of Bolognese culture from the widest to the most particular, Juliane Riepe offers here a detailed documentary investigation of the musical practices of one of the most presti- gious of the city's lay institutions, the Archconfraternity of S. Maria della Morte.

reproduced and uncaptioned in the text; they were apparently included simply to fill in white space created by beginning each small chapter of the biography section on a new page. (A list of illustrations appears at the end of the volume, p. 945.) The music incipits in the Mass tables are sometimes difficult to read. Words are occasionally hy- phenated in the middle of lines. I found very few typographical errors, and only one of real import. In the phrase "sesta e giusta ascendendo e discendendo" (p. 126) from Palestrina's letter to the Duke of Mantua, "giusta" should be "quinta." This correction is necessary to understand the passage, per- haps the only technical comments we have by Palestrina on the subject of counter- point.

Reviewing this impressive book reminds me of what is still lacking. For instance, al- though we have two complete editions of the works of Palestrina, we do not yet have a true critical edition; astonishingly, even the most famous Mass of all, the Missa Papae Marcelli, still lacks a critical evaluation of its sources. Questions of chronology and stylistic development, not considered in this book, still need to be addressed. The madrigals should be given their due. There is still much more specific work to be done in Palestrina studies, but anyone wishing to experience a masterful overview of the composer's life and works would be well ad- vised to begin with this volume.

RICHARD SHERR Smith College

Die Arciconfraterita di S. Maria della Morte in Bologna: Beitrage zur Geschichte des italienischen Orator- iums im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert. By Juliane Riepe. (Beitrage zur Geschichte der Kirchenmusik, 5.) Paderborn: Ferdinand Sch6ningh, 1998. [vi, 604 p. ISBN 3-506-70625-X. DM 78 (pbk.).]

Working through relevant layers of Bolognese culture from the widest to the most particular, Juliane Riepe offers here a detailed documentary investigation of the musical practices of one of the most presti- gious of the city's lay institutions, the Archconfraternity of S. Maria della Morte.

399 399

This content downloaded from 195.34.78.242 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 06:26:33 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions