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Tomás Luis de Victoria

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Tomás Luis de Victoria was born around 1548, probably in Ávila, and died in 1611 in Madrid. He is regarded as the most famous Spanish composer of the Renaissance and stands beside Palestrina and Orlande de Lassus as one of the most important composers of the late Renaissance. His father died in 1557, and his uncle, a priest, became his guardian. He was a choirboy at Ávila Cathedral. With an allowance from Philip II he went to Rome in 1565, where he became a singer at the Collegium Germanicum and possibly studied with Palestrina. In 1574 he was ordained a priest. In 1587 he returned to Spain, as chaplain to the Empress María at the Descalzas Reales convent in Madrid, where he later became organist.

Music and breakthrough

His surviving work consists almost entirely of sacred, polyphonic vocal music on Latin texts: masses, motets, antiphons and responsories. In 1572 his first book of motets appeared, and in 1585 the Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae, which includes the Tenebrae Responsories for Holy Week. His masterpiece is the Officium Defunctorum from 1605, a requiem for the Empress María. He also wrote for more than one choir, following the example of the Venetian school.

Influence

Victoria shuns the intricate counterpoint of many of his contemporaries and chooses simple lines and homophonic textures, with strong rhythmic contrasts and sometimes pictorial word-setting as in a madrigal. His melodies and dissonances are freer than Palestrina's. Many listeners hear a mystical intensity and direct emotion in his music. His work enjoyed a revival in the twentieth century, with many recordings, including by The Tallis Scholars.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a movement from the Requiem Officium Defunctorum and notice the soft, calm singing in which the text is carried by the choir almost like a spoken word. Can you hear how the intensity increases without the volume ever becoming really loud?

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists