Tribute to Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina for the 500th anniversary of his birth and to Alessandro Scarlatti for the 300th anniversary of his death
Ensemble Vocale Odhecaton
Alla Palestrina
choirmaster Paolo Da Col
Alessandro Scarlatti
Messa breve “a Palestrina”
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Motets
An ideal connection exists between the protagonists of our two anniversaries: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594) and Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725). The former was considered the princeps musicae, and his work represented the paradigm of the polyphonic style for all composers, including Scarlatti, who was not immune to his influence, especially in his sacred production. Proof of this is the Messa Breve ‘a Palestrina’, composed in the a cappella style of Palestrina himself and intended for the Papal Court (both composers worked in Rome most of the time, another thing they had in common). Several manuscript copies of this work exist, two of which are signed by the composer himself; Odhecaton now combine them with Palestrina’s motets in a kind of unprecedented liturgy.
