Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548 – 1611) was the most
famous composer in 16th-century Spain, and was one of
the most important composers of the
Counter-Reformation, along with Giovanni Pierluigi da
Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso. Victoria was not only
a composer, but also an accomplished organist and
singer as well as a Catholic priest. However, he
preferred the life of a composer to that of a
performer.
Victoria was born in Sanchidrián in the province of
Ávila, Castile around 1548 an...(+)
Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548 – 1611) was the most
famous composer in 16th-century Spain, and was one of
the most important composers of the
Counter-Reformation, along with Giovanni Pierluigi da
Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso. Victoria was not only
a composer, but also an accomplished organist and
singer as well as a Catholic priest. However, he
preferred the life of a composer to that of a
performer.
Victoria was born in Sanchidrián in the province of
Ávila, Castile around 1548 and died in 1611.
Victoria's family can be traced back for generations.
Not only are the names of the members in his immediate
family known, but even the occupation of his
grandfather. Victoria was the seventh of nine children
born to Francisco Luis de Victoria and Francisca
Suárez de la Concha. His mother was of converso
descent. After his father's death in 1557, his uncle,
Juan Luis, became his guardian. He was a choirboy in
Ávila Cathedral. Cathedral records state that his
uncle, Juan Luis, presented Victoria's Liber Primus to
the Church while reminding them that Victoria had been
brought up in the Ávila Cathedral. Because he was such
an accomplished organist, many believe that he began
studying the keyboard at an early age from a teacher in
Ávila. Victoria most likely began studying "the
classics" at St. Giles's, a boys' school in Ávila.
This school was praised by St.Teresa of Avila and other
highly regarded people of music.
He was a master at overlapping and dividing choirs with
multiple parts with a gradual decreasing of rhythmic
distance throughout. Not only does Victoria incorporate
intricate parts for the voices, but the organ is almost
treated like a soloist in many of his choral pieces.
Victoria did not begin the development of psalm
settings or antiphons for two choirs, but he continued
and increased the popularity of such repertoire.
Victoria reissued works that had been published
previously, and included new revisions in each new
issue.
Victoria published his first book of motets in 1572. In
1585 he wrote his Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae, a
collection which included 37 pieces that are part of
the Holy Week celebrations in the Catholic liturgy,
including the eighteen motets of the Tenebrae
Responsories.
Stylistically, his music shuns the elaborate
counterpoint of many of his contemporaries, preferring
simple line and homophonic textures, yet seeking
rhythmic variety and sometimes including intense and
surprising contrasts. His melodic writing and use of
dissonance is more free than that of Palestrina;
occasionally he uses intervals which are prohibited in
the strict application of 16th century counterpoint,
such as ascending major sixths, or even occasional
diminished fourths (for example, a melodic diminished
fourth occurs in a passage representing grief in his
motet Sancta Maria, succurre). Victoria sometimes uses
dramatic word-painting, of a kind usually found only in
madrigals. Some of his sacred music uses instruments (a
practice which is not uncommon in Spanish sacred music
of the 16th century), and he also wrote polychoral
works for more than one spatially separated group of
singers, in the style of the composers of the Venetian
school who were working at St. Mark's in Venice.
The three days leading up to Easter Sunday – Maundy
Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday – have always
been days of special significance in the Christian
church. In the Roman Catholic tradition these three
days – the Triduum – are marked by liturgies of
special solemnity during which the Passion and Death of
Christ are marked and contemplated prior to the
celebration of the Resurrection. Naturally, much of the
liturgical observance during these days is meditative
in nature. Nowhere was observance of the solemnity of
the Triduum more marked than in Counter Reformation
Spain. Victoria composed this music to be sung at the
office of Matins on each of the three days.
There are three Lamentations for each of the three days
and every one ends with the poignant phrase
‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deus
tuum’ (‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, turn to the Lord your
God’). These phrases bring a musical and literary
unity to the music, though it’s very important to
remember that originally they would not have all been
heard together. However, I think there’s a very
strong case for hearing them as a sequence.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%C3%A1s_Luis_de_Victo
ria ).
Although originally created for Double Choir
(SSAATTBB), I created this Interpretation of the "Missa
Ave Regina" (Hail, Queen of Heaven) for Winds (Flute,
Oboe, English Horn, & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins,
Viola & Cello).
