Palestrina 500: Music from Italy and the Sistine Chapel

Join BREMF Consort of Voices to celebrate the 500 anniversary of the birth in 1525 of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, whose graceful polyphony was written to be performed in the Sistine Chapel in Rome’s Vatican City. His influence quickly spread throughout Europe and our programme also includes motets by some of his contemporaries including Allegri, Victoria, Giovanni Gabrieli and Marenzio.

BREMF Consort of Voices
James Elias director

This concert is part of the Europe-wide celebration of Early Music Day 2025.

From its construction in 1473 right up until the 21st century, musical instruments were not permitted in the Sistine chapel; this is the origin of the term a cappella (in the style of the chapel) to mean voices singing without accompaniment. Composers were forced to find depth of tone and richness of harmony by writing increasingly intricate vocal lines, overlapping each other in ever more elaborate ways, and Palestrina is a major figure in the development of polyphony.

On high occasions, part of the Sistine Chapel choir, often the higher voices, would sing from the gallery, with the rest of the choir down below. This symbolised humankind’s praises to God from Earth, joining the choir of angels praising God from above. Stylistically, 8-part pieces written for the chapel usually have two choirs, first alternating, and then singing all together; the tradition of ‘double choir’ motets continues to this day.