Victoria, Tomás Luis de

Victoria, Tomás Luis de
born с 1548, near Avila, Spain
died Aug. 27, 1611, Madrid

Spanish composer.

He went to Rome с 1565 as an organist and singer, and he may have studied with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, eventually becoming kapellmeister for a Jesuit congregation (1573–77). Ordained a priest (1575), he was associated with St. Philip Neri's group (1578–85). During this time he published his books of motets, masses, Magnificats, and hymns. In 1587 he returned to Spain as chaplain to the dowager empress Maria, in whose convent he served as organist and choirmaster until his death. He wrote 21 masses (including a Pope Marcellus Mass), several Magnificats, and 44 motets (including O magnum mysterium). His music is mystical, impressive, and moving, and he was renowned as the greatest Spanish composer of the Renaissance.

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▪ Spanish composer
born c. 1548, near Avila, Spain
died Aug. 27, 1611, Madrid

      Spanish composer who ranks with Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso among the greatest composers of the 16th century.

      Victoria was sent by King Philip II of Spain in 1565 to prepare for holy orders at the German College in Rome. There he probably studied with Giovanni da Palestrina, whom he eventually succeeded as director of music at the Roman Seminary. From 1578 to 1585 he assisted Philip Neri as chaplain of San Girolamo della Carità. In 1578 he met the pious dowager empress Maria, widow of the Holy Roman emperor Maximilian II, and later became her chaplain. In 1584 she entered the convent of the Descalzas Reales in Madrid, where Victoria became priest and organist. He settled in Madrid in 1594.

      Victoria's works include 21 masses and 44 motets that are among the finest of the period. He also wrote psalm settings; hymns; several Magnificats; four offices for the dead; and music for Holy Week services, including two Passions, the Improperia, and the Lamentations of Jeremiah. His last work was the Requiem (1605) in memory of the empress Maria.

      Victoria's music has a depth of purpose that some writers have compared to the mystical fervour of St. Teresa of Avila (Teresa of Ávila, Saint), who probably knew him as a youth and was also patroness of the Descalzas. With the contrapuntal technique of Palestrina he fused an intense dramatic feeling that is uniquely personal and deeply Spanish. He often reused his own and other music through the technique of parody and was a master of canonic devices. His use of plainsong as cantus firmus is surprisingly rare. He also used devices that were modern in the late 16th century. The pictorial writing that portrays the fury of the wild beasts in “Cum beatus Ignatius” surpasses that of the contemporary madrigalists. His use of repeated notes for emphasis reflects the growing Florentine interest in recitative. In his polychoral works he exploits the contemporary Venetian manner, and his provision of written organ parts looks forward to the age of the continuo. Harmonically, his music shows a remarkable sense of tonal contrast, foreshadowing the major-minor concept of tonality characteristic of the Baroque era.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • VICTORIA, Tomas Luis de — (1548 1611) Tomas Luis de Victoria was the greatest Spanish composer of the Renais­sance. In his life and works, the ideals of the Catholic Reformation found their quintessential musical expression. Victoria was born in Avila and received his… …   Renaissance and Reformation 1500-1620: A Biographical Dictionary

  • Victoria, Tomás Luis de — ( 1548, cerca de Ávila, España–27 ago. 1611, Madrid). Compositor español. Viajó a Roma 1565 en calidad de organista y cantor, probablemente estudió con Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, y con el tiempo se convirtió en maestro de capilla en una… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Victoria, Tomás Luis de — (1548, Avila – 20 August 1611, Madrid)    Roman Catholic priest, organist and composer noted for his religious devotion, he restricted himself to Latin texts, and thus his {}oeuvre is smaller than that of Orlandus Lassus or Giovanni da Palestrina …   Historical dictionary of sacred music

  • Tomás Luis de Victoria — Tomás Luis de Victoria, sometimes Italianised as da Vittoria (1548 – 20 August 1611), was the most famous composer of the 16th century in Spain, and one of the most important composers of the Counter Reformation, along with Giovanni da Palestrina …   Wikipedia

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