Calvary Choir will offer the Missa de Quarti Toni (Mass on the Fourth Tone) of Tomás de Victoria (c. 1548-1611), Vinea mea electa of Francis Poulenc and Sicut Cervus of Giovanni de Palestrina during today’s liturgy.
It was common practice during the time of Victoria and Palestrina for all music
 |
| Tomás de Victoria |
in the liturgy to be offered by the choir. Settings of the Kyrie (Lord, have mercy), Sanctus (Holy, holy, holy) and Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) as well as other portions of the mass were composed for all holy days in the church year.
Other settings were composed for “regular” Sundays. Victoria and his contemporaries composed literally hundreds of settings of the Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, etc...) of the mass. Today’s setting, while not specifically for Lent, is very Lenten in nature. We are reminded of the reflective nature of Lent in the simple beauty of the composition. Victoria is the most significant composer of the Counter-Reformation in Spain, and one of the best-regarded
 |
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina |
composers of sacred music in the late Renaissance, a genre to which he devoted himself exclusively. Victoria’s music reflected his intricate personality. In his music, the passion of Spanish mysticism and religion is expressed.
Other music for this day includes Francis Poulenc’s (1899-1963) setting of Vinea mea electa (O vineyard, my chosen one. I have planted you!) from his setting of four motets for Lent and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s (1525/1526-1599) Sicut Cervus (As the deer longs for flowing waters, so longs my soul for you, O God.). Although Poulenc’s composition comes from a decidedly later period than other music of the day, it fills a certain place for the listener. Palestrina was often called “The Savior of Church Music,” for his role in purging secular influences which had pervaded liturgical music in his time. His work has often been seen as the culmination of Renaissance polyphony, Sicut Cervus is but one example of this.