ABSTRACT
Anyone who examines documents relating to the performance of il Palestrina's music and that of his circle will soon conclude that many ambiguities remain. It would be unrealistic to imagine that a single article can resolve all, or, indeed, any of the problems; rather, the intention is to indicate where the difficulties lie, and so to encourage an imaginative approach to the performance of Palestrina's sacred music. Palestrina worked successively on a full-time basis in many of the major basilicas of the city. The ideas presented in this chapter were worked out in a series of Palestrina reconstructions broadcast on Radio 3 and internationally during 1994. Without change, development, and devoid of new ideas, since he had (from the start) effortlessly attained perfection. One of the most controversial issues in contemporary musicology concerns bow the music of Palestrina and his contemporaries was performed by the choir of the papal or Sistine Chapel.
