The greatest Renaissance creator of liturgical music, the revered sixteenth-century composer known as Palestrina wrote works that served for centuries as models of counterpoint. Until "The Style of Palestrina and the Dissonance, " theoreticians seldom closely analyzed the composer s work to discover its fundamental elements, including the handling of rhythm, line, and harmony.
Beginning chapters discuss the standard use of rhythm and mensuration in Palestrina s time, the ecclesiastical modes, and treatment of words. Author Knud Jeppesen proceeds to explore Palestrina s music in terms of...