King's College Choir, Cambridge - Palestrina: Messes & motets (2008)

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594) took his name from a small town in the Sabine Mountains, about 25 miles from Rome, where he was born.
He was the eldest of four children of fairly well-off parents and went to the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome as a chorister and stayed there even after his voice broke.
In 1544 he returned to Palestrina as an organist and singing teacher, and in 1551 he joined the bishop of the city, who was elected Pope, in Rome.
A mass dedicated to his patron earned him a place in the papal choir of the Sistine Chapel in 1554, but a year later his patron died and his successor, Paul IV, expelled all married men from the choir, including Palestrina.
In 1561, the appointment of maestro at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he was a chorister, gave him the necessary confidence, and his fame as a composer has steadily grown since then.
In total, he wrote 104 masses and 375 motets.
This collection, performed by the choir of King's College, Cambridge, includes four of the most famous masses, as well as six motets, subjected to modern processing and remastering.