Francesco Soriano

This Italian composer was a student of Zoilo, Roy, Montanari and very possibly Palestrina who claimed Soriano as one of his students in written correspondence. He was in service to the Mantuan court and became the master of the chapel choir for S Maria Maggiore, St. John Lateran and St. Peter's. As a composer Soriano wrote motets, masses, madrigals, a passion and psalms. Soriano made a revision of Palestrina's six-part "Missa Papae Marcelli" for four voices by scoring it for eight voices. He had a command of polyphony and the diatonic modes noted by his lively harmonic progressions. Rhythmic variations centering on the textual material demonstrate similarities to Palestrina as were his use of melismas instead of the practice of diminution. ~ Keith Johnson