Fior Angelico

Victoria’s Final Masterpiece

Few works capture the beauty and solemnity of the Renaissance the way this piece does. Spanish master Tomás Luis de Victoria wrote it for the funeral of the Dowager Empress Maria, whom Victoria had served as chaplain in Madrid. Published in 1605, it was also his final published composition before his death in 1611.

But the work goes beyond a funeral Mass. It brings the complete liturgy known as the Office of the Dead (hence the actual title of the piece—Officium Defunctorum) together with motets, chant, and prayers to make for a moving musical tribute.

Written for a six-part choir, its elegant vocal lines and restrained emotion have made it one of the greatest sacred works of the Renaissance. Today, it stands as Victoria’s crowning achievement.

Maria of Austria (1528–1603)

After her husband Maximilian the Holy Roman Emperor died in 1576, Maria remained at the imperial court in Vienna for several years before returning to Spain in 1582. Rather than living in the royal palace, she settled in the convent of Las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, where she spent the rest of her life devoted to prayer, charity, and religious patronage.

Inside the Convent of Las Descales Reales, Madrid