Tomás Luis de Victoria

1548 - 1611 AD

Tomás Luis de Victoria was born in Ávila, in the Kingdom of Castille, the seventh of nine children. As a boy, he sang in the choir at the Cathedral of the Savior in Ávila, but also learned to play the organ. His reputation as an organist had grown considerable enough that by 1565, he received a grant from King Philip II to study in Rome.

In Rome, Victoria worked for the Pope and studied with Palestrina, whom he actually succeeded as mastero of the Pontifical Roman Seminary. He was ordained as a priest in 1574 and took a position as Maestro di Cappella at the Basilica di Sant'Apollinare.

Victoria spent 22 years in Rome, where he developed an international reputation as one of the finest composers of the late Renaissance. He returned to Spain in 1587, working in Madrid as a chaplain and organist for the royal family until his death in 1611.