Question

What musical technique does palestrina primarily use in the "kyrie" from his pope marcellus mass to make the text more easily understood than in josquin's ave maria…virgo serena?

Answer 1

In his "Kyrie", Palestrina uses a less complex polyphony. He uses vocal ornamentation only in the long syllables, which don't prevent the text from being easily pronounced and understood. Polyphony is an intertwining of different melodic lines, which are independent of each other but constitute a completely different and unique structure when combined. Palestrina's "Missa Papae Marcelli" is one of the most notable examples or choral polyphony.