VITORIA, TOMÁS LUIS DE. — Spanish musician, b. at Avila in 1548, d. in Madrid on 27 Aug. 1611.
In 1557 he entered as a chorister in the cathedral choir of
VITTORIA TOMÁS LUÍS
VITORIA, TOMÁS LUIS DE — Autograph receipt of V. S. Luigi de’ Francesi (12 March 1589).
Avila, receiving his first music lessons from Maestro Espinaz. His progress was rapid and brilliant, so much so that in 1565 he was sent to Rome to continue his studies in polyphony and counterpoint. He was a pupil at the German College and after three years became organist and chorister at the church of S. Maria in Monserrato, enjoying the protection of Cardinal Truchness, to whom he dedicated, in 1572, his first fruits, the *Motetti* for 4, 5 and 6 voices. In 1575 he returned to the German College, succeeding Palestrina in teaching, and in 1578 he went to live with St Philip Neri at S. Girolamo della Carità, where he remained until 1585, composing the *Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae*. In 1596 he went to Madrid as chaplain to the Empress Maria, for whose death he composed the *Officium Defunctorum* (1605), considered his most ingenious work. From 1605 until his death he was organist at the Discalzas Reales.
The artistic output of V. sums up all the grandeur of 16th-century Spanish art and draws its thematic material solely from the Gregorian repertoire and his own creative genius. His compositions are animated by vivid dramatic mysticism and extraordinary musical expressiveness, often achieving very intense pathetic effects.