Howard Goodall's Great Dates

1564 - Palestrina and the Rise of the Violin (1x3)

: 29, 2002

The year is 1564 and Europe is still reeling from the effects of the Reformation. The sacred music of the two churches – Catholic and Protestant – was developing in completely different ways. Instrumental music was also rapidly gaining in importance – as was ballet, championed by Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France. From the violin, which dominated her dance bands, the orchestra would emerge.