Abstract The music of Paolo Papini (d. 1603) has gone almost unnoticed in spite of the existence of over forty liturgical pieces by him, located primarily in five large manuscript choirbooks with a provenance from the Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia, Rome. These choirbooks are otherwise known for their manuscript copies of music by Palestrina. This article examines the sources, provides new biographical information about Papini, and evaluates the function of his music within the Ospedale. It argues that, together with documentary evidence such as inventories and financial records from Santo Spirito, Papini’s music throws new light on our understanding of the reform of liturgical music in the decades following the final session of the Council of Trent in 1563.
Naomi J. Barker (Mon,) studied this question.