VICTORIA (Vittoria), Tomas Luis de
b Avila, c1548
d Madrid, 27 August 1611, aged sixty-three

Little is known of his early years. He was probably a chorister in Avila Cathedral from 1558 to 1565, then he went to the Collegium Germanicurn in Rome to study for the priesthood. He left there in 1569 to become an organist and choirmaster. In 1571 he succeeded Palestrina as maestro di cappella at the Collegium Romanum, two years later assuming a similar post at the Collegium Germanicum and remaining there until 1575. In that year he was ordained a priest. From 1578 until 1585 he was chaplain of S Girolamo della Carita, and he did not return to Spain until 1596. From then until his death he was organist and choirmaster at the convent of the Descahas Reales in Madrid.

His compositions comprise forty-four motets; twenty masses; eighteen Magnificats; a Nunc Dimittis; thirty-four hymns; ten psalms; and various other religious works.