that took place at the Council of Trent through the influence of the Reform Commission in Rome. He held the office until his death at Rome in 1571, succeeded by Palestrina who was his friend and probably his pupil. The Council of Trent and the Reform Commission The final session of the Council of Trent closed in 1563. One of the primary concerns of the council in its latter stages was the reform of the liturgy, in particular the reform of ‘abuses of the Mass’. To carry out the Council's recommendations in Rome, a Reform Commission was set up, headed up by Cardinals Carlo Borromeo and Vitellozzo Vitelli. The main issues that Cardinals Borromeo and Vitelli sought to address regarding music were ‘intelligibility’ (i.e., that Masses should be composed so words could be clearly understood) and the use of secular music in Mass settings. In 1565, the diary of the papal chapel choir recorded that Cardinal Vitelli requested that the choir assemble at his house for a private test of some Mass settings to see whether the words could be understood. Animuccia’s response Animuccia, as of the Capella Giulia, would no doubt have been aware of this test; it is unsurprising therefore that in 1566 there is a record of him being paid "for the composition of five masses [written] according to the requirements of the Council [of Trent]." Animuccia's was published at Rome a year later. In his dedication he writes: …I have sought to adorn these divine praises of God in such a way that the music may disturb the hearing of the text as little as possible, but nevertheless in such a way that it may not be entirely devoid of artifice and may contribute in some measure to the listener’s pleasure. All the Masses are freely composed plainsong paraphrases - which fulfills the requirement of the eradication of secular influences. Animuccia's presentation of an ‘intelligible’ style is only evident in the Gloria and the Credo, and even here he seems reluctant to strip all ‘artifice’ from the music. Instead he alternates homophonic phrases with polyphonic phrases. In his book of Masses Animuccia is consciously trying to compose music that reconciles, as he sees it, the two polarities in this issue of composing ‘intelligible’ music: that of making the text audible, yet at the same time sounding beautiful – therefore fulfilling the music's most important function of