Palestrina was born in the town of Palestrina, southeast of Rome. He studied singing at the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome beginning about 1537. In 1544 he became organist and choir director at the cathedral in Palestrina, leaving in 1551 to become choirmaster at the Julian Chapel at Saint Peter's in Rome. His next positions were also in Rome, at Saint John Lateran (1555-60), at Santa Maria Maggiore (1561-66), and as master of music at a seminary for Jesuits (1565-71). From 1567 to 1571 he also held the secular post of music director at the villa of Ippolito II, Cardinal d'Este. In 1571 he returned to the Julian Chapel, where he remained until his death. His music remained close to the mystical and highly ritualized spirit of the church.

The serenity of Palestrina's style arises from several technical sources. His music is vocal; no parts are written specifically for instruments. All the voice parts have a similar character, producing a homogeneous sound. The music is almost always contrapuntal, with simultaneously sounding, equally important melodic lines. Although Palestrina used only a few chords in any one composition, he altered the manner in which the individual tones of each chord were spaced among the various voice parts. He thus achieved subtle changes while maintaining a general feeling of constancy.