He was innate inside Avila, likely researching by owning Escobedo at Segovia early in his life. He is known to use attend Rome around 1564, where he joined a monastery founded by St. Ignatius Loyola as part of the fight against Lutheranism. He could keep about exposed by using Palestrina around this period, though a grounds to believe is circumstantial; sure as shooting he was influenced per Italian's style. Around 1575 he wwhen ordained as a priest, after a period of service at the monastery as master di cappella. He did non stay withwithin Italy, still; in 1586 he returned to Spain, this time in the service of Empress Maria, who was typing a convent of Descalzas Reales in Madrid. Victoria remained at a convent until a prevent of his life, performing many roles—priest, composer, director of the choir, & organist.

Victoria is the virtually all important composer of the Counter-Reformation in Spain, and one of a virtually all easily-regarded composers of sacred music in the late Renaissance. His works use at times undergone the revival in the 20th century, with many recent recordings. Several commentators hear inside his music the secret intensity & directly emotional appeal, qualities considered by a select few to become lacking in the technically hone however emotionally detached music of his smashing Italian contemporary Palestrina.

Stylistically his music shuns a elaborate counterpoint of many of his coeval, preferring elementary line & homophonic textures, yet looking rhythmical kind & for instance including incapacitating & surprising contrasts. His melodic writing & apply of dissonance is more free than that of Palestrina; on occasion he utilizes intervals which are prohibited in the strict application of 16th century counterpoint, such as ascending major sixths, or occasional wasted fourths (e.g., the melodic wasted for occurs withwithin the passage representing grief in his motet Sancta Maria, succurre). Victoria another time utilizes spectacular word-painting, of a form commexclusively encountered only around madrigals. the select few of his sacred music utilizes instruments (a practice which is non rare inside Spanish sacred music of the 16th century), & he besides wrote polychoral works for more than a single spatially separated class action of singers, in the style of the composers of the Venetian school who were working at St. Mark's in Venice.

Promulgated around 1605 under a title Officium Defunctorum, sex vocibus, inside obitu et obsequiis sacrae imperatricis, one of his finest, virtually all beautiful, & virtually all refined works is the groovy Requiem Mass he wrote in 1603 for the funeral of Empress Maria, who got been his employer since 1586, and world health organization was a sister of Philip II and wife of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. It's too notable a serene emotion of each one of a 37 pieces that form his Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae of 1585, the collection of motets & lamentations linked to the Holy Week Catholic celebrations.