21/34 He knew that music hung trembling in the balance upon his failure or success. in 1567 Palestrina only says that he had been constrained by the order of men of the highest gravity and most approved piety to apply himself _ad sanctissimum Missae sacrificium novo modorum genere decorandum_, and that he had performed his task with indefatigable pains and industry (Baini, _op. 280). But it is noteworthy that of the three Masses furnished for the approval of the congregation, the first was entitled _Illumina oculos meos_, and that an anecdote referring to this title relates Palestrina's earnest prayers for grace and inspiration during the execution of the work (_ibid._ p. |