Alessandro Moreschi
Alessandro Moreschi ( born November 11, 1858 in Monte Compatri, † April 21, 1922 in Rome) was a papal singers of the Sistine Chapel, one of the last Kastratensänger and also the only still exist today from the audio recordings.
Life
Date and circumstances of his castration are not known, however, it has suggested that it could be done in 1868 at the age of nine years, to protect him in accordance with medical notions of time in front of a cholera epidemic, which in this time his home region raged. In 1871 he began his vocal studies with Gaetano Capocci in the choir and the singing school of San Salvatore in Lauro. Capocci became his most important patrons. This 1873 appointed him the first soprano of the choir of St. John Lateran Basilica, where he served as organist and conductor. Under Capocci Moreschi was a sought-after, also employed at private performances sopranos. As Capocci Beethoven's oratorio aufführte in Lent 1883 Christ on the Mount of Olives in an Italian editor of Franz Sales Kandler, he gave Moreschi singing the part of the seraphim, which requires the use of the soprano voice to the three-line e, and this appearance then founded Moreschi fame and is the reason for his nickname " the angel of Rome " have given. He then received an invitation to apply for entry into the papal choir ( Cappella Musicale Pontificia ), known as the Sistine Chapel Sistine Chapel or to apply, where he took on March 22, 1891 as the successor to the soprano castrato Evangelista Bocchini. In 1896 he also received the permission to full membership in the Cappella Giulia Saint Peter's Basilica and the Chapel of St. John Lateran Basilica.
Head of the Sistine Chapel was the castrato Domenico Mustafa, as Capocci representative of a traditional, but in many cases already considered degenerate and worldly criticized style against which the representatives of the Cecilianism demanded a return to the principles of vocal polyphony of the Renaissance. Since 1881 Under Mustafà became Moreschi 1891 Secretary ( puntatore ) and 1892 as maestro pro tempore, the latter an administrative office, whose duties included the organization of samples and the supervision of the duty of the choir members, but also assisting in the selection of soloists and the development of the repertoire belonged. As Mustafà after fifty years of membership and under the influence of increasing criticism in 1898 decided to retreat to retire, he recommended as his successor Lorenzo Perosi, which was initially appointed on 15 December 1898 as his co- director. Perosi, a priest and an important composer from which Mustafa had promised to continue its own efforts, but the Cecilianism was close. He proved himself not only in musical questions as opponent Mustafà, but also continued on moral and humanitarian grounds against the further appointment of a Kastratensängern.
The increasing influence perosis and the constant friction between the two conductors of the Sistine Chapel also restrict Moreschi effect options in the Sistine Chapel. From its ongoing appreciation outside the Vatican but his appearance on August 9, 1900 testimony in not precisely known, probably solo function for the funeral of King Umberto I, he already worked for his family at the annual commemorative exhibitions for Umberto's father Victor Emmanuel II had, and his widow also in that a relationship could have existed, as this was also obtained from Capocci musical instruction.
After Mustafà still 1895 in an audience with Pope Leo XIII. had negotiated an extension of the statute, was provided by the 240 lire for the education of two castrated boys, Perosi could, in turn, on February 3, 1902 in an audience with the Pope to ban the further appointment of Kastratensängern to the Sistine Chapel to obtain. Mustafa, who felt his own castration as severe suffering, it went on this issue to preserve a musical tradition of the Sistine Chapel, which he assured only by Kastratensänger, by including not castrated boys from other choirs of Rome, however, looked vulnerable. When he offered his resignation in protest against this decision, it was adopted and transformed his title in the one direttore perpetual motion " honorary ". After the death of Leo XIII. on July 20, 1903 joined with Pius X, a long-time friend and supporter perosis the succession to. The new pope reaffirmed on November 22, 1903 in his Motu Proprio Tra le sollecitudini under a general, applied to the suppression of secular and "modern" influences within the meaning of Cecilianism reorganization of Catholic church music once the ban on the admission of women to church singing and wrote that, when needed for high vocal registers boy ( fanciulli ) are to be used. Introduced by his predecessor for the Sistine practice was thereby church- wide committed, even if no explicit general prohibition was pronounced and was thus decided yet also on the re- employment already appointee castrati.
It is possible that Moreschi was still involved in the celebrations for the election of the new Pope, and also at the High Mass in St. Peter's to celebrate the 13th Centenars Gregory the Great, he is still April 11, 1904 with two other castrati, among a total of 1,200 singers have participated. At the sound recordings were also made in April at the request of the Pope by William Sinkler Darby of the Gramophone Company of some of the pieces listed there later, his solo participation is guaranteed. Similar sound recordings were made in 1902 between the 3 and 5 April, at which selected with the assistance and even tap Moreschi Kastratensänger along with other singers of the Sistine Chapel seven pieces of the no longer desired style, among others, Mozart, for Fred Gaisberg and Alfred Michaelis grossed by the Gramophone Company. The recordings from 1902 and 1904 are the only surviving sound recordings of Kastratensängern this more than three hundred years of tradition.
The Pontifical Yearbook ( Annuario Pontifical ) Moreschi was still listed as a member of the papal choir until he retired on 22 March 1913. In the following years he remained perennially listed as Emeritus until the year of his death. Little is known about the last years of Moreschi. He remained active until at least 1914 in the Cappella Giulia of St Peter's Basilica, where besides him than castrates his longtime colleague Domenico Salvatori ( 1855-1909, member of the Sistine Chapel since 1878 ) and Vincenzo Sebastianelli ( 1851-1919, member of the Sistine Chapel since 1880) participated. In November 1904 he took over the disclosure of the boy soprano Domenico Mancini, in the period following the style Moreschi trained habits and further developed it after his voice broke as falsettist, but was suspected of being a castrato and met with Perosi rejection. 1911 Moreschi appeared in a concert on the occasion of a musicological congress in Tivoli. Franz Haböck (1868-1921), professor at the later to become State Academy of Music in Vienna, visited and interviewed Moreschi in 1914 as part of preparations for his monumental work on the vocal art of the castrati, which was published after the death Haböcks posthumously by his wife and a represents an important source of knowledge Moreschi. Haböck had the intention to win Moreschi for a concert tour in honor of Farinelli, but noted that Moreschi, of a vocal range of two and a half octaves had in previous years, only less than two octaves dominated and showed particularly in the high altitudes uncertainties.
Around Easter 1919 fell ill Moreschi at an unknown infectious disease, of which he seems not to have recovered. After a long illness, he died on the morning of April 21, 1922 in his longtime home in the Via Plinio No. 19, April 23, the funeral took place. Perosi himself directed at his own request the funeral Mass, which was held with the participation of singers of all choirs in Rome's San Lorenzo in Damaso. Moreschi grave is located on the Cimitero del Verano. The Pontifical Yearbook 1922 was his death, otherwise, not intended by the customs.
The name Moreschi as the "last castrato " was coined by the Gramophone Company and can build that only Salvatori and Sebastianelli are of the similar long remained active Kastratensängern his generation, otherwise known, both, as well as its former director Mustafà († 1912), died before him. In his thesis about the decline of the Kastratentums Gerold W. Gruber took in 1982 the view that Kastratenstimmen were also to identify in later years under the Vatican singers by analysis of sound recordings and be as the last castrato probably Moreschi last student, Domenico Mancini to look at,, which came in 1959 to retire, but had his hand continued to state only to be falsettist.