Sistine Chapel Choir

The Pontifical choir of the Sistine Chapel ( officially: Cappella Musicale Pontificia Sistina ) is the choir of the musical composition is done at papal liturgies, usually in St. Peter's Basilica, but often also in the building of the same name. Liturgical celebrations, which does not project the Pope, on the other hand are designed by the choir of St. Peter's Basilica, the Cappella Giulia musical.

History

The choir was founded as Schola Cantorum of Pope Gregory I ( 590-604 ). Since then to the present popes have updated the statutes several times. He is an institution of the Roman Curia.

Listing in Pierers Universallexikon

In Pierers Universallexikon from 1892 under the heading "Sistine Chapel ":

"Sistine Chapel (Italian: Cappella Sistina ), private chapel of the Pope in the Vatican, in 1473 Pope Sixtus IV built by the Florentine Giovanni de ' Dolci, rectangular, 48 m long 15 m wide and 18 m high, with frescoes v. Michelangelo ( creation, fall, flood, prophets, sibyls. judgment Day ) and twelve murals v. Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Cosimo Rosselli, Luca Singnorelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio.

- S. K. is also called the Papal. Choir, the here, and indeed tends to only sing in the a cappella style. All singers, which a conductor or the primicerius projects (since 1586 from the singer College selectable), priests and papal. Chaplains (approx. 30). The S. K. was the Gr v. Pope Gregory. ( 590-604 ) founded; the current statutes are from Pope Paul III. ( 1545 ); their constitution they received under Sixtus V ( 1585-90 ). Bes. is praised her noble, excellent by mezza voce elaborate vocal performance. "

Members

The choir masters were well-known composers such as Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Also to the singers were well-known musicians such as Gregorio Allegri, Cristóbal de Morales or Jacob Arcadelt. The line of the chorus is since October 2010, when Monsignor Massimo Palombella.

Castrati as a chorister

Many boys were castrated before the onset of puberty, with the aim of giving them as so-called Kastrati a career as a successful opera or church choir singers, especially in Italy from the early to late antiquity and later, especially in the Baroque. Many castrati were employed as papal singers. This fact meant that until the mid- 19th century, boys were castrated because these victims of the ban unconstitutional continued practice various popes nonetheless offered a livelihood as a singer for upper voices in the Sistine choir. It was not until Pope Pius X wrote on November 22, 1903 in his Motu Proprio Tra le sollecitudini ( on the church music) right to use only un-neutered boy the cast of soprano and alto voices, and thus virtually forbade the employment of castrati in church choirs. Only this strict ban deprived the castration practice to promote a singing career, the only remaining basis. 1922 died Alessandro Moreschi, the last castrato of the papal chapel and the only one is obtained from the sound files.