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Don Perosi with his Sistine Choir (c. 1905).
Don Perosi with his Sistine Choir (c. Monsignor Lorenzo Perosi ( 21 December 1872 - 12 October 1956) was an Italian Composer of Sacred music and the only The Sistine Chapel Choir is a Choir based in Vatican City and is one of the oldest religious choirs in the World. 1905). Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting

Monsignor Lorenzo Perosi (21 December 1872 - 12 October 1956) was an Italian composer of sacred music and the only member of the Giovane Scuola who did not write opera. Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian Year 1872 ( MDCCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Religious music (also sacred music) is Music performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence Giovane Scuola ("Young School" was a group of Italian composers (mostly operatic which included Puccini, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Giordano [1] Although less prominent today, he enjoyed international success and a great deal of fame, particularly but not only in Italy, in the late 1890s and early 1900s, chiefly because of his innovative oratorios. [2] Nobel prize-winner Romain Rolland praised him extensively in print, and he worked for five Popes, including Pope St. Pius X who greatly fostered his rise. The Nobel Prize (Nobelpriset (Nobelprisen is a Swedish prize established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Peace, Literature Romain Rolland ( 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French Dramatist, Essayist, Art historian History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and Saint Pius X ( Latin: Pius PP X) ( June 2, 1835 &mdash August 20, 1914) born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the

Contents

Biography

Early Years and Education

Perosi with St. Orione. They were boyhood friends, born 6 weeks and 9 kilometers apart.
Perosi with St. Orione. Saint Luigi Orione ( June 23, 1872 – March 12, 1940) is an Italian saint They were boyhood friends, born 6 weeks and 9 kilometers apart.

Lorenzo Perosi was born at Tortona, Piedmont, in Italy. For the medieval Scholar, see Marziano da Tortona Tortona is a Comune of Piemonte, in the Province of Piedmont ( Piemonte; Piedmontese and Occitan: Piemont; French: Piémont) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Many sources[3] give December 20 as Perosi's birthdate but recent scholarship suggests December 21 to be correct. Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor. Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian [4] Perosi was one of twelve[5] children, one of six to survive infancy. Perosi hailed from an extremely musical and religious family. For nearly 200 years before him, all of Lorenzo’s ancestors were church musicians. His father was Giuseppe Perosi (1849-1908), Maestro di Cappella (Choir Director) of Tortona Cathedral and one of Italy’s most prominent church musicians. Year 1849 ( MDCCCXLIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year For the medieval Scholar, see Marziano da Tortona Tortona is a Comune of Piemonte, in the Province of Giuseppe was the first teacher of Lorenzo as well as his other two sons, Carlo (who became a priest and then a cardinal) and Marziano (who was Maestro di Cappella at the Duomo of Milan from 1930 to 1949). Carlo Cardinal Perosi ( December 18, 1868 &mdash February 22, 1930) was an Italian Prelate of the Roman Catholic Marziano Perosi ( Tortona October 20, 1875 – Rome February 21, 1959) brother of Don Lorenzo Perosi and of Milan Cathedral (Italian Duomo di Milano; Milanese: Domm de Milan) is the Cathedral Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In Milan Lorenzo studied with respected professor Michele Saladino of the Milan Conservatory. Even when he was not enrolled at the Conservatory, Perosi kept up a correspondence course with Saladino.

In 1890, 18 years old and still a student, Perosi obtained his first professional post: organist and “teacher of the piano novices” at the Abbey of Montecassino. Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common For information about the World War II battle see the Battle of Monte Cassino. He received his diploma from the Milan Conservatory in 1892, following which he spent an influential year of study with Franz Xaver Haberl in Regensburg, at the Kirchenmusikschule that Haberl had founded in 1874. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Franz Xaver Haberl (Oberellenbach (today Mallersdorf-Pfaffenberg) Lower Bavaria, 12 April 1840 &ndash Ratisbon, 5 September Regensburg ( also Ratisbon, Ratisbona Řezno originally Castra Regina) is a City (population 131000 in 2007 in Bavaria, Germany Year 1874 ( MDCCCLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A noted musician and musicologist, Haberl was the pioneering editor of the complete works of Palestrina and Lassus. Palestrina (ancient Praeneste) is an ancient city and Comune (municipality with a population of about 18000 in Lazio, c Orlande de Lassus (also Orlandus Lassus, Orlando di Lasso, Roland de Lassus, or Roland Delattre) (1532 (possibly 1530 &ndash June Perosi’s development was such that Haberl offered him a cattedra (“chair,” or permanent teaching position) in the Kirchenmusikschule. The homesick Perosi politely declined, in favour of a post as teacher and director of sacred music at Imola. Imola ( Iômla in the local dialect is a town Comune in the Province of Bologna, located on the Santerno river in the Emilia-Romagna As Perosi himself explained, he “desired and prayed at length to the Lord to be able to do something for the music of God in Italy. ”[6] Perosi served in Imola from November 1892, to August 1894. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Other names In Arabic, the month is called أغسطسص ʾUġusṭuṣ or آب ʾĀb; usage varies from place to place and Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

In 1894 Perosi went to Solesmes Abbey to study with the Gregorianists Dom André Mocquereau and Dom Joseph Pothier. Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Solesmes Abbey or St Peter's Abbey Solesmes ( Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes) is a Benedictine Monastery in Solesmes ( Dom Joseph Pothier, OSB (Bouzemont France, 1835 - Priory of Conques Belgium, 1923 was worldwide known French prelate a liturgist and scholar who reconstituted The Renaissance polyphony he learned from Haberl, and the Gregorian chant he studied in Solesmes were the two pillars upon which the entire ɶuvre of Perosi rested. History Gregorian chant was organized codified and notated mainly in the Frankish lands of western and central Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries with later additions

Years in Venice

From Imola, Perosi obtained a more important post, that of Maestro of the Cappella Marciana at San Marco's Basilica in Venice. Saint Mark's Basilica ( Italian: Basilica di San Marco a Venezia) the Cathedral of Venice, is the most famous of Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the This Venetian appointment resulted from the deep friendship between Perosi and Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto, then Patriarca di Venezia (Patriarch of Venice) but soon to be Pope Pius X (and still later Pope Saint Pius X). Saint Pius X ( Latin: Pius PP X) ( June 2, 1835 &mdash August 20, 1914) born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the Saint Pius X ( Latin: Pius PP X) ( June 2, 1835 &mdash August 20, 1914) born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the Sarto was a profound music-lover who was disturbed by the roughly hundred years (c. 1800-1900) that Gregorian Chant was absent from the Church. A more operatic, entertaining style of music prevailed. Thus, Perosi found in Sarto not only a friend and kindred spirit, but also a staunch sponsor.

Perosi’s Venetian appointment (1894) unleashed a torrent of music that lasted at least until 1907. Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year He continued to compose prolifically until his death, but this 13-year period produced some of his most substantial work.

In 1895, Perosi became a priest, having been ordained by his good friend Cardinal Patriarch Sarto (the later Saint Pius X) himself. Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Saint Pius X ( Latin: Pius PP X) ( June 2, 1835 &mdash August 20, 1914) born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the It should also be mentioned that St. Luigi Orione was, like Perosi, born in Tortona in 1872. Saint Luigi Orione ( June 23, 1872 – March 12, 1940) is an Italian saint Year 1872 ( MDCCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The three men — Orione, Perosi, and Sarto — were all dear friends and mutual inspirers.

Don Perosi was inspired by the later Pope Pius X also to infuse priestly sanctity into the music, and Perosi daily offered Mass and spent many hours in prayer. The Tridentine Mass (Missa Tridentina is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published

Vatican Appointment

Perosi and Toscanini, in Milan for the world-première of Mosè (1901).
Perosi and Toscanini, in Milan for the world-première of Mosè (1901). WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Arturo Toscanini (ɑrˈturɔ ˌtɔskɑˈnini (March 25 1867 &ndash January Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting

In 1898, Cardinal Sarto used his influence with Pope Leo XIII to get Perosi the prestigious post of Maestro Perpetuo della Cappella Sistina, or Perpetual Director of the Sistine Choir, in Rome. Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Pope Leo XIII ( March 2, 1810 – July 20, 1903) born Count Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, was the 256th Pope The Sistine Chapel Choir is a Choir based in Vatican City and is one of the oldest religious choirs in the World. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Five years later, Sarto was ordained Pope Pius X. Just months after his coronation, he released a Motu Proprio on sacred music (of which Perosi was a co-writer). A motu proprio ( Latin "on his own impulse" is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him The 1903 Motu Proprio was a papal declaration that Gregorian Chant must be immediately reinstated in all Catholic churches around the world. Year 1903 ( MCMIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting The century of “operatic” church music was officially over. (Incidentally, so was the era of castrati. A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, or Contralto voice produced either by Castration Pius was against the practice of human castration and decreed that only “whole men” would be allowed to be priests or singers in the Church. )

Giordano, Perosi, Mascagni (1930).
Giordano, Perosi, Mascagni (1930). Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano ( August 28, 1867 &ndash November 12, 1948) was an Italian composer mainly of Opera. Monsignor Lorenzo Perosi ( 21 December 1872 - 12 October 1956) was an Italian Composer of Sacred music and the only WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Pietro Mascagni ( December 7, 1863 &ndash August 2,

Perosi remained Maestro Perpetuo till his death over 50 years later, in spite of interruptions in his directorship. After 1907, Perosi began to suffer more intensely from psychological and neurological problems, caused by his problematic (probably breach) birth. Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year [7] These afflictions reached their apex in 1922; many declared him “incurable. Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ” The composer did spend many months in comparative seclusion; some sources suggest he was briefly institutionalized[8], although recent scholarship suggests that this was not the case, and that he did not change residence in 1922. Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. [9] In fact, the very next year, 1923, Perosi was already back in action, composing up a storm, and in the last decade of his life, he maintained a busy conducting schedule. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [10]

Compositions

According to biographer Graziella Merlatti, Perosi was the most prolific composer of sacred music of the 20th century. [11] According to musicologist Arturo Sacchetti's estimate, Perosi composed 3,000-4,000 works. Arturo Sacchetti ( Santhià, near Vercelli, January 9, 1941) Italian Organist, conductor and Musicologist [12] All of the sources mentioned in the bibliography agree that Perosi was the most influential composer of the Cecilian Movement. The Cecilian Movement of Church reform was centered in Italy but received great impetus from Regensburg, Germany, where Franz Xaver Haberl

Despite the relative obscurity of his name today, Perosi was a prominent member of the Giovane Scuola, of which the most important Verismo composers or Veristi (Puccini, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Giordano, and Cilea) were all considered members. Giovane Scuola ("Young School" was a group of Italian composers (mostly operatic which included Puccini, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Giordano Verismo (meaning "realism" from Italian vero, meaning "truth" was an Italian literary movement born approximately between 1875 and 1895 Verismo (meaning "realism" from Italian vero, meaning "truth" was an Italian literary movement born approximately between 1875 and 1895 WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini ( December 22, 1858 WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Pietro Mascagni ( December 7, 1863 &ndash August 2, Ruggero (Ruggiero Leoncavallo (23 April 1857- 9 August 1919 was an Italian Opera Composer. Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano ( August 28, 1867 &ndash November 12, 1948) was an Italian composer mainly of Opera. Francesco Cilea (also Cilèa ( July 23, 1866 &ndash November 20, 1950) was an Italian Composer. An entire chapter is dedicated to Perosi in Romain Rolland’s Musiciens d’Aujourd’hui (1899). Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Perosi was deeply admired not only by Rolland and by the above-named Veristi, but also by Boito, Toscanini, and many others. Arrigo Boito ( February 24, 1842 &ndash June 10, 1918) aka Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito Pseudonym Tobia Gorrio was an Italian WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Arturo Toscanini (ɑrˈturɔ ˌtɔskɑˈnini (March 25 1867 &ndash January Caruso sang his music, as did Sammarco, Tagliabue, Gigli, and other great singers from that era, and also quite a few in modern times, such as Fiorenza Cossotto, Mirella Freni, Renato Capecchi, and fellow Tortonese Giuseppe Campora. Enrico Caruso (born Errico Caruso; February 25 1873 &ndash August 2 1921) was an Italian Opera singer Giuseppe Mario Sammarco ( December 13, 1868, although some sources say 1867 - January 24, 1930) was an Italian operatic Carlo Tagliabue ( Mariano Comense, January 13, 1898 – Monza, April 5, 1978) was an Italian Baritone Beniamino Gigli ( March 20, 1890 - November 30, 1957) was an Italian Singer, widely regarded as one of the very greatest Fiorenza Cossotto is an Italian Mezzo soprano. She is considered by many to be one of the great mezzo-sopranos of the 20th century Mirella Freni (born 27 February 1935 as Mirella Fregni is an Italian Opera Soprano much admired for the youthful Renato Capecchi (born Cairo, November 6 1923; died Milan, June 30 1998) was an Italian Baritone, Giuseppe Campora ( 30 September, 1923 - 5 December, 2004) was an Italian Operatic Tenor. His French admirers included Debussy, Massenet, Guilmant, and d’Indy, all of whom were impressed by the 1899 French Première of La Risurrezione di Cristo. Achille-Claude Debussy (aʃil klod dəbysi (August 22 1862 &ndash March 25 1918 was a French Composer. Jules (Émile Frédéric Massenet ( May 12, 1842 – August 13, 1912) was a French composer best known for his Operas Félix-Alexandre Guilmant ( 12 March 1837 - 29 March 1911) was a French Organist and Composer. Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (March 27 1851 &ndash December 2 1931 was a French Composer and teacher Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common [13] Unlike the other members of the Giovane Scuola, Perosi was significantly influenced by pre-Classical repertoire. Romain Rolland reports that Perosi said: "Great artists formerly were more eclectic than ourselves, and less fettered by their nationalities. . . . We must do as they did. We must try to recreate an art in which the arts of all countries and all times are blended. " [14]

In his day, Perosi was best known for his oratorios, large-scale works for chorus, soloists, and orchestra based on Latin texts. While the works can seem slow-paced today, at the time they were quite novel not only for their fusion of Renaissance polyphony, Gregorian chant, and lush, Verismo melodies and orchestrations, but also for Perosi’s deep-seated faith in the words that he had set. The oratorio as a genre had been in decline in the preceding centuries, and Perosi's contributions to the canon brought him brief but significant international acclaim. An oratorio is a large Musical composition including an Orchestra, a Choir, and soloists The oratorio was somewhat modeled after the Opera [15]

In addition to the oratorios and masses for which he is best known, Perosi also wrote secular music — symphonic poems, chamber music, concertos, etc. In his youth, he also wrote pieces for organ. According to Perosi scholar Arturo Sacchetti, Perosi wrote a total of three or four thousand compositions. Arturo Sacchetti ( Santhià, near Vercelli, January 9, 1941) Italian Organist, conductor and Musicologist [16] A great many still await publication; some have not yet been located.

Giacomo Puccini is quoted as saying that "There's more music in Perosi's head than in mine and Mascagni's put together. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini ( December 22, 1858 WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Pietro Mascagni ( December 7, 1863 &ndash August 2, " [17]

List of major works

Oratorios

Masses and mottetti

Perosi's Successor

References

  1. ^ See L. Ciampa, Don Lorenzo Perosi (2006), p. "Ciampa" redirects here For the Geometer moth Genus, see Ciampa (moth. xxxii. Perosi's sacred oratorios garnered such immense popularity that the Italian media, from the late 1890s into the 20th century, used a catch-phrase Il Momento Perosiano, or "Perosi's Moment". Nobel Prize winner Romain Rolland wrote: "It’s not easy to give you an exact idea of how popular Lorenzo Perosi is in his native country. The Nobel Prize (Nobelpriset (Nobelprisen is a Swedish prize established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Peace, Literature Romain Rolland ( 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French Dramatist, Essayist, Art historian " (Le Journal des Débats (21 November 1899)). Perosi's fame was not restricted to Italy. A 19 March 1899 New York Times article entitled “The Genius of Don Perosi” began: "The great and ever-increasing success which has greeted the four new oratorios of Don Lorenzo Perosi has placed this young priest-composer on a pedestal of fame which can only be compared with that which has been accorded of late years to the idolized Pietro Mascagni by his fellow-countrymen. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Pietro Mascagni ( December 7, 1863 &ndash August 2, "
  2. ^ Waterhouse, John C. G. "Lorenzo Perosi. " Grove music online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 20 December 2006). www. grovemusic. com.
  3. ^ Waterhouse, John C. G. "Lorenzo Perosi. " Grove music online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 20 December 2006). www. grovemusic. com.
  4. ^ In Mario Rinaldi's Lorenzo Perosi the correct date is given as December 21 (page 17 explains why that is correct). Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian
  5. ^ Graziella Merlatti, Lorenzo Perosi, una vita tra genio e follia (Milan, 2006), p. 14
  6. ^ Letter from Perosi to Mons. Domenico Baruzzi, secretary to Bishop Tesorieri of Imola (13 September 1893). Riproduced in Onofri, pp. 39-40.
  7. ^ Rinaldi, Lorenzo Perosi, p. 20.
  8. ^ Waterhouse, John C. G. "Lorenzo Perosi. " Grove music online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 20 December 2006). www. grovemusic. com.
  9. ^ A lengthy discussion of Perosi's psychological health can be found in Ciampa, Don Lorenzo Perosi
  10. ^ Rinaldi, Lorenzo Perosi, pp. 374 ff.
  11. ^ Merlatti, Graziella (2006). Lorenzo Perosi, una vita tra genio e follia, Chapter 1.
  12. ^ Merlatti, Graziella (2006). Lorenzo Perosi, una vita tra genio e follia, Preface.
  13. ^ See Bassi. A chapter is devoted to quotations by the above-listed French composers pertinent to this premiere.
  14. ^ Rolland, Romain [1908] (1969). Musicians of Today, trans. Mary Blaiklock, Books For Libraries Press, 204-205. ISBN 0836911881.  
  15. ^ Waterhouse, John C. G. "Lorenzo Perosi. " Grove music online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 20 December 2006). www. grovemusic. com.
  16. ^ Quoted in Ciampa and Merlatti.
  17. ^ Bassi, Adriano, Don Lorenzo Perosi: L'uomo, il compositore e il religioso (Fasano di Brindisi, 1994), p. 226
  18. ^ Magister, Sandro, "I Had a Dream: The Music of Palestrina and Gregory the Great Had Come Back"

Biographies

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