Notes and Editorial Reviews
Alessandro Moreschi (1858 – 1922) is the only castrato known to have been recorded as the practice of castration of boy sopranos to create a powerfully distinctive soprano voice had greatly diminished by the mid-19th century. Moreschi was 44 when he first recorded these selections with a pianist in the Vatican in 1902. His non-operatic style of singing adapts features unusual to modern ears as his abilities were specialized to the performance practices shaped by the acoustics in the Sistine Chapel. This disc offers a rare glimpse not only of the silvery sound of an actual castrati but also how such voices sang the sacred repertoire. The disc also contains Pope Leo XIII chanting an "Ave Maria."
Alessandro Moreschi (1858 – 1922) is the only castrato known to have been recorded as the practice of castration of boy sopranos to create a powerfully distinctive soprano voice had greatly diminished by the mid-19th century. Moreschi was 44 when he first recorded these selections with a pianist in the Vatican in 1902. His non-operatic style of singing adapts features unusual to modern ears as his abilities were specialized to the performance practices shaped by the acoustics in the Sistine Chapel. This disc offers a rare glimpse not only of the silvery sound of an actual castrati but also how such voices sang the sacred repertoire. The disc also contains Pope Leo XIII chanting an "Ave Maria." Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Et incarnatus est by Pratesi,
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Language: Latin
2.
Romanze (2): no 1, Ideale by Francesco Paolo Tosti
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Period: Romantic
Written: by 1882
3.
Preghiera by Francesco Paolo Tosti
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Period: Romantic
Written: Italy
4.
Ave verum by Salvatore Meluzzi
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Language: Latin
5.
Tui sunt coeli by J. Gustav Eduard Stehle
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Period: Romantic
Language: Latin
6.
Ave verum corpus in D major, K 618 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Period: Classical
Written: 1791; Austria
Language: Latin
7.
Pie Jesu by Leibach,
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Language: Latin
8.
Hostias et preces by Terziani,
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Language: Latin
9.
Ave Maria by Charles Gounod
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1859; France
Language: Latin
Notes: This work is based on J.S. Bach's Prelude no 1 in C from 'The Well-Tempered Clavier.'
10.
Laudamus te by Gaetano Capocci
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Period: Romantic
Language: Latin
11.
La cruda mia nemica by Giovanni Palestrina
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1586; Italy
Language: Latin
12.
Oremus pro pontifice by E. Calzanera
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Written: Romania
Language: Latin
13.
Incipit lamentatio by Anonymous
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Period: Medieval
Language: Latin
14.
Domine salvum fac by Giovanni Aldega
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Language: Latin
15.
Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae: Tenebrae Responsories - Popule meus by Tomás Luis de Victoria
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1585; Spain
16.
Petite Messe solennelle: Crucifixus by Gioachino Rossini
Performer:
Alessandro Moreschi (Castrato)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1863; Italy
Notes: Two recordings of this work are on this album.
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