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The Sistine Chapel Choir, as it is generally called in English, or officially the Coro della Cappella Musicale Pontificia Sistina in Italian, is the Pope's personal choir. It performs at papal functions in the Sistine Chapel and in any other church in Rome.where the Pope is officiating, including St. Peter's Basilica. One of the oldest choirs in the world, it was constituted as the Pope's personal choir by Pope Sixtus IV (from whom both the choir and the chapel in which it performs take their names), but its roots go back to the 6th century.

The choir's composition and numbers have fluctuated over the centuries. However, the modern choir comprises twenty men (tenors and basses) and thirty boys (sopranos and altos). The men's choir (Cantori) is composed of professional singers. The members of the boys choir (Pueri Cantores) are not paid when performing at papal functions, but receive a free education at their own school in Rome, known as the Schola Puerorum. Since the late 20th century, in addition to its papal duties, the choir has undertaken international tours, participated in radio and television broadcasts, and recorded for Deutsche Grammophon.

History[edit]

Precursors[edit]

Papal patronage of music, and especially singing dates to the 4th century when, according to 9th-century written accounts, Pope Sylvester I constituted company of singers, under the name of schola cantorum. The schola was reorganized by Pope Gregory I during his reign (590–304). The purpose of the Gregorian schola was to teach both singing techniques and the exisitng Plainsong repertory, which at the time was passed down by oral tradition. Under Pope Gregory the course of study was said to be nine years. When Innocent IV fled to Lyon in the 13th century, he provided for the schola's continuance in Rome by turning over to it properties. When Pope Clement V moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon in 1309, he formed his own choir in Avignon. Gregory XI brought the papal court back to Rome in 1377 bringing with him his choir which consisted largely of French singers and amalgamated it with what was left of the old schola cantorum.[1][2]

Establishment and early history[edit]

Pope Sixtus IV, who reigned from 1471 to 1484, established the Cappella Musicale Pontificia as his permanent personal choir. It sang in the chapel of the Apostolic Palace which Sixtus had renovated to become his private chapel, originally called the Cappella Magna and later known as the Sistine Chapel. The choir was and remains all-male and sang without musical accompaniment (a cappella). It initially consisted of between 16 and 24 singers with the men singing the bass, tenor, and alto parts and pre-adolescent boys singing the soprano parts, although from the mid-16th century, adult castrato singers began to replace the boy singers. The choir was to become the most important center of Roman music. Josquin des Prez, one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, served as its composer and directed the choir from 1486 to 1484.[3]

19th century[edit]

The Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century almost led to the disintegration of the choir. The armies of the Papal states were defeated by the French forces who occupied Rome and placed the Pope under house arrest. Travel to Italy, especially for those from the countries at war with Napoleon, became difficult. Foreign visitors who had flocked to Rome to hear the choir in the 18th century drastically declined. Following Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo and the renewed interest in Italian history and culture fueled by the writers of the Romantic Era, foreign travelers returned to Rome, and hearing a performance by the choir, especially during Holy Week, was considered on important stop on their tour.[4]

20th century[edit]

Domenico Mustafà's leadership of the choir and the careers of its castrati singers came to a close beginning in 1898 when Lorenzo Perosi was appointed joint perpetual director of the choir. At the time Perosi was only 26, but already had a considerable reputation as a composer of sacred music. Mustafà had thought that Perosi would carry on the musical traditions of the choir that had guided him. However, Perosi was an adherent of the Cecilian Movement which eschewed the operatic and theatrical style of church music which had been ascendant on the 18th and 19th centuries. He was also strongly against using castrati in the choir and wished to replace them boy singers. Mustafà retired as perpetual director of the choir in January 1903 after 55 years of service leaving Perosi the sole director. A few days earlier it had been revealed that with the approval of Pope Leo XIII the Curia had decreed that henceforth castrati would no longer be accepted into the choir.[5][6]

The ascendance to the papacy of Perosi's mentor and fellow Cecilianist, Pius X in August 1903 further cemented his position. Under his direction the last remaining castrati were phased out, and a stable 30-voice boys choir was added. The choir's music focused once again on Gregorian chant and the polyphonic music of the Renaissance period, especially that of Palestrina. Perosi served as the choir's director until his death in 1956, although his tenure was periodically interrupted by bouts of mental illness.[5][6][7]

Perosi was succeeded by Domenico Bartolucci who had served as his deputy since 1952. Bartolucci reorganised the choir's musical arrangements, adding some of his own works to the repertoire, including his Missa de Angelis, and further increased the emphasis on Palestrina's music, on which he was authority. He also strengthened the adult choir, created a dedicated rehearsal space for them, and established a school for the choir's boy singers.[8] The choir school, known as the Schola Puerorum, was established in 1963 and is located in a large palazzo on Via del Monte della Farina which also serves as the administrative and rehearsal base of the Sistine Choir. In addition to training in singing and music, it provides the standard Italian education curriculum for children from the ages of 9 to 13. The boys are not paid for singing at papal functions, but receive their education at the school free of charge.[9]

Bartolucci was deeply opposed to the changes in liturgy and church music brought about by Vatican II (1962-65) which resulted in the introduction of folk and popular music to the liturgy, a trend continued under Pope John Paul II.[10] In a 2006 interview with L'Espresso, Bartolucci discussed what he considered the deleterious effect that Vatican II and subsequent developments had had on church music:

The fault lies above all with the pseudo-intellectuals who have engineered this denigration of the liturgy, and thus of music, overthrowing and despising the heritage of the past with the idea of obtaining who knows what advantage for the people.[10]

In 1997, the Curia controversially removed Bartolucci as director of the choir and replaced him with Giuseppe Liberto.[8]

21st century[edit]

In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI, who had been Bartolucci's sole supporter when the Curia voted to dismiss him,[10] appointed Massimo Palombella to replace Liberto as the choir's musical director.[9]

Under Bartolucci, the choir had begun participating in radio and television broadcasts as well as regular international tours, including a 17-city tour of the United States in 1986.[11] It was a trend that continued under Palombella. The choir made its first tour of Asia in 2014 and released three studio albums on the Deutsche Grammophon label between 2015 and 2017.[12][13] June 2012 marked the first time in its history that the Sistine Choir performed jointly in a papal function with another choir from outside the Vatican. The occasion was a Papal Mass celebrated in St Peter's Basilica by Pope Benedict sung by the Sistine Choir and the Westminster Abbey Choir. The two choirs also sang together at Westminster Abbey in May 2015 and again in 2018.[14] Cecilia Bartoli become the first woman to perform inside the Sistine Chapel in November 2017 when she sang with Sistine Choir in Pérotin's Beata Viscera.[13] In September of that year, the choir made its first visit to the United States in 30 years, performing at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., and the Detroit Opera House.[15]

More controversial was the choir's performance at the Met Gala in May 2018 where many of the celebrity guests dressed in costumes which were criticised as a "sacrilegious mockery of the Church."[16] In June of that year the choir's planned multi-city tour of the United States was abruptly cancelled. The choir's administrator, Michelangelo Nardella, was suspended in July when the Vatican opened an investigation into alleged money laundering, fraud and embezzlement involving both Nardella and Palombella and related to the choir's foreign tours.[17][18] In a motu proprio issued by Pope Francis on 19 January 2019, the Sistine Chapel Choir was placed under the administration of the Office of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations with Mons. Guido Marini, the master of ceremonies for papal liturgies, tasked with drafting new statutes for the choir. Palombara retained his post as the choir's musical director. Nardella was replaced by Archbishop Guido Pozzo as the choir's administrator.[19] In July 2019 Palombara resigned as director of the choir. Marcos Pavan, who leas the Pueri Cantores (the boys section of the Sistine Chapel Choir) was named as interim director.[20]

http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2019/07/10/0584/01206.html

Past members[edit]

Past members of the choir include:

Former boy singers[edit]

Former boy singers of the choir, all of whom became opera singers as adults include:

Recordings[edit]

  • Habemus Papam (2014) – live recordings of the music sung by the Sistine Chapel Choir before, during and after the conclave which elected Pope Francis in 2013: the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff, the entry of the Cardinal-Electors into the Sistine Chapel, Pope Francis's Mass with the Cardinal-Electors, and the Mass for his inauguration in St. Peter's Square on 19 March 2013. Label: Deutsche Grammophon

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Otten, Joseph (1913). "Sistine Choir". Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 14, pp. 29–30. Robert Appleton Company
  2. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica (1998). "Schola cantorum". Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  3. ^ Cunningham, Lawrence S.; Reich, John J.; and Fichner-Rathus, Lois (2014). Culture and Values: A Survey of the Western Humanities, , Vol. 2, pp. 418–419. Cengage ISBN 1285458192
  4. ^ Boursy, Richard (Summer 1993). "The Mystique of the Sistine Chapel Choir in the Romantic Era". The Journal of Musicology, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 277-329. Retrieved 8 November 2018 (subscription required).
  5. ^ a b Clapton, Nicholas (2004). Moreschi: The Last Castrato. pp. 111–113; 123–126. Haus. ISBN 1904341772
  6. ^ a b Marguccio, Antonio (2015). Cantate al Signore! pp. 98–99. Aletti. ISBN 8859122821 (in Italian)
  7. ^ Feldman, Martha (2016). The Castrato: Reflections on Natures and Kinds, pp. 81, 310, 329. University of California Press. ISBN 0520292448
  8. ^ a b s.n. (1 December 2013) "Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci - obituary". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  9. ^ a b Staff (18 October 2010). "New Director for Sistine Chapel Choir". Zenit. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Magister, Sandro (21 July 2006). "I Had a Dream: The Music of Palestrina and Gregory the Great Had Come Back". L'Espresso (English translation by Matthew Sherry). Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  11. ^ Reich, Howard (29 September 1986). "Sistine Chapel Choir Delivers Classic Show". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  12. ^ s.n. (22 September 2014). "Sistine Chapel Choir makes its Hong Kong debut but misses mainland". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  13. ^ a b Giuffrida, Angela (19 November 2017). "Sistine Chapel breaks 500-year gender taboo to welcome soprano into the choir". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  14. ^ Westminster Abbey (25 May 2018). "Sistine Chapel Choir joins Choir of Westminster Abbey for Evensong tonight". Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  15. ^ Brunson, Matthew (23 September 2017). "The Pope's Choir". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  16. ^ Pentin. Edward (9 May 2018). "How the Vatican Became Enmeshed in the Met Gala". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  17. ^ Sorgi, Gregorio (3 July 2018). "Vatican choir involved in financial scandal, Italian newspaper reports". The Tablet. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  18. ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta (13 September 2018). "Leaders of Sistine Chapel Choir Face Vatican Fraud Investigation". New York Times. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  19. ^ Gagliarducci, Andrea (21 January 2019). "What is happening with the Sistine Chapel Choir?". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  20. ^ Gomes, Robin (10 July 2019). "Director of papal Sistine Chapel Choir concludes his term of office". Vatican News. Retrieved 28 January 2020.




Annibaldi, Claudio (February 2011). "'The singers of the said chapel are chaplains of the pope': Some remarks on the papal chapel in early modern times". Early Music, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 15-24. Retrieved 8 November 2018 (subscription required). [1]

Sherr, Richard (November 1994). "Competence and Incompetence in the Papal Choir in the Age of Palestrina". Early Music, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 606-618, 620, 624, 626-629. Retrieved 8 November 2018 (subscription required).

Boursy, Richard (Summer 1993). "The Mystique of the Sistine Chapel Choir in the Romantic Era". The Journal of Musicology, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 277-329. Retrieved 8 November 2018 (subscription required). [2]

Giles, Peter (1994). The History and Technique of the Counter-tenor, p. 39. Scolar Press. ISBN 0859679314

Ravens, Simon (2014). The Supernatural Voice: A History of High Male Singing, p. 193. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 1843839628

Sherr, Richard (Spring 1980). "Gugliemo Gonzaga and the Castrati". Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 33-56. Retrieved 8 November 2018 (subscription required).

Sherr, Richard (1998). "A Curious Incident in the Institutional History of the Papal Choir" in Papal Music and Musicians in Late Medieval and Renaissance Rome, pp. 187–210. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0191590231

Marguccio, Antonio (2015). Cantate al Signore! pp. . Aletti. ISBN 8859122821


Reynolds, Christopher A. (1995). Papal Patronage and the Music of St. Peter's, 1380-1513, pp. 4, 49, 58–59. University of California Press. ISBN 0520082125 [3]

Carney, Jo Eldridge (2001). "Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da". Renaissance and Reformation, 1500-1620: A Biographical Dictionary, pp. 273–274. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0313305749

BBC News (8 September 2015). "First Sistine Chapel recording permitted by Pope Francis"


External links[edit]

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