SIXTINI CANTORES
PERFORMER
The 1920's saw the appearance of the famous Quartetto Vocale Romano. It was founded by Luigi Gentili and Alessandro Gabrielli and made up of four of the greatest singers from the ranks of the Sistine Choir or more correctly the Cappella Musicale Pontificia Sistina. The Quartetto Vocale Romano gave continuity to the traditions of the Sistine Choir both in terms of musical interpretation using the style of the Scuola Romana (as can be heard in some discs recorded in the USA in 1919),and also in uniting as small groups, often quartet or quintet, so as to have more logistical flexibility and to appear in those places where the Choir as a great whole could not ,for instance in the singing of madrigals, songs and sacred songs of a more solo than coral character.
This tradition of small group activity came from the previous century with the work of Domenico Mustafà and Alessandro Moreschi, and continued into the early part of the twentieth century.
Recordings of such groups appeared trough the SEMS (Società Editrice di Musica Sacra) which feature the vocal techniques of the Scuola Romana and the QVR. Tha Quartet frequently appeared in concerts and often toured in the United States, Spain and France. It was summoned to appear in important occasions and was highly sought after for religious functions throughout Italy obtaining a fame and respect well documented in the press of that era.
The initiative of the SIXTINI CANTORES seeks to follow this tradition and practice. What makes our sound distinctive is not just the interpretative tradition we use but the presence of the falsetto, especially for the Cantus and often for the Altus as we done in the Cappella until 1959.
We need to note clearly, however, that while each singer has his own sound there us an Italian falsetto tradition oh the 19th and 20th centuries which differs greatly from other traditions as we seek in the falsetto a “true" voice rather than the easier “false" voice. This custom evolved as the sopranos sang alongside the castrati, and so the sound model led them to greater strength and expression in the voice imitating the marvelous and natural tones of the castrati.
Our new initiative seeks to honour our predecessors in the tradition and reproduce these ancient sounds, with a choice of music that had long been in the repertoire of the Pontifical Cappella, and also to unite ourselves to the interpretative tradition of polyphonic music used by the Scuola Romana, after the period of Flemish composers, which requires a different performance style, while retaining some similarities.
Cezary A Stoch
SIXTINI CANTORES
PERFORMER
The 1920's saw the appearance of the famous Quartetto Vocale Romano. It was founded by Luigi Gentili and Alessandro Gabrielli and made up of four of the greatest singers from the ranks of the Sistine Choir or more correctly the Cappella Musicale Pontificia Sistina. The Quartetto Vocale Romano gave continuity to the traditions of the Sistine Choir both in terms of musical interpretation using the style of the Scuola Romana (as can be heard in some discs recorded in the USA in 1919),and also in uniting as small groups, often quartet or quintet, so as to have more logistical flexibility and to appear in those places where the Choir as a great whole could not ,for instance in the singing of madrigals, songs and sacred songs of a more solo than coral character.
This tradition of small group activity came from the previous century with the work of Domenico Mustafà and Alessandro Moreschi, and continued into the early part of the twentieth century.
Recordings of such groups appeared trough the SEMS (Società Editrice di Musica Sacra) which feature the vocal techniques of the Scuola Romana and the QVR. Tha Quartet frequently appeared in concerts and often toured in the United States, Spain and France. It was summoned to appear in important occasions and was highly sought after for religious functions throughout Italy obtaining a fame and respect well documented in the press of that era.
The initiative of the SIXTINI CANTORES seeks to follow this tradition and practice. What makes our sound distinctive is not just the interpretative tradition we use but the presence of the falsetto, especially for the Cantus and often for the Altus as we done in the Cappella until 1959.
We need to note clearly, however, that while each singer has his own sound there us an Italian falsetto tradition oh the 19th and 20th centuries which differs greatly from other traditions as we seek in the falsetto a “true" voice rather than the easier “false" voice. This custom evolved as the sopranos sang alongside the castrati, and so the sound model led them to greater strength and expression in the voice imitating the marvelous and natural tones of the castrati.
Our new initiative seeks to honour our predecessors in the tradition and reproduce these ancient sounds, with a choice of music that had long been in the repertoire of the Pontifical Cappella, and also to unite ourselves to the interpretative tradition of polyphonic music used by the Scuola Romana, after the period of Flemish composers, which requires a different performance style, while retaining some similarities.
Cezary A Stoch