SISTINE CHAPEL CHOIR: A CRITICAL REVIEW
SISTINE CHAPEL CHOIR: A CRITICAL REVIEW
by Alessandro Taverna
The appointment of Don Massimo Palombella as head of the Sistine choir took a little by surprise the "authorized personnel," who thought it could be explained as a sign of trust and respect for them on the part of the Holy Father and his secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
There were many hopes: the main one was that the new director could revive a glorious musical tradition that had gradually exhausted itself, especially over the last few decades, as well as perfect the vocal quality of the choir, which has not always been laudable.
Well then, although the Sistine Chapel choir under the direction of Palombella has the merit of having recovered the practice of Palestrinian execution (previously completely forgotten in the papal Masses), it must be recognized that the vocal level of the choir has declined and worsened further.
What is particularly noticeable is the inability of the singers to maintain an acceptable rhythm. The speed of execution often slows down in an exaggerated way, as in the case of the "Tu es Petrus" by Palestrina. Dragging on practically to the initial greeting of the Mass, it has recently been decided to end it at "ecclesiam meam" to make it shorter.
The use of silver trumpets at the beginning of the celebration (a vestige of the rite of the papal chapel in the past) is rather debatable in the form in which it has been restored today, so much so that – here as well – the prolongation of the Marcia by Domenico Silverj has brought about not a few difficulties: on a number of occasions the pontiff, having already reached his chair, has had to wait for the end of a rushed execution of the introit.
Recently, the "Tu es Petrus" by Palestrina has been abandoned in favor of the one, shorter and also truncated, by Maurice Duruflé: this has made room for a more expansive treatment of the verses of the introit.
With Gregorian chant, the problems become even more evident. There is no explanation for why the "schola cantorum" should always be left without the accompaniment of the organ, with the result that the singers – incapable of holding the key on their own – drop down the scale in blatant and dramatic fashion, a drop that is revealed every time the organ comes in to accompany the assembly of the faithful.
It must be said that the selection of the choir to lead the assembly is also an unfortunate one. Once made up only of male voices, it is now predominately female, and continually reinforces the disastrous hammering away at the already shaky tonality of the "schola."
I would invite anyone to listen again to the singing of the Litany of the Saints at the feast of the Epiphany to realize that from the start to the finish, the singers dropped a good three steps.
It is evident at this point that the current choir of the Sistine Chapel should not allow itself to go without, in Gregorian chant, the accompaniment of the organ, which is used instead to support the participation of the assembly. In this latter case, moreover, the harmonies used by the organist [Juan Paradell-Solé] have a rather decadent and almost "jazzy" flavor, with the massive use of sevenths, which jar even more with the decision made a short time before by the "schola" to sing a cappella. Personally, I find that the phrasing of the organ is not always comprehensible, in the light of the objectivity and simplicity that should characterize Gregorian monophony.
It must also be added that the scattering of numerous microphones does not make it easier to hear the harmonies executed in polyphonic singing, which become unclear, especially in the singing of the fauxbordon, both in the Ordinarium Missae and on other occasions, as in the hymns and psalms of Vespers.
For those following on television, this inconvenience makes even more evident the problems discussed a bit earlier, in part because there seems to be almost an insistence – especially in the new compositions that are presented – on dissonant harmonies that are not at all incorrect in themselves, but that it seems risky to entrust to a choir that presents the aforementioned limitations (one should listen again, for example, to the Alleluia verse of "Tu es Petrus" executed last February 19 on the occasion of the consistory).
Speaking again of the role of the organ, it seems to me that a general guideline has been put in place that has led to a substantial abdication of it in favor of other instruments, like the "fanfare" of the brass section that we have become accustomed to hearing at the entrance and exit of the pontiff. Sad to say, there is a complete lack of attention to and promotion of the comprehensive mastery of the organ, from improvisation to the classics of Italy and Europe.
Last October 5, Palombella gave an interview to "L'Osservatore Romano" in which he said among other things that, drawing on the vocal inheritance of the twentieth century, the singers would have to improve their intonation according to a "scientific" method, based in particular on the intonation of thirds and fifths.
But it must be recognized that precisely with regard to intonation, no progress at all has been seen, but rather a generalized and unstoppable decline, with a further defect that can be noticed very often, which is that one can hear the singers "yelling."
Results, then, that for now do not correspond to the resolutions formulated in that interview.
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The website of the author of the review, an internationally famous pianist:
> Alessandro Taverna
--
Alessandro Taverna
www.alessandrotaverna.com
by Alessandro Taverna
The appointment of Don Massimo Palombella as head of the Sistine choir took a little by surprise the "authorized personnel," who thought it could be explained as a sign of trust and respect for them on the part of the Holy Father and his secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
There were many hopes: the main one was that the new director could revive a glorious musical tradition that had gradually exhausted itself, especially over the last few decades, as well as perfect the vocal quality of the choir, which has not always been laudable.
Well then, although the Sistine Chapel choir under the direction of Palombella has the merit of having recovered the practice of Palestrinian execution (previously completely forgotten in the papal Masses), it must be recognized that the vocal level of the choir has declined and worsened further.
What is particularly noticeable is the inability of the singers to maintain an acceptable rhythm. The speed of execution often slows down in an exaggerated way, as in the case of the "Tu es Petrus" by Palestrina. Dragging on practically to the initial greeting of the Mass, it has recently been decided to end it at "ecclesiam meam" to make it shorter.
The use of silver trumpets at the beginning of the celebration (a vestige of the rite of the papal chapel in the past) is rather debatable in the form in which it has been restored today, so much so that – here as well – the prolongation of the Marcia by Domenico Silverj has brought about not a few difficulties: on a number of occasions the pontiff, having already reached his chair, has had to wait for the end of a rushed execution of the introit.
Recently, the "Tu es Petrus" by Palestrina has been abandoned in favor of the one, shorter and also truncated, by Maurice Duruflé: this has made room for a more expansive treatment of the verses of the introit.
With Gregorian chant, the problems become even more evident. There is no explanation for why the "schola cantorum" should always be left without the accompaniment of the organ, with the result that the singers – incapable of holding the key on their own – drop down the scale in blatant and dramatic fashion, a drop that is revealed every time the organ comes in to accompany the assembly of the faithful.
It must be said that the selection of the choir to lead the assembly is also an unfortunate one. Once made up only of male voices, it is now predominately female, and continually reinforces the disastrous hammering away at the already shaky tonality of the "schola."
I would invite anyone to listen again to the singing of the Litany of the Saints at the feast of the Epiphany to realize that from the start to the finish, the singers dropped a good three steps.
It is evident at this point that the current choir of the Sistine Chapel should not allow itself to go without, in Gregorian chant, the accompaniment of the organ, which is used instead to support the participation of the assembly. In this latter case, moreover, the harmonies used by the organist [Juan Paradell-Solé] have a rather decadent and almost "jazzy" flavor, with the massive use of sevenths, which jar even more with the decision made a short time before by the "schola" to sing a cappella. Personally, I find that the phrasing of the organ is not always comprehensible, in the light of the objectivity and simplicity that should characterize Gregorian monophony.
It must also be added that the scattering of numerous microphones does not make it easier to hear the harmonies executed in polyphonic singing, which become unclear, especially in the singing of the fauxbordon, both in the Ordinarium Missae and on other occasions, as in the hymns and psalms of Vespers.
For those following on television, this inconvenience makes even more evident the problems discussed a bit earlier, in part because there seems to be almost an insistence – especially in the new compositions that are presented – on dissonant harmonies that are not at all incorrect in themselves, but that it seems risky to entrust to a choir that presents the aforementioned limitations (one should listen again, for example, to the Alleluia verse of "Tu es Petrus" executed last February 19 on the occasion of the consistory).
Speaking again of the role of the organ, it seems to me that a general guideline has been put in place that has led to a substantial abdication of it in favor of other instruments, like the "fanfare" of the brass section that we have become accustomed to hearing at the entrance and exit of the pontiff. Sad to say, there is a complete lack of attention to and promotion of the comprehensive mastery of the organ, from improvisation to the classics of Italy and Europe.
Last October 5, Palombella gave an interview to "L'Osservatore Romano" in which he said among other things that, drawing on the vocal inheritance of the twentieth century, the singers would have to improve their intonation according to a "scientific" method, based in particular on the intonation of thirds and fifths.
But it must be recognized that precisely with regard to intonation, no progress at all has been seen, but rather a generalized and unstoppable decline, with a further defect that can be noticed very often, which is that one can hear the singers "yelling."
Results, then, that for now do not correspond to the resolutions formulated in that interview.
--
The website of the author of the review, an internationally famous pianist:
> Alessandro Taverna
--
Alessandro Taverna
www.alessandrotaverna.com