http://malesopranos.com/articles/alessandro-moreschi-8/ en 60 http://malesopranos.com/images/styles/sopranos/misc/rss.jpg http://malesopranos.com/articles/alessandro-moreschi-8/ http://malesopranos.com/articles/alessandro-moreschi-8/alessandro-moreschi-recordings-72/ http://malesopranos.com/articles/alessandro-moreschi-8/alessandro-moreschi-recordings-72/ ALESSANDRO MORESCHI

Discussion Accompanying Portrait,

by sfkcbf

Castrato Alessandro Moreschi was born in Rome in 1858 and died there in 1922. He was a lead soprano in the Sistine Chapel from 1883 through 1913. He also is the only castrato known to have been recorded. There has been much discussion as to the unsatisfactory sound of those recordings. Briefly, I shall mention the factors contributing to his sound.

First, His Voice:
The rather strained and uneven quality of Alessandro's voice is not the consequence of old age. He was 44 at the time of the recordings. Marchesi sang publicly at age 66, and Farinelli sang for himself in his 70s. Alessandro's voice may have deteriorated, but he must have had a pleasing voice at one time (in his youth, he had been known as "The Angel of Rome" (Angelo di Roma).

One factor is that, apparently, Alessandro was no opera-quality singer, which places far greater demands upon the singer. Also, his training was inferior to, and different from, the unexcelled training of the early 18th-century conservatories. Many schools had closed, and the remaining ones had fallen into a state of poor reputation. In addition, the style of singing strayed from the required pure and precise style of the Baroque golden age to a looser, schmaltzy way of singing. Ample use of lead notes to the higher notes also contributed to the lack of vocal precision. Further, I can imagine that the years of singing in a chapel choir resulted in vocal habits that did not help solo singing. Finally, apparently Alessandro was nervous being recorded for the first time and singing in front of a studio audience.

Second, Recording Methods:
As most of you are aware, the mechanical means by which early recordings were made were quite primitive. The voice was directed into a large cone, often placed in a second room. A pusher was employed to move the singer away from the cone during loud or high notes and then forward during softer or lower notes. This certainly could not have helped Alessandro's nerves. Not only did this mechanical system record with poor quality, but it also eliminated the higher frequencies of a castrato voice (as it did with violins. A tenor voice recorded better.) The recorded grooves were made in shellac, which deteriorated rapidly, especially with the heavy needles used.

The Castrato Sound:
Many people have turned to the recordings of Alessandro for hints as to the true castrato sound. There are hints of that sound if one listens carefully and has studied the recordings of the best boy sopranos and best adult male sopranos. Also, there has been medical/physiological research published about the singing voice, which is quite helpful. Finally, knowledgeable audience members of the 18th century sometimes wrote clear descriptions of castrato performances and the stylistic demands of the time. Taking all the above facts into consideration, the listener can better judge the recordings of Alessandro Moreschi.]]> Wed, 9 Jul 2008 04:21:26 Alessandro Moreschi Alessandro Moreschi sfkcbf en