Don Lorenzo Perosi

Monsignor Lorenzo Perosi (born 21 December 1872 in Tortona, Italy; died 12 October 1956) was far by the most significant Italian composer of sacred music during the turn of the nineteenth century. He had a considerable international success in the late 1890s and early 1900s; Romain Rolland praised him, and several popes including Pope St. Pius X befriended him.

Biography

Despite many sources who erroneously give December 20th as Perosi's birthdate (include Grove), Mario Rinaldi, in the definitive biography on the composer (Lorenzo Perosi, Rome: Edizioni de Santis, 1967), gives the correct date of December 21st and on page 17 explains why that date is correct.

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Perosi hailed from an extremely musical and religious family. For nearly 200 years before him, all of Lorenzo's ancestors were all organists. His grandfather, Dionisio Perosi, was organist in Mede Lomellina. Dionisio was succeded in that post by his son, Lorenzo's uncle Vincenzo. Vincenzo's brother, Lorenzo's father, was Giuseppe Perosi (1849–1908), who was the Maestro di Cappella of the Tortona Cathedral. Giuseppe was the first teacher of Lorenzo as well as his other two sons, Don Carlo (later a cardinal) and Marziano, both of whom became able composers, organists, and directors. In fact, Perosi père was one of the most well-known activists in Italy for causes relating to the organ and church music. He was one of the staunchest promoters of the Cecilian Movement, which eventually led to the Motu Proprio of 1903.

Related Topics:
Tortona Cathedral - Cardinal - Cecilian Movement

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After studying with his father, Lorenzo enrolled in the Milan Conservatory, studying with Michele Saladino. In 1890, 18 years old and still a student, Perosi obtained his first professional post: organist and "teacher of the novices" at the famous Abbey of Montecassino. He received his diploma from the Milan Conservatory in 1892, following which he spent an extremely important year of study with Franz Xaver Haberl in Regensburg (Ratisbon), at the Kirchenmusikschule which Haberl had founded in 1874. Besides being a noted musicologist, Haberl was editor of the complete works of Palestrina. Haberl was so happy with his student that he offered Perosi a cattedra ("chair," or permanent teaching position) as organ maestro in his Kirchenmusikschule. Perosi turned him down, in favor of a post as teacher and director of sacred music at Imola. As Perosi himself explained, he "desired and prayed at length to the Lord to be able to do something for the music of God, in Italy." He served in Imola from November 1892, to August 1894.

Related Topics:
Milan Conservatory - Michele Saladino - 1890 - Montecassino - 1892 - Franz Xaver Haberl - Regensburg - Ratisbon - Palestrina - Imola - 1894

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In 1894 Perosi went to the Abbey of Solesmes to study with the celebrated Gregorianists Dom Mocquerau and Dom Pothier. The Renaissance polyphony he learned from Haberl, and the Gregorian chant he studied in Solesmes -- these were the two pillars upon which the entire oeuvre of Perosi rested.

Related Topics:
Solesmes - Dom Mocquerau - Dom Pothier - Polyphony

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From Imola, Perosi obtained a much more important post, that of Maestro of the Cappella Marciana at San Marco in Venice. This Venetian appointment resulted from the deep friendship between Perosi and Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto, then Patriarch of Venice. Sarto was a profound music-lover who was disturbed by the roughly hundred years (c.1800-1900) that Gregorian Chant was absent from the Catholic liturgy. A more "operatic," entertaining style of music prevailed, attracting congregants much as the folk groups with guitars draw congregations in America today. Therefore, it was only natural Perosi found in Sarto not only a devoted friend and a great kindred spirit, but also a staunch sponsor.

Related Topics:
San Marco - Venice - Giuseppe Sarto - Patriarch of Venice - Liturgy

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In 1895, Perosi became a priest, having been ordained by his good friend Cardinal Sarto himself. It should also be mentioned that St. Luigi Orione was, like Perosi, born in Tortona in 1872. The three men -- Orione, Perosi, and Sarto -- were all dear friends and mutual inspirers.

Related Topics:
1895 - St. Luigi Orione

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In 1898, Cardinal Sarto used his influence with Pope Leo XIII to get Perosi the prestigious post and Maestro della Cappella Sistina, or Director of the Sistine Choir, in Rome. Five years later. Sarto's patronage paid off in an even more monumental way. Cardinal Sarto was ordained Pope Pius X. Music was such a priority for Pius that no sooner was he coronated on 9 August 1903 that on 22 November of the same year he unveiled the Motu Proprio (of which the Perosi's, father and son, were undoubtedly major consultants). The 1903 Motu Proprio on sacred music nothing short of a papal declaration that Gregorian Chant must be immediately reinstated in all Catholic churches around the world. The century of "operatic" church music was officially over. (Incidentally, so was the era of castrati. Pius was against the sordid practice of human castration and decreed that only "whole men" would be allowed to be priests or singers in the Church.)

Related Topics:
1898 - Leo XIII - Sistine Choir - Rome - Pope Pius X - 9 August - 1903 - 22 November - Motu Proprio - Castrati

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Pius soon modified Perosi's title as "Maestro Perpetuo della Cappella Sistina." The composer held this designation till his death over 50 years later, in spite of interruptions in his directorship. After 1907, Perosi began to suffer from some sort mental illness (the exact type of which is unknown). As such, the quality and quantity of his compositions suffered noticeably.

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Despite the relative obscurity of his name today, Perosi was a famous and prominent member of the Giovane Scuola, of which the most important Verista (Puccini, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Giordano, and Cilea) were all considered members. An entire chapter is dedicated to Perosi in Romain Rolland's famous volume, Musiciens d'Aujourd'hui, which was translated into many languages. Perosi was deeply admired by the above-named Veristi, but also by Verdi, Boito, Toscanini, Gigli, and many other Italian icons. Caruso sang his music, as did Gigli, Sammarco, Tagliabue, and innumerable other great singers from that era, and also quite a few in modern times, such as Fiorenza Cossotto, Mirella Freni, Renato Capecchi, and fellow Tortonese Giuseppe Campora. (His French admirers included Debussy, Massenet, D'Indy, and the above-named author Rolland, all of whom remained deeply impressed at the French première of La Risurrezione di Cristo.)

Related Topics:
Giovane Scuola - Verista - Puccini - Mascagni - Leoncavallo - Giordano - Cilea - Romain Rolland - Verdi - Boito - Toscanini - Gigli - Caruso - Sammarco - Tagliabue - Fiorenza Cossotto - Mirella Freni - Renato Capecchi - Giuseppe Campora - Debussy - Massenet - D'Indy

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Unlike the other members of the Giovane Scuola, Perosi was the only one to be significantly influenced by pre-Classical repertoire. His so-called "eclectism" was and still is misunderstood by critics, but it was his greatest trait. It was almost with naivete that Perosi wondered to Romain Rolland why it is that composers feel so fettered by time and geography. Why couldn't music be universal, not shackled by the ephemeral trends or fads of a particular country or century?

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In his day, Perosi was best known for his oratorios, large-scale works for chorus, soloists, and orchestra based on Latin texts. The works seem slow-paced and dated today, but the world was galvanized not only by the fusion of Renaissance polyphony, Gregorian chant, and lush, Verismo melodies and orchestrations, but also by Perosi's deep-seated faith in the words which he had set.

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In addition to the oratorios and masses for which he is best known, Perosi also wrote secular music -- symphonic poems, chamber music, concertos, etc. In his youth, he also wrote beautiful and useful pieces for organ. Arturo Sacchetti is by far Perosi's most energetic advocate in the world, having conducted and recording a large body of Perosi's work.

Related Topics:
Organ - Arturo Sacchetti

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Amazingly, not one biography -- or even a translation of a biography -- has yet been published on Perosi in the English language. The first will be that of Leonardo Ciampa, Don Lorenzo Perosi, which will be published in 2006 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Perosi's death.

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