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Quotation of the Day for April 6, 2016"Perhaps most fascinating of all, though, the most peculiar and most valuable historically, are the two sessions recorded in Rome in April 1902 by Alessandro Moreschi, the last living castrato. Castrati, you may remember, are male sopranos whose testicles are removed before puberty to prevent the dropping of the range to baritone or bass. Not surprisingly, this once popular technique died out in the nineteenth century. The recordings of Moreschi, by then in his sixties, contain some of the most haunting and -- let's be honest -- frightening sung performances known to man. They have been reissued recently on CD. That the practice and tone of Italian solo singing can have changed so dramatically in under a century, so that what was then considered breathtakingly beautiful, subtle and stylish, should to our ears sound like an appalling caterwauling, as if the act of castration were actually being performed during the recording session, is a sobering warning for all musicians currently engaged in the re-creation and study of 'authentic' music performances." - Howard Goodall, musician, in his book Big Bangs. Submitted by: Terry Labach Apr. 5, 2016  |
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