Original items in the collection of Leonardo
Ciampa, pertaining to the life of the great composer
DON LORENZO PEROSI (1872-1956)
Last Updated: 2 July 2008
Table of Contents:
Signed Photos
Unsigned Photos
Letters
Articles
FDCs
These are all
original signed photos, handsigned by Don Lorenzo himself.
Two signed photos of young Lorenzo.
Another signed photo.
An "AMusQS" (autographed musical quote signed) of a composer is
considered especially valuable by collectors. In those days Perosi liked to
autograph photos with this "gratia plena" quote from Natale del
Redentore.
The middle-aged Perosi on the podium. Signed in the spring of 1931.
"To Sig[nor] Maestro Aldo Mantia with cheerful best wishes for big
successes in the great art of the harpsichord. Lorenzo Perosi Rome
19.II.1923." The inscription is fascinating. Aldo Mantia (1903-1982) was
well-known as a pianist (student of Pachmann), composer, and teacher - but not
as a harpsichordist. Perhaps at age 20, when the photo was signed, he was
considering that route. A biography was written about Mantia by Prof. Arcangelo
Paglialunga - the same Paglialunga who would later write a biography on Perosi.
Mario Rinaldi used a print of this famous photo for the cover of his 1969
biography. The print shown here was autographed by Perosi in Catania on 15
April 1946.
These photos are not
signed by Perosi; however, they are quite rare.
Maestro Perosi with the Sistine Chapel choir. (Original photo-postcard by
pontifical photographer G. Felici, year unknown.)
Photo taken by Giovanni Battista Sciutto & Co. in Genoa, year unknown -
probably 1898, but possibly 1902).
In 1898 Perosi was in Genoa to
conduct La Risurrezione di Cristo
at the Teatro Carlo Felice. In 1902 he returned to that city to dedicate the
new Vegezzi-Bossi organ at the Church of Saints Niccolò & Erasmo. Given the
facial features, 26 seems a more plausible age than 30. And a performance at
the Carlo Felice is a more logical reason to have a photo taken than an organ
recital.
This beautiful 1935 photo of Perosi was given to me by Prof. Pierangelo Ramella, organist of the Chiesa di S. Maria della Pace in Pralungo, in the Italian Alps. I loved the photo so much, I used it for the cover of the Perosi biography.
Another original photo-postcard from the 1935 shoot, also given to me by Prof. Ramella.
Since March of 1895, Perosi was the happy and frequent guest of Baron Rudolph Kanzler at his 17th-century "Villa di Bellavista" (Via Livornese, 28) in Borgo a Buggiano, a Tuscan town between Lucca and Pistoia. Perosi loved Borgo a Buggiano so much that on 29 August 1901 he bought his own villa there, on Via del Bussoni. Dies Iste and most of Giudizio Universale were composed at "Villa Perosi" (pictured in this rare, c.1904 postcard by Giuseppe Bernardi e F.llo Editori of Borgo a Buggiano). Perosi sold "Villa Perosi" on the Ides of March, 1905. (He later owned a second "Villa Perosi" in Florence.)
This is a modern print from the original snapshot; however, the snapshot is so rare that it's worth explaining. The snapshot is from the famous Vatican Radio broadcast of Il Giudizio Universale (4/4/1950). Behold, from left to right: Maestro Perosi, Marcella Pobbe, Giannella Borelli, Gianna Pederzini, and Beniamino Gigli! The only known copy of this snapshot belonged to Mr. John ("Giovanni") Fenech, on the island of Malta. His son scanned the snapshot for me and e-mailed it to me, from which I made the print you see here. And three months later, John suddenly passed away, robbing many around the world of a great friend and a great man.
This is the very first letter that Perosi ever sent to fellow composer Giuseppe
Martucci.
The inauguration of the Salone Perosi made the cover of La Domenica della
Corriere(6 May
1900). The illustration shows Perosi himself on the podium. Today the Salone
Perosi is the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Pace in Milan.
In June, 2008, I received this Domenica della
Corriere from 1938. The article in itself is extremely interesting, even containing an anecdote about the not-yet-famous Enrico Caruso. But when I ever looked more closely at the photo, I was floored …
There, on the right, is Umberto Ravetta, who – only days before the publication of this photo (1938) – became Archbishop of Senigallia.
And there on the left: none other than Ferruccio Menegazzi, boy genius, the most talented chorister Perosi ever came across, inspiration for some of Perosi's most beautiful creations. Born in 1883, Menegazzi died of a sudden illness on 23 May 1897, at age 14. For years I searched for a photo of Menegazzi; here it is.
In 1972, the Vatican
postal service honored the Perosi centenary with a series of stamps and
FDCs. An FDC ("first day
cover") is an envelope (plain or decorated with a specially designed
cachet) that is affixed with a new stamp or stamps postmarked on the first day
they were issued – primo giorno di emissione (or die emissionis in Latin, the official language
of the Vatican). FDCs are sometimes accompanied by additional text on the back
(in the case of the Perosi FDCs, a short biography).
Above are two FDCs that
feature both Perosi and Don Orione (now St. Orione). Perosi & Orione were born within 6 months and 9 kilometers of each other. They
were lifelong friends. St. Orione
was a great saint that deserves to be better known.
Modern postcard given to me by Don Giuseppe Vallauri, F.D.P., from Pompei. (The original photo was from the 1920s.)