07/19/2019
1964 USC Chamber Singers: Our Concerts in Sicily
We had been preparing to sing the Byrd five-part mass for high mass at the Monreale Cathedral in Palermo. The piece was in our folders; however, we did not begin rehearsing it until after we had arrived in Europe in late January. We tried to schedule a rehearsal of the music we were preparing for the opening of the international sacred music festival in April. The idea was to prepare fresh music which was not part of our tour packages. We were able to perform the mass earlier in April, when we were asked to sing it for high mass in the chapel of the palace in Monaco on Palm Sunday for Prince Rainier and Princess Grace Kelly and their family.
According to my notes, we began our Sicily experience in Catania where we had to load up our eleven cartons and trunks way too early. So before leaving the hotel for our concert at the Sigonella Air Force Base, we packed our trunks, and left me behind to figure out how to get them over to the Alitalia Offices. We were going to be flying to Palermo the next day, and Alitalia was having issues with out trunks. More specifically, the big walk-in trunk which carried the women's performance gowns. Then we had four steamer trunks which carried our tuxes, the day-time uniform for both the women and the men. In addition we had a metal container which held the three folding tables around which we sat when we performed. There was also a good size trunk which carried the flutes, bongos, finger cymbals, and the table decorations. Finally, there were four smaller cartons which contained our music folders, as well as multiple copies of the music used in our workshops for the attendees.
I asked the Bellman at our hotel if he knew how we might get them over there. He had some cousins. They showed up in three scooter trucks. They were like the old Cushman scooters only with covered flatbeds on the rear, with a covered cab for the operator. Here they came bouncing on the cobblestone street. But only one of the cousins would lift all of the trunks. This scruffy looking man with a thick and hairy body insisted on carrying each of the trunks by himself. It took three of us to get the big one on his back. Once he loaded them, he had me join him on the single seat in the cab of the scooter which he was driving. What little English he spoke carried the day. As we bounced together on the cobblestone streets, he asked me what I thought of Sicilians. I made some gesture at being diplomatic. But he would have none of it. He thought all Sicilians "stunk!" Once we got the 11 trunks and cases delivered, I tried to pay him with a few thousand lyre [$20]. He was insulted, and walked away with nothing. I raised the tip to about $60.00 which made him very happy.
Then, I had to try to figure out how to join the rest of my party, who were eating dinner about that time. I tried to reach the Consul General's assistant with whom I had been working. As I attempted to communicate this to the operator at the base, all of a sudden, this really gruff voice came on the phone with a very loud "What the hell is going on?" It was the base commander, Captain whatever. After I explained the matter, he really got pi**ed. "Why if anybody had told me about the problem, I would had transported those God damned trunks on a God Damned Air Force Jet." Well, when that assistant showed up to get e at the hotel, his olive complexion had turned gray. He was evidentially recovering from a dressing down he received from the Captain. “What did you tell the Captain?” he questioned.
In Palermo, we gave a workshop at the local conservatory. It wasn’t our planned workshop. Dr. Hirt asked about the English capabilities of the audience. He decided to offer a concert-demonstration instead. I had never experienced warm-up exercises with Dr. Hirt. I could be mistaken, but I think that Dr. Hirt was not interested in sharing his artistry with people who he thought may not be able to understand his approach.
On Sunday, April 19th, we sang the Byrd Five-part Mass which we had sung for the Royal family at Monaco for Palm Sunday. It had all of the intimacy and transparency which Dr. Hirt had instilled in the weekly rehearsals we had scheduled after we were in Europe. But at the Monreale Cathedra we stood in an room behind the huge altar which is where the choir usually stands for performing the mass. There was no P.A. During our singing of the Kyrie, one of the priests came up to me. He said, “If you can’t sing it loudly enough to be heard, you might as well go home!” So, we set aside all of our nuanced interpretation, and sang as loudly as we could. Since our men were singing the “proper” portions of the mass, we found ourselves singing at the top of our lungs. No more intimacy. No more transparency. We were probably slightly smaller than the average group of singers for the cathedral. It was amazing to experience singing in the place where Renaissance masses had been sung for centuries. This experience with the acoustics of a large cathedral without P.A., gave fresh insights into how Renaissance masses were actually sung. There was none of the transparent intimacy, the stylist considerations that made Americans so excited about singing Renaissance music. We made it through the worship without any more hitches. I was told that we were heard and that the mass was very moving.
Then, at 5:00PM, we sang a concert of sacred music on the stage at the Auditorium Santo Salvatore marking the opening of the 9th Sacred Music Festival of Monreale. Typical of auditoriums of its Era, it had a raked stage [it tilted toward the audience]. It was a stunning achievement for Dr. Hirt.
