Officially established in 1556, the choir of the Cathedral of Pisa boasts far earlier origins, since news of a group of "Canonici cantores" who, under the guidance of a "Magister scholarum", gave solemnity to the sacred celebrations of the Cathedral through their Gregorian chants, date back to as early as the XII century.
The peculiar composition of the choir, which distinguishes the term "Cappella musicale", is based on an all-male membership, in accordance with the centuries-old tradition that entrusted the cantus to castratos and then to high tenors or coloratura tenors.
The Cappella Musicale of Pisa maintained the traditional composition of all-male voices until 1992, when, in order to make Mass in the Cathedral even more solemn through the performance of mixed-voice music, it was joined by a schola cantorum of female voices.
Following the structural reorganisation of the choir in 2004, the composition is officially that of a mixed choir, where both female and male voices play the same role, with equal economic and functional treatment. At present, the main task of the choir is to perform the sung pieces during solemn Mass in the Cathedral.
The repertoire of the Cappella Musicale, exclusively composed of sacred and church music, ranges from Gregorian chants to contemporary music, with special attention to Renaissance and modern polyphony.
Of the many choirmasters that have conducted the choir over the centuries, we shall mention the most famous one: G.Carlo Maria Clari, choirmaster from 1723 to 1754, and those who are historically closer to our times: Paolo Amatucci, Bruno Pizzi, don Franco Baggiani. The current Choirmaster is Riccardo Donati, once the Organ player of the Cathedral.
In recent years, the Choir has taken part in festivals and concerts in Italy and abroad, meeting great success both from the public and critics. In 1994, it gave the very first modern performance, along with the Orchestra of the Cathedral, of the "Magnificat" for soloists, choir and orchestra by G.Carlo Maria Clari, during a concert in the Basilica of S.Piero a Grado, which was then repeated in the Cathedral. In addition, we shall mention the tour of the female choir in England in August 1995, with two much-praised concerts in the cities of Dursley and Bath, and the performance of W.A. Mozart's "Coronation Mass" in the Cathedral of Pisa in September 1995, still accompanied by the Orchestra of the Cathedral; this concert was recorded on a CD for EMA Records. Once again in 1996, the female section of the choir entered the Choir Contest "L.Perosi" in Tortona (AL), where it won the "Perosi" award for best performance of a piece by Tortona-born author Perosi.
In September 1996, the Cappella musicale (Choir and Orchestra) held a concert in the Cathedral, where they performed Schubert's Symphony no. 5 op. D 485 and J.Haydn's "Stabat Mater" for Soloists, Choir and Orchestra. The programme was repeated in November the same year, in the German towns of Erfurt and Jena, on the occasion of an exchange with the Jena University Choir, which had been hosted by Pisa in 1995. In September 1997, the Cappella Musicale performed J.Haydn's "Missa in tempore belli" which was repeated in Germany, at the City Theatre of Carpi, in the Church of S. Giovanni in Lucca on the occasion of the "Sagra Musicale Lucchese". In Spring 1998, the female section of the choir was awarded first prize (equal first) at the "I° Concorso Nazionale città di La Spezia", with a performance that included Giuseppe Verdi's "Laudi alla Vergine". Again, in 1998, the Cappella Musicale and the Polyphonic Choir of S. Nicola performed W.A. Mozart's Requiem K. 626 in the Cathedral of Pisa for the Feast of the Dedication. In April 1999, the female section of the choir won first prize at the Concorso Internazionale di Verona. In January 2000, the female choir took part in the International Paris Festival, won second prize (equal second) at "Concorso Città di Vittorio Veneto" and performed J. Haydn's "La Creazione" Oratorio in the Cathedral. In September 2001, the Cappella Musicale had the privilege of performing the opening concert for the "Sacred Music Festival" held in the Cathedral and performs the traditional concert of September 26th, the day the Cathedral was dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption.
CHOIR MASTERS
IN THE CATHEDRAL OF PISA
Pietro974-1006
Benedetto1013
Raimberto 1014
Martino 1033
Alberto 1078-1094
MAGISTRI SCHOLARUM
Pace 1270
Betto 1293-1299
Menco 1303
Giovanni Giuntini 1341-1347
Colo Bolognini 1355-1361
Bindo Pepe 1366
Jacopo Gualandri 1393
Teseo Lancillotti 1434
Luca da Piombino 1440
Bartolomeo Baldi 1449
Teseo Lancillotti 1472
Bartolomeo Bastai 1497
Giovanni 1507
Niccolò di Dimitri 1511
Bastiano da Fucecchio 1533
Jacopo da Monte 1533
CHOIRMASTERS
P.te Francesco Bocchini 1555-1570
P.te Bartolomeo de Rossi 1571-1572
P.te Antonio Buonavita 1573-1575
P.te Francesco Bocchini 1575-1582
P.te Bartolomeo de Rossi 1582-1583
P.te Giovanni Palma 1583-1585
Dom. Pompilo Pisanelli 1585-1590
Dom. Pier Maria Compagni 1590-1594
Luca Bati 1594-1595
P.te Pompeo Signorucci 1606-1608
P.te Vincenzo Mercanti 1609-1611
P.te Nicola Pisani 1611.1627
P.te Antonio Bracci 1628-1649
P.te Nicola Pisani 1649-1661
P.te Giovan Battista Bracci 1663-1671
P.te Francesco Alessi 1671-1679
Francesco Cavaioni 1679-1681
Dom. Teofilo Macchetti 1681-1714
Giovan Carlo Maria Clari 1723-1754
Giovan Gualberto Brunetti 1754-1787
Paolo Fabbrini 1788-1789
Adamo Marcori 1799-1808
Nicola Benvenuti 1810-1867
Vittorio Castrucci 1868-1893
Oreste Guidotti 1895-1899
Paolo Amatucci 1901-1934
Bruno Pizzi 1934-1977
Don Franco Baggiani 1978-1992
Riccardo Donati 1992
CHRONOLOGY
1063 Foundation of the Cathedral
1118 Consecration of the Cathedral by Papa Gelasio II
1264 Foundation of the Magiscolato
1552 Foundation of the Choir
