Alessandro Moreschi - a tear in every note – The Vampire's Wife

Alessandro Moreschi

Alessandro Moreschi, First Soprano of the Sistine Chapel Choir was the only castrato ever recorded. In 1902, in a great salon in the Vatican, the walls covered with Titians, Raphaels and Tintorettos, Moreschi recorded his version of Ave Maria in the Vatican in 1902. It was reported that when he recorded this eerie version of the most beautiful of hymns he was particularly nervous which might account for the strange wobbling of his voice. Even so, this is a weird and haunted recording that often gets played at The Vampire’s Wife. We love it here for the tear in every note! Love Susie.

WE COME FROM THE LAND OF THE ICE AND SNOW

My husband showed me this piece of footage of a concert by Led Zeppelin from 1972 in Sydney, Australia. He says that he saw this same concert in Melbourne when he was fourteen years old. It was one of the first concerts he ever went to. This video is a mash-up of two performances in Sydney and Long Beach, Los Angeles. What extraordinary energy this band had, and what an amazing song.

YOUR BODY IS AWAY FROM ME

Who doesn’t love a bit of Rumi on a Sunday morning, one of the most influential poets of all time. A beautiful reflection on what my husband calls the ‘impossible realm’ of grief. The person whom we have lost physically remains as an interior, secret and saving force.

I COME FROM THERE

I love this poem, Tropical Town, by Salomón de la Selva. The poet was born in 1893, in León, Nicaragua, writing in both Spanish and English. He was active throughout his life in numerous labour and political movements He died on February 5, 1959. I love the line ‘I come from there…’, suggesting that the poet is an immigrant, far from home, dreaming of the repose of the cemetery, ‘where the green trees are.’ So very beautiful.

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