In the perfect square of the church of Santi Apostoli a small group of men and women meet to experience ecstasy. It is not a private event; people turn up to watch. A few days later, the same group has an unforgettable encounter in a park in Volterra. The evening is very cold and the participants, all in black, remain fully dressed, their leader protecting his throat with a woollen scarf. There is a flagon of love potion (L’elisir d’amore) and small bottles can be bought with special vouchers, but sadly some members of the public, too cold to stay, drift away before the climax.
Five per cent of Italians sing in choirs. Sessions last about two hours and, when they are over, there are no bad after-effects, hangovers or guilt. In fact, they are usually followed by a sense of happiness and tranquillity that lasts for hours. Many scientific studies confirm the benefits of these sessions, claiming a surge in brain chemicals linked to pleasure, and the only reported bad effects are addiction, loss of previous friends and becoming difficult to live with, all of which are inevitable when you give so much time to the pursuit of ecstasy and cannot stop talking about it afterwards.
So why don’t we all do it? Some people say they would like to join in, but are timid. Many, who have never tried, think that they are incapable, but to quote from a famous teacher “in hundreds of students I have taught over the years only five can’t do it”.
Might you consider joining?
Choirs in Florence
There are at least 30 choirs in Florence and many more than are listed on the ATC website. (ATC not only stands for Associazione Cori della Toscana, but—beware—also Air Traffic Control and Ambito Territoriale della Caccia, a hunting authority.) Smaller choirs are unlikely to be listed, such as the International School of Florence, which is good enough to give concerts in Vienna.
Some are local community choirs and some are formed from members of organizations like the Unicoop supermarket chain, the University of Florence or the Laboratorio Corale Careggi for healthcare staff and patients. Others are attached to churches such as Santa Maria del Fiore and San Firenze. Other denominations include St. Mark’s Church in via Maggio, the Chiesa Evangelica Luterana on lungarno Torrigiani and the Russian Orthodox Church on via Leone X. If you are thinking of joining an amateur choir, the most approachable are Accademia del Diletto (the word means both amateur and beloved), Florence Vocal Ensemble, Harmonia Cantata, a spin off of Fiesole Music School, Desiderio da Settignano.
What do they sing?
Naturally the church choirs sing sacred music at Mass. The program changes every week appropriate to the church calendar, so the choir has little time for practice and most singers are experienced and can read music, singing from the page. Some of these choirs also give performances for special occasions: St. Mark’s performed the Fauré Requiem with other songs at a special fundraising event for Ukraine at the outbreak of war. Community choirs mix popular songs with occasional sacred music, usually singing for their own pleasure rather than the general public. The Maggio Musicale choirs, one with adult singers and one for children (known as voce bianche), are an essential part of the program when they are the chorus for an opera, as well as giving major performances such as the Verdi Requiem. Especially interesting for visitors to Florence are the amateur choirs who work up programs for the public, sometimes coming together for major performances. For example, Accademia del Diletto recently linked up with Firenze Vocal Ensemble to perform Vivaldi’s Gloria and the Mozart Requiem. On another occasion, they were joined by a choir from Turin for Handel’s Messiah.
Where to sing
The ecstasy is not just the music, but also the place. Florence has a range of music venues as inspiring as any city in the world. There is the intimate frescoed chamber music room of the Chiesa di Santa Felicita, where Mozart and Scarlatti once performed; the exquisite church of Santi Apostoli, where we sang the Vivaldi Gloria; and the Brancacci Chapel with Masolino and Masaccio frescoes, where we sang for a memorial service. Grander spaces with astonishing acoustics are Santa Croce, the basilica of San Lorenzo and the surprising interior of the motorway chapel at Firenze Nord. Especially moving was our performance of Handel’s Messiah in celebration of the life of Georgiana Corsini, who started the Accademia del Diletto choir. The huge church held 500 people and has a reverberation time of more than 10 seconds (the time for the echo to die away), making the music more ethereal and mystical. And what is not to like about performing La traviata in the Medici Villa La Pietra and L’elisir d’amore surrounded by Pontormo in the great hall of La Certosa.
Practicalities
Church choirs are usually free to join, while many amateur choirs ask for a small annual subscription to pay the pianist and choir director. Performances are sometimes free and sometimes there is a voluntary donation for soloists and orchestra. The music score is often copied and handed out for a small fee, but the full score of a major work can be bought for around 12 euro. Rehearsals are 2-3 hours a week in the evenings, with extra sessions close to a performance, and all singers are encouraged to study and practise at home. Some do and some don’t; at rehearsals you can usually detect who has been doing their homework. The best way to practise is to use one of many free online rehearsal sites, so you can annoy your household by singing along in the privacy of your bathroom.
How to join
Don’t try to join the opera chorus of Maggio Musicale. Unless you are a true professional, they will politely tell you to get lost. All the others are more welcoming, but obviously if you do not work for Unicoop or in a Careggi laboratory, you will need contacts and influence to join. Amateur choirs and some contact details are listed below. Some elite choirs, such as Harmonia Cantata, test you for entry by asking you to sing on sight from a music score, so you need to be able to read music and have some experience. If you fail the audition, it is probably all for the best as you will struggle to keep up. Other amateur choirs ask you to sing with the pianist to decide if you are a non-starter (unlikely) and what your voice range is. For women, young and high means soprano and you sing all the best bits. More mature and lower means alto: less fun and plenty of time for chatting. For men, high and beautiful means tenor, while low and gruff means bass. In operas it is always the tenor who gets the girl.
A few tips
As a newcomer, you will be welcomed and then find that it takes a little time to be fully integrated and accepted. Be patient and don’t try to show off, however good your voice. Choral singing is a group activity. You must blend in and not try to be the loudest. The conductor will have astonishingly good hearing and knows what you sound like even when you are at your shiest. One time, while I was attempting to sing a particularly evocative piece, the conductor said, “I want this opening phrase to be especially beautiful. Duncan, it may be best if you only come in a little later, perhaps on the second page.” The most important general rule is to listen to and watch the conductor. Please don’t just come for a chat. The conductor is giving up a lot of time and has to be very patient with chatterers. Don’t make life unbearable for all by talking all the time. If you decide to join, take it seriously as full commitment means learning faster, having much more fun, and reaching moments of ecstasy more often.
Come and join us
I have been singing with Accademia del Diletto for nearly ten years. The choir, with its directors, originally Ennio Clari and now Valentino Zangara, have taught me to understand and get inside some of the most wonderful music ever written. It has given me many friends, many exciting moments in the best Florentine venues and, of course, many moments of ecstasy.
If you are interested in contacting Accademia del Diletto, reach out to choir director Valentino Zangara (valentinozangara12@gmail.com) or administrator Viviana Calonaci (vivianac@calonacisrl.it). For Firenze Vocal Ensemble, email firenzevocalensemble@gmail.com.