The Castrato Sacrifice: Was it Justified? Page: 9
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accepted began in the 17th century. In the period of the 17th and 18th centuries, the Italian
religious and political climates were practically one in the same. The Church was of primary
power in Italy, and still set the standards and rules for the country. St. Paul's Biblical
admonition that women should silent in the church was interpreted literally. The Church cited I
Corinthians 14:34, which states, "Let your women keep silent in the churches," and forbade
women to participate in the church service, in speech or song. Women were not allowed to sing
in the church choirs, which was not terribly problematic until music began to evolve and become
more complex (Street 1987). Boys and falsettists had been used when music dictated the need
for higher voices. But the a capella style that began to grow around the middle of the 15th
century began to highlight the inadequacy of young boys and falsettists. The new music
necessitated a much broader range and virtuosity that was simply lacking in the aforementioned
singers. The employment of choir boys to sing this new literature also had distinct non-musical
disadvantages that made the situation all but impossible. Discipline became a problem, since as
a rule most young boys can be a bit unruly, with many other things besides music on their
adolescent minds. But even the best behaved of boys could not overcome the physical changes
under which they had no control. Just around the time that a young male singer had begun to
flourish musically, his voice would change and break at puberty, practically crippling him. The
latter situation was obviously not a factor for the falsettists, but their voices generally had a
rather shrill and unpleasant quality to them that was not very well liked. The problem of range
was also a consideration. Most falsettists could sing only up to the alto range, and unable to soar
into the soprano range that was needed. Spanish falsettists at the start filled these necessary
roles, having somehow attained a bit higher range than other falsettists. They began to appear in
cathedrals and chapels throughout Europe around the middle of the 15th century. There is some
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Sowle, Jennifer. The Castrato Sacrifice: Was it Justified?, thesis, August 2006; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5343/m1/12/: accessed May 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .