Delta4Embassy
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- Dec 12, 2013
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The Roman Catholic church s policies on castratism
"Overview:
A castrato is a male singer with a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or alto voice. From about 1550 CE to the late 19th century, most were created by castrating boys before they reaching puberty. This prevented their vocal cords from lengthening and their voice from deepening. With the lung capacity and muscular strength of an adult male and the vocal range of a prepubescent boy:
"... his voice develops a range, power and flexibility quite different from the singing voice of the adult female, but also markedly different from the higher vocal ranges of the uncastrated adult male. Some castratos were males who were born with an endoctrinological condition that prevented them from sexually maturing."
"The term castrato was often used to indicate the high register created by the young men who sang the castrato style. The typical register of a castrato was above that of a 'normal' soprano or alto voice, resulting in the creation of a temporary range in Italian music." 4
In Italy, where most of the castrations occurred, boys were generally drugged with opium. They were soaked in a hot tub until barely conscious before the operation. 5 One source estimates that the fatality rate due to the amputation procedure was about 80%. 6 Another estimates a death rate of 10 to 80% depending upon the skill of the practitioner. 7 Among the survivors, the vast majority did not become professional singers because their voice was not of sufficiently high quality.
J.S. Jenkins writes:
"Boys were castrated between the ages of 7 and 9 years, and underwent a long period of voice training."
And this is a religion of 'good people?'
"Overview:
A castrato is a male singer with a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or alto voice. From about 1550 CE to the late 19th century, most were created by castrating boys before they reaching puberty. This prevented their vocal cords from lengthening and their voice from deepening. With the lung capacity and muscular strength of an adult male and the vocal range of a prepubescent boy:
"... his voice develops a range, power and flexibility quite different from the singing voice of the adult female, but also markedly different from the higher vocal ranges of the uncastrated adult male. Some castratos were males who were born with an endoctrinological condition that prevented them from sexually maturing."
"The term castrato was often used to indicate the high register created by the young men who sang the castrato style. The typical register of a castrato was above that of a 'normal' soprano or alto voice, resulting in the creation of a temporary range in Italian music." 4
In Italy, where most of the castrations occurred, boys were generally drugged with opium. They were soaked in a hot tub until barely conscious before the operation. 5 One source estimates that the fatality rate due to the amputation procedure was about 80%. 6 Another estimates a death rate of 10 to 80% depending upon the skill of the practitioner. 7 Among the survivors, the vast majority did not become professional singers because their voice was not of sufficiently high quality.
J.S. Jenkins writes:
"Boys were castrated between the ages of 7 and 9 years, and underwent a long period of voice training."
And this is a religion of 'good people?'
