Perosi, Lorenzo, 1872-1956

Italian priest, composer, organist, and choral conductor, who composed numerous sacred works and was a proponent of the Cecilian Movement. Born into a staunchly Catholic family, Perosi was trained first by his father Giuseppe (1842-1908), who was maestro at the Cattedrale di Tortona. Lorenzo accompanied his father to Rome, where the former was first introduced to the Cecilian Movement and studied at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, followed by instruction from 1888-1890 by Michele Saladino (1835-1912), a teacher at the Conservatorio di musica in Milan, to which he was admitted in 1892. He was employed as a music teacher at the abbey of Montecassino from 1890 to 1891, and also at the seminary in Vigevano in 1892 and in 1894. Meanwhile, in 1893, he completed studies at the Kirchenmusikschule in Regensburg, where he gained renown as an organist, and was employed as organist at the Duomo di Parma the following year. He was also maestro di cappella at the Cattedrale d'Imola from 1893 to 1894. He entered the priesthood in 1894, receiving benefices in Venice thereafter and becoming maestro at the Basilica di San Marco from 1894. In 1898, Perosi was appointed deputy director of the Cappella musicale Pontificia by Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903), becoming director from 1902 to 1918. Plagued by ill health, he later resumed his role at the Sistine Chapel from 1928 to 1952. Celebrated in Italy and abroad, he was made knight of the Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro. He died in Rome on October 12, 1956. His compositions, largely sacred, included liturgical works, with over fifty masses and over 300 motets, as well as secular pieces for orchestra and organ.