Max Meili, a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
*Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internati ...
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors i ...
, was born 11 December 1899 in
Winterthur
, neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell
, twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austri ...
and died 17 March 1970 in
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich () i ...
,
Switzerland. He first trained as a painter then turned to singing, leading to lessons with
Felix von Kraus
Felix von Kraus (October 3, 1870 - October 30, 1937) was an Austrian dramatic bass. Born in Vienna, he received a doctorate in musicology from the University of Vienna in 1894; as a singer, however, he was mainly self-taught. He made his debut ...
.
Meili was mainly a concert singer, concentrating on music from the time of
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
and before, then just beginning to experience a
revival of public interest; he was recognized as a specialist in medieval vocal music. His appearances at the
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...
in 1936 and 1937 were as a recitalist. Curiously, one of Meili's rare appearances in opera involved music at an extreme remove from his usual repertory; in May 1931 he participated in the premiere of
Alois Hába
Alois Hába (21 June 1893 – 18 November 1973) was a Czech composer, music theorist and teacher. He belongs to the important discoverers in modern classical music, and major composers of microtonal music, especially using the quarter-tone sc ...
's opera ''
Die Mutter'' at the
Gärtnerplatztheater in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
. Ten years later, on 15 January 1941, Meili sang ''Addio terra, addio cielo'' from
Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is conside ...
's ''
L'Orfeo
''L'Orfeo'' ( SV 318) (), sometimes called ''La favola d'Orfeo'' , is a late Renaissance/early Baroque ''favola in musica'', or opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, ...
'' at the funeral service of
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...
at Zürich's
Fluntern Cemetery
Also known as Friedhof Fluntern, the Fluntern Cemetery is located in the Zürichberg district of Zürich.
Notable interments
* Emil Abderhalden (1877–1950), Swiss biochemist and physiologist
* Johann Ludwig Aberli (1723–1786), Swiss arti ...
.
Meili's recordings from the 78 RPM era included
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...
lute songs recorded for
HMV (issued in the United States by
Victor) and early music released on
L'Anthologie Sonore. He continued to record into the
LP era, among other things appearing in the title role in the first post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
recording of Monteverdi’s ''L'Orfeo'', taped by the Berlin Radio in the late 1940s and released by
American Vox. By this time, however, critics began to note a decline in his voice.
Meili was a founding member of the
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in 1933. In 1955 he founded the
Collegium Cantorum Turicense, which he directed in music of Monteverdi and
Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. H ...
.
References
Bach Cantatas WebsiteBiographical sketch of Max Meili accessed March 10, 2008
*Gruber, Paul: ''The Metropolitan Opera Guide to Recorded Opera'' (W.W. Norton & Company, 1993)
*Notes to ''Music of the Renaissance'', RCA Victor 78 RPM album MO-495 (Max Meili, ''tenor'';
Fritz Worsching, ''
lute
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted.
More specifically, the term "lute" can re ...
'')
*Pindar, Ian: ''Joyce'' (Haus Publishing, 2004)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meili, Max
1899 births
1970 deaths
20th-century Swiss male opera singers
Swiss operatic tenors
People from Winterthur
Academic staff of Schola Cantorum Basiliensis