The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 14, 1902, Page 9

The pictures on this page made by Bushnell to illustrate Father Par- rish’s story were all posed for by the choir boys and scolytes from his own church. Though Tony is taken fror: real life neither he nor any eof the choir of St. Alban’s, Chicage, is shown here. ONY TORRIANO was the star sole boy of Et. Alban's Church in Chi- cege and everybedy kmew that he would sing the chief scle parts in the chmunu musie. He always was an important a" been the star solo boy ban's for two years. People tances in stuffy cable cars to Side to hear Tony sing. Father rector, thought at first that strangers actually came out the service at St. Alban's, m preach. But he was mis- really came to hear Tony the They taken =ng Tony's real name Giovanni-Baptista Torriano. But he never was Antonio Pletro told the boys of Bt. an's the whole of it. He confessed to Anthony on the roll- book. B one could ever get him be- yoné that point, except Father John, who used to tell the boys stories from the lives of the saints once in a while. But boys make fun of you if you have long rames. Besides, Antonio Pletro Giovanni- Maptista were Italian names, because Teny’s father was an Italian, and all boys are A cans. Everybody knows that. So Tony was just Tony in the eholr. Tony used to help his father at the steckyards at & machine where little pigs were transformed into tinned sausages. Teny’s father was a poor man and he lived in a little back room in a stuffy temament house. Tony had never been to ehurch and he went to séhool only at in- Servals. Tony's father had fought in Staly under Garibaldi and did not like the ehurch. And very often Tony's shoes and elothes were so bad that he wouid not go to sghool. 5o he worked at the sau- sage machine with his father. “De they have women with grand opera voless sing &t the stockyards?’ Mr. James, the cholrmaster, had asked when be heard, amid the clatter of machinery and the squealing of pigs and the dread- ful smells, Tony's clear, bell-like voice singing & recent popular air. «Ob, that boy is always singing,” said the guide. “Boy!” shrieked Mr. James, running his bands through his thin red hair. m leoking for boys with voices like Ehat for my cholr.” Thereupon he made*a dash in the direc- tiop of the singer and discovered Tony. It was just at the noon hour and Tony was surrounded by a crowd of buriy Sutchers, with bloody aprons and long knives, who tossed him nickels at the tutervals in the song, while he did a “puck and wing” dance on & packing box. 8o Mr. James discovered Tony, and b, mesns of hard dollars he induced Mr, Torrianc to allow the boy to sing in St. Alban’s choir. That was how Tony Torriano started kis career as the most famous boy singer = Chicago. It was, ef course, me weeks before Teny was allowed to sing in church. l, the first place Father John made it t that the boy should have some re- igious instruction. And In the second piace Mr. James spemt day after cay training him in music. He had to learn bhow to produce tones, how to breathe, bow to place his voice, how to sustain a pote, how to read notes, how to phrase and how to pronounce words, and a good @eal more. But Mr. James found him a surprisingly apt pupil. “A boy's voice will always depend,” Mr. James had formerly sald, “upon the way in which he is brought up. He must have Eod food, good, warm clothes; frequent ths, & refined family. There must be a $iiano in the house or a violin. The fam- lly must not be of the kind that shou In ordinary conversation. Only such boys ean sing.” But Tony was 2 genlus. He defied every lew. There was none of the things in the little West Side tenement that Mr. James counted on as voice builders. And pet, when Tony sang his first solo in the TNV LIT cheir thers was s perceptible movement in the congregation. People In back seats stood on their toes and stretched their Decks. This wonderful boy's voice rose in the church as easily and as gracefully as a cloud of incense. The full, rcund notes swelled and echced through the dome and arches like the ringing of a great silver bell and fell in a shower of gold over the crowded congregation. They revived memories of better days and purer hopes In the most hardened. Several :oeflo told Father John that it was from earing Tony's voice they first dated their Tepentance. Father John seldom had people say that much about his sermon . . In wpite of the fact that Tony Torriane Was sure to sinx the chlef solo part In the Christmas service, and in spite of the fact that now for two years he had stead- fly sung solos both in the church services and at church entertainments Tony’s am- bition was not satisfied. Most boys wou'd bhave been very well contented with the prominence and praise, ice cream and picnics that fall to the lot of the chief sole bey In a choir. But Tony was not satisfled even when the local papers re- ferred to him as “‘the phenomenal boy oontralto of 8t. Albans.” The fact is that Tony bad a secret ambition. Ever since the first time Mr. James had sllowed him to go into the chancel with the choir Tony had secretly envied the acolyte whn carried the cross. The aco- lytes at St. Amnr)'s wore red cassocks af- ter the French fashion and they had lace cn their surplices. The choir boys had niy black cassocks and plain linen sur- plices. From the very first Tony would Lave given his voice to be an ucolyte Gressed in red and lace. He would have liked very much to swing the sllver thur- ible and make great clouds of incense, or ,even to have carried a lighted torch at the corseciuuon during the mas.. his chief ambition was to carry the cross. S LA sut with-a feeling akin to envy. “Say, fader,” he sald to Father John He looked at the boy who held the glit~ one day, after he had been in the choir tering jeweled symbol above the heads a few weeks, of the cholr and clergy in the procession “why can’t I do all bot'?” “Both what?”’ asked Father John. “Why, carry de crucifix and sing at de same time,” said Tony. Father John explained that the acolytes were chosen from boys who either had po singing. volce or whose' volces had bro- en. “I wish my voice w'd go broke now,” said Tony. But while he declined the offer Father Jchn was well pieased with the request. Not that he supposed for one moment that Tony's desire arose from any excess of devotion. He knew very well that it was reaily only a kind of pride. But he was pleased because it indicated that Tony would not be entirely spoiled by his success as a singer. “That’s one geod thing about Tony,” Jimmy Parks used to sa “Tony can sing 10 beat the band, but he ain’t stuck on hisseif.” When Jimmy said this he iways looked sidewise at Willie Peter- kins. Willie Peterkins was the next best sing- er in the choir, and Willie had sung solos before Tony was discovered. But Willie bad been rather spoiled by the petting Le had received from the ladies, who told kim that his long hair and pink cheeks were ‘“ust too sweet for anything.” When Tony sang for the first time Willle rec- ognized the hopelessness of competition. He took the second place very gracefully. It was probably Tony's desire to carry the cross that saved him from being spoiled by the same ladies, who thought that he had “such wonderful black eyes.” “Aw, rats!” Tony used to say to that sort of thing. His popularity with the af) ) 7 boys he took as a matter of course. o wpoe ITION DEC.14.1992 Mr. yames had securgd an orchestrs, with violins and kettle drums. The solo parts were assigned to Tony, to Mr. Jenks the tenor and to Mr. Orland the bass. Tony's chief solo came in the creed at the words “AND WAS INCARNATE BY THBE HOLY GHOST OF THE VIRGIN MARY, AND WAS MADE MAN.” He was to be accompanied by the organ, with a 'cello obligato. Before the service Tony stood watching the boy who was preparing charcoal and incense for the thurible. There was to be solemn high mass, with a procession. TWo toys near by in red cassocks were light- ing torches and another was removing the cover from the jeweled processional erucifix. Tony was thinking. He wondered just whatJt meant to have one’s voice break. Perhaps some of the strings in your throat would snap. Mr. James once told him something about vocal chords. “Attention, boys,” sald Father John as the choir filed in and took their places. Father John always made them a littl speech befors the prayers which were sald in preparation for the mass. “Christmas,” said Father John, “means Christ's maes. What does Christmas mean?” “Christ’'s mass,” sang-song the cheir. “Well, if Christmas means Christ's mass, remember that you are to sing it for Christ rather than for the pecple. Don't care what the people think about your singing; care what Christ thinks. Jimmy Jones, don’t let me catch you chewing gum. Attention! In the name of the Fdther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” The church was packed to the doors. Every seat was taken and people were standing or kneeling in the aisles. It was necessary for the verger to go ahead of the procession in order to make passage- way. The mass began with the proper introlt, and then, according to the Angli- can arrangement, the “Kyrie Eleison™ fcllowed. It was like the appeal of a lost world to the infinite mercy of God, the full choir singing to the wail of violins, the roll of kettle drums and the mourning sighs of the organ. The accuracy of at- tack, the spirit and color of the musie, put Mr. James into an ecstasy. Then came the singing of the Epistle, and pres- ently the procession, with incense and torches, was formed for the Gospel, while the choir sang the Christmas sequence. Tony began to look over his music for the creed, which came next. His solo In the crced was the most difficult one he had ever tried. It ran through a series of accidentals and peculiar phrasing, that had caused him a good deal of trouble during rehearsals. He always swallowed a I'ttle hard just before he sang alone. Presently the creed began, and Tony found himself singing the words, “AND WAS INCARNATE BY THE HOLY GHOST OF THE VIRGIN MARY.” There was a hush. The celebrant and his attendants knelt at the altar, the acolytes and “the choir foilowed and finally the whole congregation was kneeiing while these words were sung. Tony's voiee was never more clear and firm, never more touching in Its pathetic quality. There was copvexed By the genius of Schubert in those few phrases God's answer to the apreal of mankind which had sounded a short time before in the “Kyrie Eleison.” The music seemed to mount to the very height of heaven and stoop again to earth in a sweep of seraphic wings to where the Virgin mother waited. The final words of Tony's solo were, “AND WAS MADE MAN.” But Tony never sang them.~ Something hagpened. The congregation heard a harsh, grating discord, a gasp, a croak. It was at though some coarse man's voice in duep bass had interrupted the singer in brutal mockery. The ’cello obligato stopped short. A tenor volce took up the next movement, the clergy and people rose and the creed proceeded Put Tony re- mained ka¢eling in his p'ace. He did not know what had happened. There seemed to be something in his throat. He coull not sing. But Father Jchn knew; Mr. James, the choirmaster, knew—Teny's voice had broken. . PR How the mass was fiaished, who sang his parts, how the choix left the chancel, Tony could never teil. But afterward, ‘when Mr. James exriained to Tony that khis voice was changing, that it really wasn’t his fault, that he really had not expected it so soon, that Tony® would have to give up =ing'ng now for a while, that there always came a time when a boy's 'voice changed to a man’s voice, ete.—" “Oh, I know,” sald Tony. “You mean my voice has gone broke., Say, Fathes The music for Christmas day had beem John, can I carry the cross now?” rehearsed by the choir for six weeks. They were to sing Schubert’s mass in F. . “Sic transit gloria mundl,” sald Fathes John. “You may begin next Sunday.”