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 Internation ...

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 is wide ...

, 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 (Austria ...

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 Z ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. 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 wor ...

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 scal ...

's opera ''

Die Mutter ''Die Mutter'' is an East German film. It was released in 1958. It is an adaptation of the 1932 play by Bertolt Brecht, which in itself is based on the 1906 novel by Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́ ...

'' 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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. 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 consider ...

'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, and ...

'' 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 artist ...

. 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 ide ...

lute song The term lute song is given to a music style from the late 16th century to early 17th century, late Renaissance to early Baroque, that was predominantly in England and France. Lute songs were generally in strophic form or verse repeating with a h ...

s 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. He ...

References

Bach Cantatas Website
Biographical 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 Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich (given name), Friedrich, or Frederick (given name), Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as ...

, ''

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 ref ...

'') *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