The Bartolucci Chronicles: 2

Sandro Magister has weighed into the concert in the Sistina with Dominco Bartolucci in the presence of the Roman Pontiff.  I commented on this already.

Here is Sandro.  Very interesting:

The person responsible for Bartolucci’s removal in 1997 was the master of pontifical ceremonies, Piero Marini, still in service with Benedict XVI although close to his own dismissal. Marini brought in monsignor Giuseppe Liberto [BLECH!!] as head of the Sistine Chapel, having noticed and appreciated his work as music director during John Paul II’s visits to Sicily.  It was easy to get pope Karol Wojtyla’s permission for the maneuver.

At the time, the only significant figure in the Roman curia who came to Bartolucci’s defense was Ratzinger, for reasons that were both musical and liturgical, as he explained in essays and books.

Right!  And so I described Bartolucci in the Sistina as a thumb in the eye for some and a shot in the arm for old Domenico.

The concert by maestro Bartolucci in the Sistine Chapel is one of these teaching moments that the pope wants to leave a mark.

Well… getting a shot in the eye usually leaves a mark, doesn’t it?

Among the prelates of the Roman curia present at the concert were Marini and Liberto. But Benedict XVI’s attention was entirely dedicated to maestro Bartolucci – a vigorous 89 years old, – his choir, and the superb quality of their performances.

o{]:¬P

If I didn’t know from my years of working in the Palazzo del Sant’Uffizio what sort of a gentleman and truly gentle soul His Holiness has, I would cynically wonder if he wasn’t keeping a few folks close to him just to torment them a little. 

I dunno… maybe I’m projecting a little too much.