CANTORIA. — In general, it is the place in a church designated for the singers, but in current usage it specifically refers to a loft, situated in some part of the sacred building not strictly connected with the architectural structures; this loft is linked with the organ, forming a common decorative element.
Practical acoustic needs, the development of the liturgy, and the introduction of the organ indeed suggested moving the singers to an elevated place in different positions. Sometimes, as in the Badia Morronese in Sulmona (17th century), the cantoria assumes an elegant monumental character. Particularly noteworthy are the marble cantorie shaped like projecting parapets, executed for Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence and now preserved in the museum of that cathedral’s Works: one was executed by Donatello, who, behind paired columns, moves the singing putti in a festive and continuous rhythm; the other is the work of Luca della Robbia, who, in his static vision of form, isolates the music-making putti within rigid panels. The similarity of the theme
makes these works excellent points of comparison for understanding individual artists. During the 16th century, cantorie still had modest proportions and unobtrusive architectural forms. From the end of the century, the technical refinement of the organ and the new impetus given to sacred music led to the search for a suitable location for the grand apparatus of the instrument’s pipes. Instead of the presbyterial walls and small choirs that allowed too little expansion of the voices, the vast wall where the main entrance door opens was willingly chosen, and there the organ pipes were arranged with a high decorative sense. Among the 17th-century cantorie, those of Santa Maria in Vallicella and Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome, the latter due to a design by the Bernini follower Mattia de Rossi, are those that present themselves with greater splendor and a better understanding of decoration. Conceived like theatrical boxes in often gilded wood, supported by brackets with large modillions, they have a balustrade with a curved layout and grilles that hide the singers; stuccoes, rays, garlands, and figures of putti form part of the decorative apparatus around the organ pipes, with that sense of opulence and transience typical of certain Baroque works. The 18th-century cantoria is sometimes more restrained in line and color, often curved in a concave manner so as to facilitate a connection with the side walls of the building. Later, the cantoria narrows in line simplicity, often finding direct support from the ground in the form of a screen. In modern constructions, the cantoria has had various rationally studied solutions according to the church’s floor plan, often concealing the organ, which can be operated remotely.