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December 16, 2020I come from a fairly musical family. One of our more recent Christmas traditions is to pray a family rosary and sing hymns between each decade. I'm always amazed at how a group of people can come together so seldomly but make such a spontaneously beautiful noise.
And then there's Pier Giorgio. By every account, and I mean every account, listening to him sing was a painfully memorable experience! He was tone deaf but he didn't let that stop him.
His sister Luciana wrote that there were people who would try unsuccessfully to convince him to be quiet. They would tell him point blank, “Frassati, you sing so badly!” But he would smile and say, “Too bad – it’s important to sing!”
One of his favorite places to sing was in church or when he was taking part in a Eucharistic procession. Like mountain climbing, singing made him feel closer to God. For the people around him, it was a bit challenging to listen.
A friend of Pier Giorgio's who was also tone deaf chose not to participate in the group singing. Pier Giorgio would not accept that excuse. “Don’t worry about that," he said, "I’m really tone-deaf, too, but I sing all the same. You need to pitch in and contribute to the group’s enthusiasm.”I remember Pier Giorgio during a Christmas novena in the chapel of the Archbishop’s Palace. It had been quite a while since I’d heard a voice abused by everyone like that; it was especially remarkable because it was so powerfully tone-deaf. “That’s Frassati singing,” someone said to me. I turned to look, and then I could see that here was a lot of faith and love in that scratchy, tone-deaf singing. - Giovanna Ruspa Manara, teacher
According to the many people who heard him sing, Pier Giorgio preferred religious songs, university club songs, mountaineer songs, and "quaint songs of the valley peasants in their dialect." They never heard him sing modern popular songs and ballads or works from famous operas which he frequently attended. He would specifically refrain from singing anything that "people who didn't practice their faith" liked to sing. He also enjoyed chanting in Latin, although he did it poorly.
His voice was raspy but it was "a man’s voice, a voice of resplendent determination, a voice that truly conversed with God in those moments of singing." He was so passionate about praising God in song that he would end up hoarse. “I sang so much," he laughed while explaining to a friend, "that I don’t have any voice left now!”
Many of his neighbors heard him singing from a spot up in a pine tree when he was a teenager - as early as 5:30 in the morning! I'm not so sure I would have appreciated hearing him at that hour, even if he had a good voice. But you get the point, he loved to sing. It moved him. It brought him closer to God. It inspired others and definitely left an impression on them.
The Christmas season is almost upon us and brings with it many beautiful hymns recounting the birth of Our Savior. Do your part and make a joyful noise to the Lord. Take it from Pier Giorgio: whatever you sound like, it's important to sing.
Verso fa la la la l'alto! ///cmw