103. Crolla ahimé

According to Domenico Luigi Pardini (Bollettino Storico Lucchese, 1949, nos. 2-3), Romualdo Marianetti “era un prete […] , ricercato copista di musica [was a priest […] , a sought-after music copyist]" and a well-regarded singer, "valente nel canto gregoriano, che eseguiva con un bel timbro di voce [skilled in Gregorian chant, which he performed with a beautiful vocal timbre]", as well as an indefatigable organiser of choirs "formati da dilettanti campagnoli [made up of country amateurs]", trained "con canti composti appositamente da maestri di Lucca [with chants specially composed by masters from Lucca] to "accompagnare di paese in paese [accompany from village to village]" the Good Friday processions commemorating the burial of the “Cristo Morto [Dead Christ]”.
Marianetti’s name appears at least twice in Puccini’s correspondence. According to a letter that Puccini addressed to his mother in July 1883, he commissioned Marianetti to prepare a copy of the Capriccio sinfonico score (55; see ENOGP Ep. 1, no. 26, p. 29). He is also listed among the priests from Lucca whom Puccini asked his friend Guido Vandini to consult for advice on the prayer text to be “muttered” before the Te Deum in Tosca (69; see ENOGP Ep. 2, no. 272, p. 205).
For the amateur choirs of the Lucchese countryside, Puccini also composed the hymn Vexilla Regis prodeunt (7), scored for a small number of voices (Tenors and Basses) with simple organ accompaniment.