| Petite Messe Solennelle |
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| compositions by gioachino rossini | |
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The witty composer, who produced little for public hearing during his long retirement at Passy , prefaced his mass—characterized, apocryphally by Napoleon III , as neither littleA performance lasts about an hour and a half. nor solemn, nor particularly liturgical— with the words :"Good God—behold completed this poor little Mass—is it indeed music for the blest Sacrée'' that I have just written, or just some blessed music musique'' ? Thou knowest well, I was born for comic opera. A little science, a little heart, that is all. So bless Thee and grant me Paradise!""Bon Dieu; la voilà terminée, cette pauvre petite messe. Est-ce bien de la musique sacrée que je viens de faire, ou bien de la sacré musique ? J'étais né pour l'opera buffa, tu le sais bien ! Peu de silence, un peu de coeur, tout est là. Sois donc béni et accorde-moi le Paradis." Its first performance was at the dedication (14 March 1864) of the private chapel in the ''hôtel'' of Louise, comtesse de Pillet-WillThe eighteenth-century early still featured castrati. , with the soloists doubling the SATB chorus, and scored it for two pianos and Harmonium . Among the first hearers were Giacomo Meyerbeer and Daniel Auber and Ambroise Thomas , who would succeed Auber as director of the Paris Conservatoire . Albert Lavignac, aged eighteen conducted from the harmonium. The soloists were Carlotta and Barbara Marchisio, Italo Gardoni and Luigi Agnesi. Partly for fear that it would be done anyway after his death, Rossini discreetly orchestrated the ''Petite Messe Solenelle'' during 1866-67, without losing its candor and subtlety, and the resulting version had its first public performance on 28 February 1869, six months after the composer's death, and as close as could be to what would have been Rossini's seventy-seventh birthdayHe was born on a leap year February 29.— at the '' Theâtre-Italien '', Paris. That year both versions were published. The piece consists of twelve sections, including an inserted ''O salutaris'' (a hymn that is not ordinarily part of the liturgy) and a final ''Agnus Dei'' (contralto solo). FOOTNOTES REFERENCE
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