Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Kyrie
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Gloria
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Laudamus te
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Gratias
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Domine Deus
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Qui tollis
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Quoniam
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Cum Sancto Spiritu
Track Listings (10) - Disc #2
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Credo
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Crucifixus
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Et resurrexit
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Et vitam venturi
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Prélude religieux
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Ritournelle
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Sanctus - Benedictus
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: O salutaris
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Agnus Dei
Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Prélude religieux
Rossini?s "Little Solemn Mass, " which the composer famously called "neither little, nor more than intermittently solemn," was nevertheless a great success at its premiere in Paris on March 14, 1864, by which time the famo... more »us opera composer was already long "retired," though he continued to write in non-operatic genres. Rossini was 71 when he wrote it, and it was to be his last large composition. The other small songs and piano pieces he created were published under the ironic title of Péchés de vieillesse ? "Sins of My Old Age." The first version was scored for two pianos, harmonium, and twelve voices and did not yet include the "O Salutaris" for soprano solo which was added later. Within three years Rossini had responded to requests for an orchestration; this version for large ensemble was not given until after the composer?s death, at the Théâtre Italien in Paris, on February 24, 1869. The Quink Vocal Ensemble is one of the best vocal groups in the world. Their repertoire includes a cappella works ranging from the early Renaissance to contemporary music. Quink has toured the U.S. at least once a year since 1985 and has recorded many albums for Telarc.« less
Rossini?s "Little Solemn Mass, " which the composer famously called "neither little, nor more than intermittently solemn," was nevertheless a great success at its premiere in Paris on March 14, 1864, by which time the famous opera composer was already long "retired," though he continued to write in non-operatic genres. Rossini was 71 when he wrote it, and it was to be his last large composition. The other small songs and piano pieces he created were published under the ironic title of Péchés de vieillesse ? "Sins of My Old Age." The first version was scored for two pianos, harmonium, and twelve voices and did not yet include the "O Salutaris" for soprano solo which was added later. Within three years Rossini had responded to requests for an orchestration; this version for large ensemble was not given until after the composer?s death, at the Théâtre Italien in Paris, on February 24, 1869. The Quink Vocal Ensemble is one of the best vocal groups in the world. Their repertoire includes a cappella works ranging from the early Renaissance to contemporary music. Quink has toured the U.S. at least once a year since 1985 and has recorded many albums for Telarc.
"The dismal reviews for most performances of the petite messe solennelle have deterred me in the past. Then there is the question of orchestration: original or revised? Francis Toye (a Rossini biographer) thought it one of Rossini's best works, especially in the original orchestration (for two pianos and a harmonium). Here Quink employ that orchestration to excellent effect. They cannot go quite all the way and use castrati, but the pianos are Pleyels built in 1858 and 1869 (the mass was written in 1864), and the harmonium is from 1878. The recorded sound is very natural and the singing refreshingly un-theatrical. Of course, Rossini was accused of hypocrisy, but (as Toye wrote), 'there is not a trace of flippancy' in the mass. There are some references to the stabat mater (written 22 years earlier) but this is a far better work."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1
