Saturday 11 March 7.30pm St Mary's
Barnes Choir
Rossini Petite Messe Solenelle
Barnes Choir
Julian Collings, Conductor
Elspeth Wilkes, Piano
Peter Jaekel, Harmonium
Danni O’Neill, Soprano
Judy Louie Brown, Mezzo-soprano
Joseph Doody, Tenor
Gavin Horsley, Bass
£18
“Dear God. Here it is, finished, this poor little Mass. Have I written sacred music or damned music? I was born for comic opera, as you well know! Little science, some heart, that’s all. So may you be blessed, and grant me a place in Paradise!”
Rossini’s own words at the end of the autograph score perfectly sum up this most extraordinary of mass settings. Neither little, solemn, nor especially liturgical in spirit, the music ranges from hushed intensity to boisterous high spirits, and abounds in the memorable tunes and rhythmic vitality for which Rossini became justly famous.
