»Dear God – voilà, now this poor little mass is finished. Have I really composed sacred music, or rather accursed music?«, wrote Gioachino Rossini in the score of his »Petite messe solennelle«. Today, it is primarily the arrangement for choir and orchestra that is well known, but the composer actually had a much smaller ensemble in mind.
The orchestral version, which was written later, took Rossini some effort to complete and served one purpose above all: to protect his originally »small« mass with its »few singing voices« from overly pompous arrangements by Adolphe Sax or Hector Berlioz. The first version reveals an intimate, multifaceted musical language. This is already evident in the choir instrumentation: not only is the vocal ensemble kept small, but the singing voices also consisted of women, men, and castrati. They are accompanied exclusively by two historical pianos and a harmonium.
The colorful nuances of the score are highlighted by the chamber music ensemble and the special sound of historical instruments. The choir is carried by the sometimes magnificent orchestral, sometimes delicate, ethereal blend of the two French concert grand pianos from the mid-19th century and the historical harmonium. This homogeneous original instrumentation allows Rossini’s differentiated dynamic markings to be realized not only as volume, but as an expression of inner movement: as wonder, deep emotion, and humble supplication – as music of silence.
Those who experience this sound hear the Petite messe solennelle as Rossini conceived it: not as a pompous, effusive mass composition, or even as a dramatic »in church«, but as his very personal, heartfelt thanks for a fulfilled life.
PERFORMERS
Tölzer Knabenchor choir
Lydia Teuscher soprano
Terry Wey countertenor
Aco Bišćević tenor
Frederic Jost bass
Christoph Hammer piano
Shenglong Li piano
Joachim Diessner harmonium
Christian Fliegner director
PROGRAM
Gioachino Rossini
Petite messe solennelle
