About Rossini: Petite messe solennelle
Performers
Francesca Chiejina soprano
Claire Barnett-Jones mezzo-soprano
Nicholas Mulroy tenor
Jamie W Hall baritone
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Derek Harris, Jonathan Hope piano
Peter Dyke harmonium
Geraint Bowen conductor
Programme
Rossini Petite messe solennelle 81'
Neither little nor solemn, Rossini’s mass is a delightful masterpiece both lively and full of drama. The composer described it with a twinkle in his eye as ‘little’, and also as ‘the last of my sins of old age’. That sense of fun runs through the whole piece, intertwining with beautiful music, reverent moments and operatic flourishes to produce a mass quite unlike anything that had gone before. In the words of one critic, ‘Rossini at least seems to envisage the possibility that God has a lively sense of humour’.
The Three Choirs Festival receives financial assistance from The Elmley Foundation
