Bach Choir: Rossini - Petite Messe Solennelle

Rossini composed the Petite Messe Solennelle in 1863, thirty-four years after his last opera, in Passy, the commune in Paris where he spent the last years of his life. He and his wife entertained a circle of friends, holding musical evenings, 'samedi soirs', for which he composed several pieces of chamber music, often vocal. He called these his 'sins of old age'. The mass was possibly commissioned by Count Alexis Pillet-Wills for his wife Louise, to whom it was dedicated. The Rossinis and the Count and Countess were intimate friends. The mass is still owned by the Pillet-Wills family.

With the composer's typical ironic wit, the Messe is neither 'Petite', taking around 75 minutes in performance, nor 'Solenelle'. Romantic features abound in it, such as distinctly operatic arias, chromatic harmony and dissonance, use of a wide variety of keys and rapid modulations, and an expansive range of dynamics, pitch and tempi.

Tickets available on Eventfinda and at the door on the day.

The Bach Choir of Wellington is directed by Shawn Michael Condon
Soloists: Nicola Holt, Linden Loader, John Beaglehole, Roger Wilson,
with Douglas Mews (piano) and
Thomas Nikora (harmonium).