Petite Messe Solennelle Rossini

Last night in Elder Hall we heard a rarely performed composition by Giacomo Rossini – he of the Opera Buffo fame. This was no opera, but the Petite Messe Sollenelle, a misnomer as petite it was not, nor, was it solemn. Rossini ignored the stricture given to Mozart by a certain monarch that masses should be no longer than forty-five minutes.

Certainly it followed the liturgy, from the Kyrie, through to the Agnus Dei. Being originally scored for twelve singers – four of them soloists, with two pianos and an harmonium, explains the way soloists and chorus were presented. 

The opening chords and rhythms by the musicians (Nerissa Pearce, Jamie Cock, and Haowei Yang) signalled that this was not a conventional mass. From foreboding to joy and somewhere in between they supported the singers. Aldis Sils, as conductor of this large group guided the singers and musicians with mastery.

What we may irreverently call, the big numbers – the Gloria, and the Credo were set as different phrases, with the soloists and choir at times together, and at others, separately. This arrangement was not unlike the scoring of an opera, and may have led Rossini to question if ‘his poor little Mass  was indeed sacred music’. Could not the same be asked of Verdi’s Requiem? Does it matter? The music speaks for itself.

Many of the solos might have been thought of as arias. Deborah Johnson, soprano, sang the Crucifixus with great emotion, Emma Woehle, alto, was excellent in the Agnus Dei and Jeremy Tatchell, bass, was masterful in Quoniam. The tenor Jiacheng Ding was unwell and chose not to sing his solo, but he valiantly held his own in the ensemble.  The soloists were grouped on either side of the stage and they may have benefited by being closer to each other, for balance.

The choir handled the sometimes difficult music admirably. They were especially  fine in those choruses which were exuberant, celebratory and spiritually uplifting. Any congregation would have felt renewed by their singing of Cum Sancto.

Nerissa Pearce played the Prelude religioso, with assurance. This, in the form of a prelude and fugue would have been played during the Offertory, perhaps as a meditation.

A very satisfying evening of music, to which the audience responded with loud applause.

Adelaide Philharmonic Chorus  Elder Hall  15 November