Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle

Friday, November 18, 2016  —  8:00 PM
St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church
69 Valley Street Hillsdale, NJ 07642

Saturday, November 19, 2016  —  8:00 PM
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
155 Linwood Ave, Ridgewood, NJ 07450

Gioachino Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (Little Solemn Mass) is considered an idiosyncratic statement of personal faith. Written more than three decades after completing his final opera and only five years before his death in 1868, Rossini described it as “the last of my sins of old age.” Of his efforts, he inscribed in his manuscript, “Little skill, a little heart, and that is all. So be Thou blessed and admit me to Paradise.”

Little analysis is required for the enjoyment of this beautiful, witty, joyful composition. Its structure is that of a solemn mass, with some enhancements; the vocabulary is Romantic without being overly lush; its texture is transparent. The whole is subtle and elegant.


Please select a performance

 
 

Adult: $25
Student: $20
Children under 12: Free