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Gioachino Rossini - "Qui tollis" from "Messa di Milano" (Susanne Mentzer)

2,521 views · Published 6 September 2008 · 4:28 · Indexed 23 September 2026

Channel: LindoroRossini · 2008 · Music

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"Dear God: here it is finished, this poor little Mass... I was born for opera buffa, you know it well! A little science, some heart, that's all..."

- composer's envoi to "Petite Messe Solennelle".

Rossini is generally perceived as an operatic composer, and thus, his sacred works are sometimes perceived as lacking in the light of other pieces in a similar vein. Some have also remarked that Rossini's sacral works are simple continuations of the traditions he created during his compositional career. In many ways, it is so, as the presented two works show. But, like in most cases with Rossini and belcanto, the pieces never lose a certain irresistible charm and beauty.

In this new series of uploads I am pairing up two completely different but, nonetheless, both surprisingly refreshing masses by Rossini: an early, even a bit immature work, "Messa di Milano", and a later, more elaborate piece, "Messa di Gloria" (which comes from the 1820s). My goals fall into to two categories: first off, to present the selections that I have chosen for posting and to provide some short ideas on the works; and, secondly, as the pieces, like most masses, follows the same basic structure and share the same text, to compare them.

Little is known about the circumstances that led to the composition of the first mass. The name gives us a location of the premiere but no other information is truly clear. While the music forms a stylistic whole, it is not known exactly if the three set sections (Kyrie, Gloria and Credo) are meant to be together: they might have been parts of a complete setting of the Mass Ordinary. Whatever the time, the place and the musical surroundings, the work, especially considering Rossini's young age, is very charming and entertaining, the presumed sacral nature of the piece notwithstanding.

I'm only uploading several selections, including the complete Kyrie, Gratias, the Domine Deus (both set as terzets) etc., which I consider rewarding in some way or another. I'm providing the whole structure of the piece to give you a basic idea of the way Rossini set up the classical Mass succession, while the presented pieces are marked by a "*".

Susanne Mentzer - contralto,
Raul Gimenez & Ian Bostridge - tenors,
Simone Alaimo - bass.

1. Kyrie (chorus).
2. Christe (arioso for tenor).
3. Kyrie (chorus & terzettino for tenors and bass).
4. Gloria (chorus & terzettino for the same).
5. Laudamus (aria for contralto).
6. Gratias (chorus).
7. Domine Deus (terzettino for tenor, contralto & bass).
8. Qui tollis (aria for contralto). Considering the sheer amount of music or the contralto in the Mass, it almost becomes a cantata for contralto with several additional secondary singers. Probably, the most elaborate piece in the work, the aria begins with a brilliant prelude for solo violin, reminding one of a variant of Tancredi's cavatina, written in similar fashion. The aria itself is basically the familiar "andante - allegro" form, though shorter than usual. Still, the music is extremely lively in both movements. 
9. Quoniam (aria for bass).
10. Cum sancto spiritu (a repeat, albeit to a different text, of the "Gloria" section).
11. Credo (chorus).
12. Crucifixus (aria for contralto).
13. Resurrexit (chorus).

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