Choirs often lose sight
of the fact that Rossini’s ‘Petite Messe
solenelle’ is a chamber work; Rossini
suggested it be performed with a group
of just twelve singers. It is, of course,
perfectly acceptable to expand on this
number, particularly when performing the
work with an amateur choir. On this recording,
the choral part is sung by the SWR Vocal
Ensemble, an ensemble of some thirty plus
professional singers, based at Süd-West
Rundfunk, the Stuttgart broadcaster. They
make a strong, confident case for the
work and directed by Rupert Huber, give
good structure and shape to the large
choruses. But there are times when they
just make too much noise and I could wish
for a more chamber-sized performance with
a better balance with the pianos (the
excellent Roberto Szidon and Richard Metzler).
In the big ensembles the balance can favour
the choir and the poor harmonium seems
to run a poor third behind the choir and
the pianos. Whilst it does not quite emulate
the wheezy parlour harmoniums of old,
the instrument used by Detlef Dörner
does sound woefully under-powered and
this has a deleterious effect on the structure
of the work.
The Petite Mess Solenelle
is a chamber work. It was written for
the dedication of the private chapel of
the Parisian nobleman Count Michel Frederic
Pillet-Will. Rossini did, later, reluctantly
agree to demands for an orchestral version
and this larger-scale sibling has affected
the chamber version in a number of ways.
Not only do ensembles (both choir and
soloists) perform the chamber version
as if it was the orchestral version, but
for many years the piano accompaniment
was based quite heavily on the orchestral
version. (Thankfully, there is now a good
edition of the music for the original
version of the work with accompaniment
of two pianos and harmonium.) But for
a performance really to work you need
singers who can respond to the chamber
music scale of the piece. They must be
able to sing the lines with a focused
intensity, entirely different from the
operatic style of the day. Unfortunately,
this does not happen here. The benchmark
for all comparisons of this work is Wolfgang
Sawallisch’s 1972 recording. With a team
of singers that included Brigitte Fassbaender
and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, that recording
produced a performance of rare intensity.
None of the singers here
quite manages to put the opera house out
of their minds. Bass Reiner Holthaus and
tenor Kenneth Tarver are the most successful,
managing to scale down their performances
without losing any of the intensity. Tarver’s
Rossinian credentials have developed substantially
since this recording was made in 1995,
so his suave performance on this record
is no surprise. Holthaus never blusters
and brings a careful focus to his performance.
Alto Helene Schneiderman has a large-ish
sounding voice which generates only a
generalised intensity when scaled down.
She has a fine, firm voice and would probably
be more at home in a larger-scale work.
Lucia Mazzaria has the technique and the
bravura for the soprano part; unfortunately
she also has quite a substantial vibrato.
This might not be something that everyone
will object to, but I increasingly found
that Mazzaria’s voice sounded out of keeping
with the work. If you heard this group
of singers live in this piece, then you
would not entirely be disappointed, but
on a recording they do not really do adequate
justice to Rossini’s work.
This recording will be
liked by those people who admire fine
choral singing, but I am afraid that it
is not my library choice for this tricky
work, though it does certainly have the
advantage of being on one generous disc.
Robert Hugill
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CDTnº1 - G.A. ROSSINI
Kyrie
CDTnº2 - G.A. ROSSINI
Gloria in excelsis
CDTnº3 - G.A. ROSSINI
Gratias agimus tibi
CDTnº4 - G.A. ROSSINI
Domine Deus
CDTnº5 - G.A. ROSSINI
Qui Tollis
CDTnº6 - G.A. ROSSINI
Quoniam
CDTnº7 - G.A. ROSSINI
Cum Sancto Spiritu
CDTnº8 - G.A. ROSSINI
Credo in unum Deum
CDTnº9 - G.A. ROSSINI
Crucifixus
CDTnº10 - G.A. ROSSINI
Et Resurrexit
CDTnº11 - G.A. ROSSINI
Preludio religioso
CDTnº12 - G.A. ROSSINI
Sanctus
CDTnº13 - G.A. ROSSINI
O salutaris Hostia
CDTnº14 - G.A. ROSSINI
Agnus Dei
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