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Gioachino Rossini's ''Petite messe solennelle'' was written in 1863 and described by the composer as "the last of my ''péchés de vieillesse''" (sins of old age).〔A few piano pieces follow it, and a piece for the opening of the Exposition Universelle of 1867.〕 The witty composer, who produced little for public hearing during his long retirement at Passy, prefaced his mass—characterized, apocryphally by Napoleon III, as neither little〔A performance lasts about an hour and a half.〕 nor solemn, nor particularly liturgical—with the words: :"Good God—behold completed this poor little Mass—is it indeed sacred music (musique sacrée'' ) that I have just written, or merely some damned music (sacrée musique'' )? You know well, I was born for comic opera. Little science, a little heart, that is all. So may you be blessed, and grant me Paradise!"〔"Bon Dieu; la voilà terminée, cette pauvre petite messe. Est-ce bien de la musique sacrée que je viens de faire, ou bien de la sacré musique ? J'étais né pour l'opera buffa, tu le sais bien ! Peu de science, un peu de cœur, tout est là. Sois donc béni et accorde-moi le Paradis."〕 Its first performance was at the dedication (14 March 1864) of the private chapel in the ''hôtel'' of Louise, comtesse de Pillet-Will,〔The eighteenth-century early Louis XV ''boiseries'' of the countess's ''salon'' are now installed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.〕 to whom Rossini dedicated this refined and elegant piece, which avoids the sentimental opulence of most contemporary liturgical works, such as those by Charles Gounod. Rossini specified twelve singers in all,〔"Douze chanteurs de trois sexes, hommes, femmes et castrats seront suffisants pour son exécution ; à savoir huit pour le choeur, quatre pour les solos, total douze chérubins" Rossini noted on the title page: "Twelve singers of three sexes, men, women and castrati will suffice for its execution: that is, eight for the choir, four soloists, in all twelve cherubim". Castrati had not recently been heard on a French stage; only the choir of Pope Pius IX still featured castrati.〕 with the soloists doubling the SATB chorus, and scored it for two pianos and harmonium. (The second piano plays only occasionally, and then merely doubles the first.) Among the first hearers were Giacomo Meyerbeer, Daniel Auber and Ambroise Thomas, who would succeed Auber as director of the Paris Conservatoire. Albert Lavignac, aged eighteen, conducted from the harmonium. The soloists were Carlotta and Barbara Marchisio, Italo Gardoni and Luigi Agnesi. It has been said that all this piece requires is a small hall, a piano, a harmonium, eight choristers and the four greatest singers on Earth. Partly for fear that it would be done anyway after his death, Rossini discreetly orchestrated the ''Petite messe solennelle'' during 1866-67, without losing its candor and subtlety, and the resulting version had its first public performance on 28 February 1869, three months after the composer's death, and as close as could be to what would have been Rossini's seventy-seventh birthday〔He was born on Leap Day 29 February 1792.〕— at the Théâtre-Italien, Paris. That year both versions were published. ==The structure of the piece== The score, which takes an hour and a half to perform, is divided in two parts of seven numbers each, mixing march rhythms and majestic tempos, over harmonies that are sometimes surprising. ;First part *1 - ''Kyrie'' - chorus *''Gloria'': * *2 - ''Gloria in excelsis Deo'' - soloists and chorus * *3 - ''Gratias agimus tibi'' -trio for contralto, tenor and bass * *4 - ''Domine Deus'' - tenor solo * *5 - ''Qui tollis peccata mundi'' - duet for soprano and contralto * *6 - ''Quoniam tu solus sanctus'' - bass solo * *7 - ''Cum Sancto Spiritu'' - chorus ;Second part *Credo: * *8 - ''Credo in unum Deum'' - soloists and chorus * *9 - ''Crucifixus'' - soprano solo * *10 - ''Et resurrexit'' - soloists and chorus *11 - ''Preludio religioso'' (during offertory) - piano and harmonium solo *(unnumbered) ''Ritornello'' – 9 measures for harmonium *12 - ''Sanctus'' - soloists and chorus *13 - ''O salutaris hostia'' - soprano solo *14 - Agnus Dei - contralto and chorus The hymn ''O salutaris hostia'' is not usually a regular part of a Mass; neither are Rossini's two instrumental episodes (Preludio religioso and Ritornello). The dynamics for the singers rarely exceed piano, and sometimes quadruple piano is required, as in measure 18 of the ''Kyrie.'' Rossini gives the singers a few moments of forte such as the exclamations of ''eleison'' in movement 1, the beginning of the ''Gloria'' (no. 2), the similar part in the ''Cum Sancto Spiritu'' (no. 7), the beginning and ending of the ''Credo'' (no. 8), ''Sanctus'' and ''Hosanna'' (no. 12), and the last measures of ''Dona nobis pacem'' (no. 14).〔Claire Delamarche, « Gioacchino Rossini » ''in'' François-René Tranchefort (dir.), ''Guide de la musique sacrée et chorale profane de 1750 à nos jours'' pp. 884-894.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Petite messe solennelle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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