Rossini: Messa di Gloria

by Antonio Pappano, Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra

Overview

Rossini's Messa di Gloria (a Messa di Gloria is a mass with only Kyrie and Gloria sections) was composed for a Catholic fraternity in 1820, at the height of the composer's operatic career. It was the only piece of sacred music composed while Rossini was writing hit operas, and it is unsurprising to find that it is thoroughly marked by operatic style. Even writers at the time complained about this, and Rossini even seems to acknowledge the issue by prefacing his Gloria sequence of arias with a somewhat soberer three-part Kyrie. The mass is rarely performed or recorded, partly because of the vocal demands; Rossini had a quintet of virtuoso soloists at his disposal, and he favored them with truly virtuoso material. Here, conductor Antonio Pappano leads Rome's Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and its chorus, and the performance has the richness one would expect from this veteran conductor. However, his best work was done before he picked up the baton; he selected a group of soloists who are equal to the material, and this is no small feat. Three are Italian, two American, and the young tenor Michael Spyres is a standout. Sample the "Qui tollis," where Rossini lets a chorus evolve into a full-scale cabaletta (seemingly discarding the compunction mentioned above); Spyres is in top voice here, and it is easy to imagine this was just what Rossini wanted. A standout recording of a difficult and rarely encountered work. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	01/13/2023
Label:	Warner Classics
UPC:	5054197234521
Rank:	87421

Tracks

1. Messa di Gloria for soloists, chorus and orchestra~a) Kyrie, eleison
2. Messa di Gloria for soloists, chorus and orchestra~b) Christe, eleison
3. Messa di Gloria for soloists, chorus and orchestra~c) Kyrie, eleison
4. Messa di Gloria for soloists, chorus and orchestra~Gloria in excelsis Deo
5. Messa di Gloria for soloists, chorus and orchestra~Laudamus te
6. Messa di Gloria for soloists, chorus and orchestra~Gratias agimus tibi
7. Messa di Gloria for soloists, chorus and orchestra~Domine Deus
8. Messa di Gloria for soloists, chorus and orchestra~a) Qui tollis peccata mundi
9. Messa di Gloria for soloists, chorus and orchestra~b) Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris
10. Messa di Gloria for soloists, chorus and orchestra~Quoniam tu solus Sanctus
11. Messa di Gloria for soloists, chorus and orchestra~Cum Sancto Spiritu

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Antonio Pappano   Primary Artist,Conductor
Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Teresa Iervolino   Mezzo-Soprano (Vocal)
Eleonora Buratto   Soprano (Vocal)
Lawrence Brownlee   Tenor (Vocal)
Michael Spyres   Tenor (Vocal)
Carlo Lepore   Bass (Vocal)
Alessandro Carbonare   Clarinet
Accademia di Santa Cecilia Chorus   Choir/Chorus
Maria Irsara   Cor Anglais

Technical Credits

Giacomo De Caterini   Producer,Engineer
Christiane Frobenius   Liner Note Translation
Dario Acosta   Photography
Alain Lanceron   Executive Producer
Michele Monasta   Photography
Carlo Rizzari   Assistant Engineer
Shervin Lainez   Photography
David Ylla-Somers   Liner Note Translation
Jon Tolansky   Liner Notes
Antonio Pappano   Liner Notes
Gioachino Rossini   Composer