Auckland Soloist In Rossini Mass

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31828, 5 November 1968, Page 10

Auckland Soloist In Rossini Mass

The; young Auckland soprano, Anne, Ras : mussen, winner of last year’s Mobil Song Quest, is to be soloist with the Royal Christchurch Musical Society choir next week in its major production of the year—Rossini’s “Petite Messe Solennelle.”

The production will be by way of a centenary tribute to Rossini —he died on November 13, 1868, and the choir’s concert will be on November 16—but it was not chosen specifically with that in mind. In fact, Rossini did his best to prevent his mass being performed. He wrote it in 1864, but it was given only a private performance, with accompaniment by two pianos and a harmonium. Later he rescored it for a full orchestra but forbade public performances.

<" s This edict was, however, ignored after Rossini’s death, and the mass was first performed on February 28, 1869, on what would have been his seventy-eighth birthday. Rossini described the mass, not altogether seriously, as “the last mortal sin of my old age,” and it was with a wry smile that he called it the “little solemn mass,” for it is of full dimensions, lasting nearly two hours, and is far from solemn in mbod. It contains a great deal of gay, sparkling music similar to that found in many of Rossini's well-known overtures, and some florid arias, including the “Domine Deus” for tenor, which is frankly operatic. Rossini’s life as a composer, incidentally, followed a remarkable pattern. He wrote 38 operas in about 20 years,

but the last of them, “William Tell,” was written in 1829; and in the remaining 39 years of his life all he wrote was the “Stabat Mater” (1842), the “Petite Messe Solennelle," and a few piano pieces, some of which were arranged by 1 Jspighi in 1919 to form the ballet, “La Boutique Fantasque.”

Besides Anne Rasmussen, the soli sts in next week’s concert will include the tenor, George Metcalfe, a finalist in last year’s Mobil Song Quest Mr Metcalfe sang with the society last year in “Messiah,” and was also heard in the “Psalmus Hungariqus” at the Pan Pacific Arts Festival. More recently, he was in Christchurch in the cast of the New Zealand Opera Company’s production of “H Seraglio.” The contralto soloist will be Mary Adams-Taylor, an Australian now living in Christchurch. This will be Mrs Adams-Taylor’s first appearance with the society, although she has performed with the Christchurch Harmonic Society and has given solo recitals in Christchurch. The list of soloists will be completed by the well-known Grant Dickson, who has sung the Christus for the last four years in the annual performance of the St Matthew Passion.