ROSSINI AND HIS STABAT MATER.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXV, Issue 127, 30 May 1891, Page 2

ROSSINI AND HIS STABAT MATER.

It may be interesting to our readers to havo a alight aketch of Rossini, and of his beautiful work whioh is to be performed on Mouday next at Herr Zimmermann'a benefit eaucert. Giouohino Antouio Roasini was born on February 29th, 1792, at Pesaro ; hia father was the town trumpeter and—inspector of slaughter houses, a curious mixture of ocoup'itions. Roasini was a sufficiently good singer at the age of thirteen to be received at the theatre of the Commuue as Adolfo in Paer'a 'Camilla.' He could also play the piano, 'cello, and horn. His ohief desire was to write operas, and he certainly achieved enormous success in that line, writing more than twenty, of whioh 1 William Tell ' is generally considered to be his masterpiece. He was of a gay, lively disposition, inclined to be lazy j but a rapid worker when once started, as is shown by the faot that " The Barber of Seville "' was written in thirteen days I It was in the year 1832 that the "Stabat Mater" was begun at the request of a friend. He composed then only the first six numbers of it and dedioated it to the Spanish minister Valera, Tadolini writing four other numbers, Valera promised Rossini that the work should not go out of his hands ; but at his death hid heirs sold the manusoript of the " Stabat JVlater " to a Paris publisher. Rossini, naturally very angry at this, gave orders to stop the publication and the per formanoo, and at once replaced Tadoliui s four movements by a similar number of his own composition, and the work came out aaitnowßtau s. Some people think it is not devotional enough, aud complain that parts of it are more atted for the theatre than the ohuroh, Rossini was somowhut of a sooptio, no doubt, but the opening ohorus 1 Stabat Mater,' and the unaocompanied quartet 'Quando Corpus' are surely uot wanting in devotional feeling, The ' Cuju9 Animam ' is familiar to all ot üb, and tbe great soprano solo 'Inflam'matus et Asoensus' is very fine. There are only three choruses, with the exoeption of the ohoral accompaniment to the ' Inflammatus,' and of those the last is the moat difficult. The work is beautiful throughout, and should afford a great treat to the Nelsoa publio, who will no doubt avail themselves of this opportunity to hear a good work, and at the same time to give Herr Zimmormana the support he deserves.