Rossini - Petite Messe solennelle

Gustavo Gimeno, Eleonora Buratto (soprano), Sara Mingardo (mezzo-soprano), Kenneth Tarver (tenor), Luca Pisaroni (bass), Wiener Singakademie, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg

It’s always a pleasure to hear Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle, whether in its original compact scoring for 12 singers, two pianos and harmonium or, as heard on this new Pentatone recording and most frequently on disc, in its expanded orchestral version, prepared by Rossini himself. Originally composed for performance in a private chapel, it is an old man’s glance back to a lost world, but with characteristic flashes of real genius and surprisingly forward-looking detail. Debate continues to rage over which version is preferable, but for those who relish the sound of fuller forces, this new account under the baton of Gustavo Gimeno is sure to win many admirers.

For a start, Gimeno coaxes some idiomatically Italianate sounds from his Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, with pungent brass not too raw, and wind playing of real distinction. And then there’s the assured choral sound of the venerable Wiener Singakademie, the accomplished amateur chorus of Vienna’s Konzerthaus. They too sound as though they relish the Italian idiom, with its mixture of liturgical tradition stretching back centuries and operatic gestures straight out of the mid-19th century. They excel in the full choral numbers, not least the a cappella ‘Christe eleison’ and the ‘Cum Sancto Spiritu’ that concludes the Gloria. There’s some fine organ playing, too, from Tobias Berndt at the organ of Luxembourg’s Philharmonie, making this performance of the Preludio religioso that precedes the Sanctus one to savour.

What really makes this recording special, however, alongside Gimeno’s sure pacing and innate feeling for Rossini’s style, is the quality of the solo singing. Tenor Kenneth Tarver brings a pleasing ardour to the ‘Domine Deus’, and bass Luca Pisaroni sounds mightily impressive without being overbearing in the ‘Quoniam tu solus’. It was the singing of the young Marchisio sisters, Carlotta and Barbara, that contributed to Rossini’s original inspiration for the Mass; and he would surely have been moved to hear the singing of soprano Eleonora Buratto and mezzo Sara Mingardo on the present disc. Together they deliver a memorable account of the ‘Qui tollis’, while Buratto brings her operatic experience to bear in the bluesy (yes, that’s the right word!) ‘Crucifixus’. It is, however, Mingardo who crowns the performance with her radiant, full-blooded yet ever sensitive singing in the concluding Agnus Dei. She excels in this repertoire, and this is not her first recording of the work, but she seems to inspire choir and orchestra to raise their game still further for the Mass’s closing pages. Indeed, it’s worth of the price of the whole disc for this movement alone.

Pentatone’s exemplary surround sound recording is well up to their usual standards, helped by the Luxembourg Philharmonie’s exemplary acoustics, and booklet documentation includes an authoritative note by Rossini expert Richard Osborne. In a week when the world’s gaze has been turned to events in Paris, this glance back to the city of Rossini’s ‘retirement’ in an earlier era is especially welcome and comforting. ‘Petite’ it may not be, but Rossinians everywhere will certainly applaud it.