Rossini - Messa di Gloria - Jo, Murray, Gimenez, Araiza, Ramey, Academy and Chorus of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
[...] The Messa di gloria was composed and premiered, as far as we know, in 1820, thus being the only major religious work by Rossini to date from his years as an opera composer. Philip Gossett’s notes (reproduced from the 1992 original release) are a model of what program notes should be. They explain the provenance of the work, talk intelligently about its style and its musical qualities, and make us want to hear the music at the same time as they make us more knowledgeable about it. Gossett says that Rossini had some assistance in completing this work by Pietro Raimondi. It would have been nice if Philips had caught the typo resulting in the misspelling of “Raimondo” the first time the name appears, a typo unrepaired for 15 years!
With or without the help of Raimondi, Rossini produced a magical work—melodically inspired, forceful and powerful, dramatic without being overtly theatrical. All lovers of Rossini’s operatic music or of the bel canto style in general should have this work in their collection.
Without question, this is the recording to get. The singing and the conducting are notably superior to the recorded competition. Herbert Handt on Hänssler plods along without giving any shape to the phrases or any lift to the rhythms. Salvatore Accardo’s recording on Warner Fonit is better led than Handt’s, but the singing is poorer, particularly the ladies. There is some very questionable intonation at times, and only the two tenors (Francisco Araiza, who sings for Marriner too, and Robert Gambill) bring important voices to the task.
Marriner’s soloists, by contrast, are a terrific group—they sing well individually and together. Marriner, a conductor whom I often find rather lackluster, seems truly inspired here, leading a buoyant, colorful performance with just the right sense of pacing. The recorded sound is very warm and well balanced. Highly recommended.
Extracted from ArkivMusic.com
Rossini
Messa di Gloria,
per soli, coro e orchestra
Sumi Jo, sopran
Ann Murray, contralto
Francisco Araiza, tenor
Raúl Gimenez, tenor
Samuel Ramey, bass
Academy and Chorus of St. Martin in the Fields
(chorus master: Laszlo Heltay)
Sir Neville Marriner
Messa di Gloria,
per soli, coro e orchestra
Sumi Jo, sopran
Ann Murray, contralto
Francisco Araiza, tenor
Raúl Gimenez, tenor
Samuel Ramey, bass
Academy and Chorus of St. Martin in the Fields
(chorus master: Laszlo Heltay)
Sir Neville Marriner
This entry was posted
on 11.2.09
at 15:52
and is filed under
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields,
Ann Murray,
Chorus of St. Martin in the Fields,
Francisco Araiza,
Philips,
Raúl Gimenez,
Rossini,
Sacred Music,
Samuel Ramey,
Sir Neville Marriner,
Sumi Jo
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