Messa per Rossini

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The Messa per Rossini is a Requiem mass, which resulted from a joint effort of thirteen composers.

Shortly after Gioacchino Rossini's death in 1868, Giuseppe Verdi invited the twelve most eminent Italian composers of the time to contribute to a funeral mass for Rossini. The premiere of the mass was meant to take place on the first anniversary of Rossini's death on November 13, 1869 in Bologna. The composition was finished by the summer of 1869, yet the performance had to be cancelled due to adverse conditions. The manuscript subsequently fell into oblivion.

Giuseppe Verdi adopted his own contribution, the concluding Libera me, in revised form as origin for composing his own Messa da Requiem.

The complete Messa per Rossini was premiered in 1988 by the Gächinger Kantorei conducted by Helmuth Rilling at the European Music Festival in Stuttgart. The first performance in the USA took place one year later. The opus has subsequently been recorded on CD.

[edit] Scoring

• soloists: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass
• mixed chorus (4 to 6 voices)
• orchestra: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 4 bassoone, 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, ophicleide, 4 timpani, bass drum, cymbals, tam-tam, organ, strings (including divisi and solo)

[edit] Structure of the work and contributors

Composer	Section	Movement	Setting
Antonio Buzzolla (1815 - 1871)	I. Introitus	Requiem e Kyrie	chorus
Antonio Bazzini (1818 - 1897)	II. Sequentia	1. Dies Irae	chorus
Carlo Pedrotti (1817 - 1893)		2. Tuba mirum	solo (baritone) and chorus
Antonio Cagnoni (1828 - 1896)		3. Quid sum miser	duet: soprano, alto
Federico Ricci (1809 - 1877)		4. Recordare Jesu	quartet: soprano, alto, baritone, bass
Alessandro Nini (1805 - 1880)		5. Ingemisco	solo (tenor) and chorus
Raimondo Boucheron (1800 - 1876)		6. Confutatis Oro supplex	solo (bass) and chorus
Carlo Coccia (1782 - 1873)		7. Lacrimosa Amen	chorus
Gaetano Gaspari (1808 - 1881)	III. Offertorium	Domine Jesu Quam olim Abrahae Hostias Quam olim Abrahae	quartet (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) and chorus
Pietro Platania (1828 - 1907)	IV. Sanctus	Sanctus Hosanna Benedictus Hosanna	solo (soprano) and chorus
Lauro Rossi (1812 - 1885)	V. Agnus Dei	Agnus Dei	solo (alto)
Teodulo Mabellini (1817 - 1897)	VI. Communio	Lux aeterna	trio: tenor, baritone, bass
Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)	VII. Responsorium	Libera me Dies Irae Requiem aeternam Libera me	solo (soprano) and chorus