Talk:Messa di Gloria (Rossini)

Improvements
I have picked up a copy of the 1992 recording by Sir Neville Marriner & the Academy & Chorus of St Martin in the Fields, the liner notes contain a lot of information that could be used to improve this page. The French liner notes "Un Ragout de melodies d'Opera..." may have more information on the work but have not been translated into English. A hunt online may turn up some useful information and/or program notes. Graham1973 (talk) 15:14, 10 May 2010 (UTC)
 * This article was written in 2005, when Wikipedians pretty much wrote from personal knowledge with scant regard for references. I have added a couple which will help in expanding the article, particular Osborne's book. Voceditenore (talk) 16:34, 10 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks for this, I'd already started a hunt for online references, but was coming up dry. I've also taken a copy of your revised text to look at offline as I feel that the article needs a serious re-writing. For one thing the description of the structure needs to make clear that this composition is structurally closer to Rossini's one-act operas than to the Mass proper. Graham1973 (talk) 06:38, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Proposed re-write of the Structure description
Here is my current proposal for how the description of the structure of the mass should appear.

The Messa di Gloria is not structured as a traditional mass, but like an opera and is split into eight "numbers".

The first of these is the "Kyrie" which is divided into three portions, the first a dotted-rhythm "Kyrie eleison" for chorus in E flat minor, the second, a more lyrical E-flat major "Christe eleison" for two tenors (unusual scoring, and likely forbidden for ecclesiastical purposes), with the first minor-key section rounding out the prayer.

The remaining seven "numbers" form the "Gloria", starting with a setting of the opening lines of the Gloria text in a manner not dissimilar to one of the composers overtures. This is followed by a series of arias with soprano soloists alternating with tenors, basses, etc. The high point, emotionally, comes at the "Qui Sedes", which begins with a slow portion for chorus and tenor, then concludes with a brilliant cabaletta, showing off the extreme upper end of the tenor's range. Critics of the time were slightly scandalized by Rossini's morphing of sacred ceremony into opera seria, and even buffa, at times. Suffice it to say that this Mass sounds nothing like Mozart's Great Mass, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, or Haydn's last twelve "name day" masses. Graham1973 (talk) 13:57, 11 May 2010 (UTC)