Rossini's 'Qui tollis' from the Messa di Gloria
Performed by tenor Juan Diego Florez, the Vienna Boys Choir, the Chorus
Viennensis, and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Chichon), December 2008.
I don't think of Rossini's music as spiritual, but the gloria mass
musical form obviously has a Christian inspiration. His Messa di Gloria
was publicly performed once in 1820 and then virtually forgotten for nearly
160 years, until Philips released the work in vinyl in 1979 (album #6500 612).
The long neglect of this beautiful music is commonly explained as being due to
inaccurate reports of the first performance in 1820 by the French writer Stendahl
(who was not even there) and invidious criticism by the composer Carl von Miltitz.
Critics didn't think it was somber enough to be a proper mass.
Excellent video production here at the annual 'Christmas in Vienna' gala.
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