Petite assignment towering challenge for choir

Peter Williams

Concert Review - Napier Civic Choir, directed by Jose Aparicio. Petite Messe Solennelle by Rossini. St Paul's Church, Napier, Friday, April 7.

The Petite Messe Solennelle is not an insignificant work as the word petite might imply.

In the form of the traditional Ordinary of the Roman Catholic rite, it is really on a grand scale, suited for concert rather than liturgical use, with many spectacular moments for both the choir and soloists.

The choir acquitted themselves extremely well.

Jose Aparicio had ensured in the months of rehearsal that the precise expressive details indicated on the score were all in place.

The choice of tempi was excellent, matching well the contrasted character of the sections of the music.

There was much effective sotto voce singing, as in the Kyrie at the start, and in the way the contrapuntal sections were developed.

There were many impressive moments of climax, with the Amen sections at the end of both the Gloria and the Credo particularly notable.

The four guest soloists, soprano Pasquale Orchard, contralto Victoria Lambourn, tenor Declan Cudd and bass-baritone Alex Lee, had a big part to play in the performance, singing both solo parts and as an ensemble, effectively blending and balancing with the choir.

Each sang the numerous solo parts confidently and there were some fine moments from each of them, with contralto Victoria Lambourn's solo at the start of the Agnus Dei a real highlight of the performance.

However, sometimes it seemed that the extreme pitch, rhythmic complexity and tricky chromatic passages encountered at times placed considerable demands on their voices.

Normally a mass is accompanied by either an orchestra or the organ.

For this work, Rossini requires a piano, expertly played by Matteo Napoli, and a harmonium, played by the choir's regular accompanist, Freya Hodgson, both supporting and enhancing the choir and soloists' performances.

The piano part is far more than an accompaniment, with many intricate and demanding solo passages which Napoli executed with impressive skill and freedom.

The harmonium part was important too, adding contrast in tone at important moments in the performance.

Not surprisingly perhaps, given Giocomo Rossini's fame as an operatic composer, this work is very operatic in character, quite different from similar compositions by composers such as Mozart or Faure.

I think it would have been largely unfamiliar to the audience and I wonder if, at the end, they would have carried the melodies they heard away with them, as would have been the case with Rossini's famous opera The Barber of Seville.