But these are not. Instead, we have cantatas, both secular and sacred, for soloists and chorus.
I got some pushback for considering Verdi's Requiem as a sacred opera rather than a devotional work, but apparently there is some precedent. Rossini's choral/orchestral Sacred Music is filled to the brim with opera devices, including these works.
No matter, as these are very high spirited, Italianate works, full of Rossini's familiar sounds from his stage works. I daresay, any emotion aside from jubilance are set aside for music brimming with life.
Sacred Cantata seems an odd category for the Cantata in Honor of Pope Pius IX. It is more focused on praising the man than any apparent religious glorification or devotional perspective. But the mix of politics and religion are a tangled web in Italy's history at that time, and I do not have a Political Science degree. Suffice to say, these are operatic extravaganzas.
Not surprisingly, Chailly and crew devote high spirits and energy galore into all of this music.
As a side note, I love the statue of Dido on the cover with a superimposed circle with a sailboat in it. No historical paintings or recreations here; instead let's just show Aeneas sailing away from the Queen of Carthage in the strangest way possible. Is the circle a possibility that Dido was pregnant with Aeneas' child?!? Then there is the Papal mitre...
A review from 2024
The first volume in Decca’s Rossini Cantatas series features The Death of Dido and the Cantata in Honor of Pope Pius IX from Riccardo Chailly and the La Scala Orchestra and Chorus.
Well, if you know anything of Rossini’s sacred music, such as his Masses or Stabat Mater, you know you are in for a positively operatic experience. It is no different here; soloists perform high-flying vocal gymnastics in a typical recitative/aria opera structure, while the men’s choruses buoy the audience’s spirits with gusto.
Rossini isn’t great with emotional moodiness, as evidenced in La Morte di Didone. You would think Dido’s suffering following the departure of Aeneas would be swollen with emotion, yet Rossini’s music is positively chipper, although the soprano’s technique and range is put to the test.
The Pope Pius IX Cantata is another oddity, much in the same style of Dido. Historically, Pius saw the breaking up of the Papal States and the creation of a unified Italy, but this cantata is more concerned with the praise and glorification of the Man than any political fervor. Here we have an ensemble of soloists, who initially do their own thing and then come together for a rousing conclusion. If this ain’t opera, I don’t know what is.
The La Scala Philharmonic plays beautifully and the chorus is a rousing presence every time they appear. At least Riccardo Chailly doesn’t try to make this music something it isn’t, and encourages everyone to have a grand time.
Listen on YouTube
Works
La Morte di Didone (21.24)
Cantata in Honor of Pope Pius IX (46.00)
Soloists
Mariella Devia, soprano
Paul Austin Kelly, tenor
Francesco Piccoli, tenor
Michele Pertusi, bass
Performers
La Scala Philharmonic Chorus
La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Label: Decca
Year: 1998
Total Timing: 67.37
I can't call this great, but this is Rossini in full-opera mode.
This, and Chailly with the La Scala forces are such a winning combination.
Find more Rossini recordings HERE!
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