Amadeus Chamber Ensemble: The Sacred Side of Rossini
Amadeus Chamber Ensemble with Orchestra and Chorus; Howard Skinner, conductor
On September 17, the Cathedral Concert Series will present Amadeus Chamber Ensemble performing selections from Gioacchino Rossini’s sacred masterworks, Stabat Mater and Messe Solonnelle. Maestro Howard Skinner shared his thoughts on not only these works, but the oft-stereotyped composer behind them.
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Arts Knoxville: Rossini’s fame rests primarily on his compositions for the operatic stage. What drew you to his sacred works?
Howard Skinner: I admit to coming to these works rather late in life. And that is probably for the reason you mention. His operas, most notably Barber, are among the repertoire every conductor wants to tackle. Yet his sacred works Stabat Mater and Messe Solonnelle are worthy of attention, study, and performance. Perhaps it is a function of my own aging, but I have been fascinated by the works that composers write in their later years. Both of these works, written after Rossini’s discontinuation of his operatic composition, evidence a strong Christian faith. This, combined with his prowess as a composer of dramatic music, gives to us pieces that justify the appellation “masterworks.”
Arts Knoxville: After his final opera, William Tell, Rossini famously retired at age 37 at what seemed to be the height of his fame. Where do his sacred works fall within his body of compositions?
Howard Skinner: After William Tell, Rossini’s life changed dramatically. For no apparent reason he gave up composing. Apart from the Stabat Mater in 1842 and the Messe Solennelle in 1863, he wrote nothing of significance during the last forty years of his life. It may be that he had run out of energy and inspiration – after all, William Tell had been his thirty-sixth opera in nineteen years – or perhaps he was simply by now so immensely wealthy and successful that he had no particular incentive to go on working.
Howard Skinner: Conductor. Professor Emeritus and President Emeritus, University of Northern Colorado. Music Director and Conductor, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra (1970-2007). Conductor and Founder, Choralfest (2009-2013).
Arts Knoxville: It’s been written that Rossini was reluctant to compose his own Stabat Mater because he believed the definitive setting had already been written by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi a century earlier.
Howard Skinner: Yes, when Rossini was commissioned to set a Stabat Mater, he demurred at first, but soon accepted the challenge. After completing less than half of the movements, ill health compelled him to ask a colleague, Giovanni Tadolini, to finish the work. It was then performed without acknowledgement of its hybrid authorship. When the manuscript resurfaced nearly a decade later, Rossini prevented its publication in this hybrid form and replaced Tadolini’s contributions with newly composed movements of his own. Interestingly, the first Italian performance was conducted by another operatic master, Gaetano Donizetti, who later wrote: “The enthusiasm is impossible to describe. Even at the final rehearsal, which Rossini attended in the middle of the day, he was accompanied to his home to the shouting of more than 500 persons.” Rossini said that Donizetti was “the only maestro in Italy capable of conducting my Stabat as I would wish.”
Arts Knoxville: How would you characterize the Stabat Mater and the Messe Solennelle in terms of their musical and religious significance?
Howard Skinner: The works are truly an homage to the sacred music of the classical period as exemplified by Mozart and Haydn. In our upcoming performance, we will present four movements of the Stabat Mater followed by four movements of the Messe, ending with ‘Cum sancto spiritu in gloria Dei Patris, Amen.’This fugue is a tour de force of musical craftsmanship, reflecting a thorough classical training in harmony and counterpoint. Such was Rossini’s genius that this piece is a testimony to his sincere religious convictions. This music is an expression of a man who, although educated in a Jacobin and anticlerical family, died as a Catholic, professing the Catholic faith and receiving the sacraments that prepare the dying to meet the living God.
Arts Knoxville: Any speculation as to why Rossini didn’t compose more sacred works?
Howard Skinner: Rossini himself was somewhat self-deprecating with regard to his ability as a composer of sacred music, as illustrated by the note he penned to the Almighty upon finishing the Messe Solennelle. “Here it is then, this poor little Mass. Have I written truly sacred music, or just bad music? I was born for opera buffa, as you well know. Not much skill, but quite a bit of feeling – that’s how I’d sum it up. Blessed be thy name, and grant me a place in Paradise.“ I’m guessing Rossini secured that spot.
