Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle

Three facts you should know about the year 1863: a choral masterpiece was created, City Choir was founded, and a very special harmonium was built! And these three facts come together in City Choir’s performance of Gioachino Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle on Sunday 28 August 2022 at 2:30 pm in Knox Church, Dunedin.

The work is very much typical Rossini: fresh, playful and decorative, with an emphasis on beautiful vocal melody. The four soloists are Rebecca Ryan, Claire Barton, Jared Holt and Federico Freschi, and David Burchell directs and conducts the performance.

The singers are accompanied by a chamber-sized ensemble of two grand pianos, played by John van Buskirk and Sandra Crawshaw, and a French harmonium, made in Paris in 1863, played by its owner Ron Newton. The harmonium, also called a reed organ, is a free-reed keyboard instrument that has no pipes. Pitch is determined by the size of the reed while separate sets of reeds provide different tone colours.

Tickets are available online from Eventfinda www.eventfinda.co.nz, phone 0800 289 849, or cash sales at Music Planet and Music Works.

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