Medici Choir perform Rossini's Petite messe solennelle

The choir will perform Rossini’s Petite Messe Sollennelle, conducted by Justin Harmer with organist Mike Cayton and piano by David Gostick

Soloists joining the choir will be: Erika Mädi Jones (soprano), Helen Stanley (alto), Gareth Dafydd Morris (tenor) and Geoff Williams (bass).

The concert is given in aid of Childhood Bereavement Network, The Buddhist Society and Bhola’s Children

Rossini's Petite messe solennelle (1863) is neither little nor solemn, although it does have the liturgical form and text of a Mass. The 'Petite' presumably referred to the original chamber scale of the forces for which it was written. With a larger choir and venue, this performance replaces the composer's harmonium with organ. Rossini, who had retired from composing operas more than 30 years before, described it as "the last of my sins of old age".