Rossini Does Sacred Music

Who knew Rossini did sacred classical music so well? The song playing at first in the Rossini collection is a fabulous Italian setting of the Mass. There are movements of honest tenderness and pomp as well in the “Benidicta." It’s all a great fashion to see the choir all singing these songs and them still having relevance today. We need a resurgence of this kind of music today. Much of the beauty is lost by more contemporary music (that in and of itself is not inherently bad) but going back to the fundamentals is nice too.

I can see a one thousand person choir singing these with such grace and beauty. The Italian language is astounding as well. All the mass settings are done almost perfectly in the recording that I heard. They are fabulous. The “Sanctus” is probably the most beautiful work of the set because the harmonies are so on point. I am very sure the Lord is honored by what He hears in this collection. It was customary in the classical music tradition in Rossini’s time to write religious music, especially in the Catholic tradition. It stands to task that this work is included in the long backlog of harmonious music that is sung to God with a vigor. Rossini is previously well known for opera and various other kinds of dramatic music. Add sacred music to his catalog and what you have is a very well-rounded musician.

The first movement and the Sanctus point at harmonic counterpoint that is very beautiful and artistic. If you are a religious person and you are looking for something to sink your ears into and get lost in, this may just be the thing for you. Take some time to really dig deep into this set and see it for the beauty it is.