It is said that Gioachino Rossini wrote around 39 operas, the last of which, Guillaume Tell, was first produced at the Paris Opera in August 1829. Then, at the age of just 37, he decided to retire from the operatic stage. A number of reasons for this surprising turn of events have been advanced, the most likely being the turbulent political situation in his adopted country, France.

But in March 1863, 34 years after he composed his last opera, there appeared a curious work entitled Petite messe solenelle (“Little Solemn Mass”). There are two schools of thought about this curiosity. Given the work’s wanton tunefulness, some think Rossini was loitering back at the stage door. Others surmise it was his ticket to the pearly gates.

MSO Chorus. Image supplied.

Just under 90 minutes in performance, the Petite messe solenelle is neither small nor solemn. It takes the liturgical structure of a Missa solemnis, but Rossini’s characterisation of it as “petite”or “little” reveals the joke. “Dear Lord,” he addressed God, on the final page of the manuscript, “here it is finished, this poor little Mass.” He wondered if he...