Elgin Master Chorale’s spring concert will feature Rossini’s ‘Petite Messe Solennelle’
The Elgin Master Chorale will perform Gioachino Rossini’s “Petite Messe Solennelle” on Sunday, April 14. This mass, arranged for choir and four soloists, is accompanied by two pianos and a harmonium.
Despite its name, “Solennelle,” which suggests solemnity, the piece is often quite spirited and is composed in the bel canto style that is characteristic of Rossini’s operatic compositions.
All concertgoers are invited to join music director Andrew Lewis for a preconcert talk starting at 2:30 p.m. to learn more about this distinctive rendition of the mass.
Maestro Lewis remarks, “It has been my pleasure and privilege to perform so many great and wonderful musical works, but none can compare with the vigor, sunniness, inventiveness, and charm as Rossini's masterpiece.” Join the Elgin Master Chorale for this extraordinary program.
The concert will be presented at 3:30 p.m. on the stage of the Blizzard Theatre at Elgin Community College, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.
Tickets are available through the ECC Arts Center box office at (847) 622-0300, online at eccartscenter.org/tickets/, or at ECC Arts Center.
Tickets are $31 or $26 for seniors/students.
The Elgin Master Chorale is a cultural cornerstone of Elgin and the Fox Valley creating a thrilling, emotional experience for audiences at each performance by achieving an overall level of excellence in singing, presentation, and production.
Comprised of approximately 100 adult singers who share a passion for choral masterworks and other fine repertoires, the Elgin Master Chorale believes that great music comes from people of all backgrounds and cultural experiences and has the power to connect and unite.
In early May, the Elgin Master Chorale will be joining the Elgin Symphony Orchestra in the performance of Beethoven’s Ninth. Beethoven’s “Choral Symphony” was remarkable in its day not only for its grandness of scale but especially for its final movement, which includes a full chorus and vocal soloists singing “An die Freude” (“Ode to Joy”).
To learn more about the Elgin Master Chorale, visit ElginMasterChorale.org.
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