ROSSINI, GIOACCHINO. - Musician b. at Pesaro on 29 Feb. 1792, d. at Passy (Paris) on 13 Nov. 1868. He studied at Bologna and at Lugo; having returned to Bologna, he attended the courses of Fr. Mattei at the Liceo musicale.
Having graduated in 1810, he faced the public of Venice with La cambiale di matrimonio, which was followed by as many as 39 operas, so many glorious stages in the history of opera buffa. The Venetian-Milanese period of Rossini's production runs from 1813 to 1815, then the Neapolitan-Roman period opens, until 1823, when R. travelled abroad: Vienna received him with great enthusiasm and so did, after a brief stay in London, Paris, which entrusted him with the direction of the « Théâtre italien » (1824). Having returned to Bologna in 1836, he went to Florence and from May 1855 he retired to Paris. The works of the sacred genre composed by him are not few, but they approach, as was natural in his style, more the genre of theatre music than that of church music. He composed a Stabat Mater for 4 voices, choirs and orchestra in 1831-41, an Ave Maria for 4 voices, and 3 masses: one for male voices (Bologna 1808), a « solenne » one (Naples 1819), and finally, the Petite Messe solennelle, for 4 soloists and choirs with orchestra accompaniment, 2 pianos (Paris 1863-64), to which he added, on the last page, the famous farewell in the form of a prayer, humble and jesting: « Bon Dieu, la voilà terminée cette pauvre petite Messe. Est-ce bien de la musique sacrée que je viens de faire, ou bien de la sacrée musique? J'étais né pour are respectively by the canon Guglielmo Baldesani of Turin and by a certain Alpio of Carmagnola.
Bibliography
Arnaldo M. Lanz