Rossini's Petite messe solonnelle | The English Arts Chorale

"Neither little, nor solemn, nor particularly liturgical" according to Napoleon III, Rossini's last major work, written after a long silence, sparkles, dances and marches. Having adapted his operatic style to the words of the mass, Rossini scored it for piano and harmonium, and called it "the last of the sins of my old age."