Rossini

The dress rehearsal took place last night, without the dresses and only rehearsing the pieces the chorus was singing. The four soloists just did snippets of their arias and duets/trios and then sang the introductions to the choral sections where 120 of us joined in.

We’re singing Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle. Some parts are incredibly beautiful (most of them a cappella) and other sections contain a few too many AMENs (21 pages for the last fugue), though even those sections can shine. When the tenor soloist sings the opera-like Domine Deus, the atmosphere lightens and you can’t help but smile. That said, the opening Kyrie makes me want to cry, but I can’t hit the La’s (A) and be teary at same time.

I have been reading the last few days about the formation of the creeds. It’s useful reading but complex, showing that difficulties brought believers to define their faith more clearly, to put into words the mystery of God’s plan brought to completion in his only Son. A plan ultimately visible in our lives.

All this leads me to think that Creeds are truly meaningful when they are sung. That the definite, confining words take on mystery when they echo in church sanctuaries.