Rossini - Petite messe solennelle Michałowski, Zawartko, Rehlis, Lampert, Goliński, Warsaw Philharmonic Choir

• Gioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868): Petite messe solennelle:
• 1 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Kyrie eleison 06:24
• 2 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Gloria in excelsis Deo 00:50
• 3 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Et in terra pax 02:00
• 4 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Gratias agimus tibi 04:54
• 5 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Domine Deus 05:39
• 6 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Qui tollis 06:56
• 7 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Quoniam 07:24
• 8 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Cum Sancto Spiritu 05:32
• 9 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Credo in unum Deum 04:19
• 10 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Crucifixus 04:01
• 11 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Et resurrexit 04:42
• 12 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Et vitam venturi 04:06
• 13 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Offertorium 08:06
• 14 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Sanctus 05:35
• 15 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - O salutaris Hostia 06:03
• 16 Rossini: Rossini - Petite messe solennelle - Agnus Dei 10:00
• Total Runtime 01:26:31

Info for Rossini - Petite messe solennelle

To mark the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir, we hereby present a new album in the series Live Recordings, featuring Gioachino Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle. This exceptional work was performed in concerts at the Warsaw Philharmonic on 18 and 19 May 2018 by the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir, under the direction of Bartosz Michałowski, with the excellent Polish soloists Joanna Zawartko (soprano), Agnieszka Rehlis (mezzo-soprano), Andrzej Lampert (tenor) and Łukasz Goliński (baritone), and the instrumentalists Ewa Wilczyńska and Agnieszka Kopacka-Aleksandrowicz on piano and Piotr Wilczyński on harmonium.

The Petite messe solennelle (‘Little solemn mass’) is the last masterwork to be penned by Gioachino Rossini. In the oeuvre of this brilliant Italian composer, dominated by operatic works, sacred music always maintained a constant, albeit discreet, presence. […] The first performance of the Petite messe solennelle was given on 14 March 1864. […] This composition took its place among the most original sacred music of the nineteenth century, alongside works by Ferenc Liszt and Hector Berlioz. It became its composer’s musical and spiritual testament, opening up broad vistas for future continuators referring in their work to Latin traditions in the Catholic liturgy.

Warsaw Philharmonic Choir
Bartosz Michałowski, conductor

Bartosz Michałowski
graduated with distinction in choral conducting from the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań. In the years 1998–2005, he was assistant to Prof. Stefan Stuligrosz and conductor of the Poznań Philharmonic Choir. Together with this Choir, also known as the Poznań Nightingales, he has performed extensively in Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Russia, and Japan.

Bartosz Michałowski won the 2015 Orphée d’Or of the Académie du Disque Lyrique in Paris, was nominated for a 2015 Fryderyk award for his 2CD album featuring works by Pasquale Anfossi, is the recipient of one Gold Disc, and also won the 9th Polish National Choral Conductors Competition, where he received a special prize for his work on voice production with choirs. Bartosz Michałowski is the founder, conductor, and Artistic Director of the Poznań Chamber Choir, one of the best ensembles of its kind in Poland. He is also the founder and Director of the Opus 966 Polish Composers’ Competition, and the author of Pisz muzykę – to proste! (Write Music – It’s Easy) composing workshops for children and young people. He is also a co-author of the Obrazogranie project organised as part of the Art for Children Biennale in Poznań.

Together with the Poznań Chamber Choir, his talents have been recognised in prestigious competitions in Germany and France, and he has also received the 1st Prize and the Audience Prize at the International Choir Festival in Neuchâtel.

The Poznań Chamber Choir is the only choir in Poland to collaborate with the legendary Concerto Köln Orchestra; in addition, it has appeared with the Irish Baroque Orchestra and performed many times with the Poznań Philharmonic Opera, Polish Radio Orchestra, Jelenia Góra Philharmonic, Gorzów Philharmonic, and Czech Virtuosi.

As a conductor, Michałowski has garnered major prizes in reputable choral competitions as well as numerous special awards for, inter alia, best vocal technique of an ensemble, best performance of contemporary music, and best conductor.

During his 18-month term with the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir, he conducted—both at the Warsaw Philharmonic concert hall and on tour—Szymanowski’s Kurpie Songs, Kodály’s and Gretchaninov’s Masses, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, and Mozart’s Coronation Mass. In October 2017 as the Choir’s director, he prepared the ensemble for a performance of the world premiere of Anton Rubinstein’s sacred opera Moses (cond. Michail Jurowski) and in February 2018, he recorded Roman Padlewski’s Stabat Mater as part of the 100 na 100 – Muzyczne dekady wolności (100 by 100 – Musical decades of freedom) project launched by PWM Edition. He also helped prepare a dozen vocal-instrumental concerts of the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, during which he collaborated with eminent conductors such as Ton Koopman, Christoph König, Matthew Halls, and Jacek Kaspszyk, as well as with Krzysztof Penderecki on his Polish Requiem.

He has been invited to participate in prestigious festivals, such as the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Gaude Mater International Festival of Sacred Music, International Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki Festival, Transatlantyk, Nostalgia, Wojciech Kilar Contemporay Music Festival, Poznań Spring Contemporary Music Festival, Musica Sacromontana Oratorio Music Festival, Lower Silesia Music Festival, and Mikołów Music Days.

To date, Michałowski has rehearsed and staged several hundred a cappella pieces from all musical periods, and he has also collaborated regularly with renowned institutions and orchestras on performances of vocal-instrumental works. His output includes numerous first performances.

In addition to gaining a wealth of experience as a conductor, Bartosz Michałowski has spent many years working on enhancing his skills and knowledge in the field of voice production: he has completed masterclasses with Poppy Holden, Christian Elsner, and Józef Frakstein. As a conductor, choirmaster, and soloist, he is featured on 20 albums.

Booklet for Rossini - Petite messe solennelle