Gioachino Rossini's Petite messe solennelle (Little solemn Mass) was written in 1863, possibly at the request of Count Alexis Pillet-Will for his wife Louise, to whom it is dedicated.

Rossini later produced an orchestral version, including an additional movement, a setting of the hymn "O salutaris hostia" as a soprano aria.

Rossini composed the Petite messe solennelle in 1863, 34 years after writing his last opera, in Passy, where he spent the last decades of his life.

[1] The mass is structured in several extended movements in the tradition of the missa solemnis, but the composer labeled it petite with a grain of irony.

He wrote on the last page of the autograph manuscript (now preserved in the Fondazione Rossini, Pesaro):[1] Dear Lord, here it is finished, this poor little mass.

[c] The mass was first performed on 14 March 1864 at the couple's new residence in Paris, the hôtel of Louise, comtesse de Pillet-Will.

[5] Rossini, who had helped prepare for the performance, turned pages for the first pianist, Georges Mathias, and marked tempos by nodding his head.

[6] In 1867, three years after the first performance, Rossini discreetly orchestrated the Petite messe solennelle, partly for fear that others would do it anyway after his death.

As he disliked the sound of cathedral boys' choirs, he requested permission from the pope to perform the work with female voices at a church.

[e] It was performed at the Salle Ventadour in Paris by the Théâtre-Italien, with soloists Gabrielle Krauss, Marietta Alboni, Ernest Nicolas and Luigi Agnesi.

Writing for La Perseveranza, Filippo Filippi said that "this time, Rossini has outdone himself, because no one can say what prevails, science and inspiration.

"[13] A reviewer for L'Illustration wrote: One could sense, from the first measures, the powerful spirit which animated this artist thirty years ago at the time when he chose to put a stop at his glorious career at its culminating point.

The composer of William Tell stands proudly before you in his eminence, and you realize with astonishment that neither time nor inactivity have caused any loss of the intelligence with which he is so marvelously endowed.

The same facility of invention, the same melodic abundance, the same nobility of style and the same elegance, the same novel twists, the same richness of harmony, the same audacity and happy choice of modulation, the same vigor of conception and of expression, the same ease of part-writing and disposition of the voices, the same masterful and authoritative skill in the overall scheme of the work, as well as in the structure of each movement ...[14]Giuseppe Verdi was less enthusiastic, writing to Count Opprandino Arrivabene on 3 April 1864 that "lately Rossini has made progress and studied!

[13] In its original version, the performance of the mass required four soloists (soprano, contralto, tenor and bass), a mixed choir of ideally twelve singers including the soloists, two pianos and harmonium, which could sometimes be replaced by an accordion, according to Rossini's initial ideas, but was considered too "popular" for a religious framework at the time of the mass's creation.

[15][16] This small number of performers contrasts with the dimension of ensembles used at that time to interpret the great works of sacred music.

[17] In 1867 Rossini orchestrated his mass for instrumental forces much larger: three flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, three bassoons, four horns, four trumpets, three trombones, ophicleide, two cornets, timpani, two harps, organ and strings.

[6] The mass is structured following the five parts of the liturgical text, with a ternary Kyrie, a Gloria in six movements, a Credo divided in four sections, Sanctus (including Hosanna and Benedictus) and Agnus Dei.

Rossini added two earlier compositions, using an instrumental piece in the form of prelude and fugue for an offertory, and inserting in the orchestral version a soprano aria, a setting of "O salutaris hostia".

As Fleming points out, insertion of an instrumental offertory and/or a motet such as "O salutaris hostia" was mentioned in La France musicale [fr] in reviews of contemporary mass settings.

The third movement of the Gloria is a tenor aria, setting "Domine Deus rex celestis" (Lord God, King of Heaven).

Marked Allegro giusto and fortissimo ( = 120) in common time, it is introduced by a march-like theme with a pattern of a syncopated long accented note on beat 2 of most measures, which the tenor picks up.

[30] A third aspect, "Domine Deus Filius Patris" (Lord God, Son of the Father), appear forte and with an even accompaniment in triplets.

The fourth movement of the Gloria is a duet for the two female soloists, expressing "Qui tollis peccati mundi, miserere nobis" (You who carries the sins of the world, have mercy).

Different from the Gloria, the text of the Creed is mostly in the same character, interrupted only for a short soprano solo "Crucifixus" (Crucified) and an episode "Et resurrexit" (And risen), concluded by another fugue.

[36] This statement of belief is repeated several times throughout the movement, structuring and unifying it, in a way that Niccolò Jommelli, Mozart and Beethoven used before, among others.

Rossini proves both his inventiveness (particularly at the level of management of the tonality, which frequently evolves into distant keys) and his impressive capacity for mastering the contradictions.

This episode ends with the dynamic double forte decrescendo on a perfect cadence of G♯ (D♯ dominant seventh → G♯ major), repeated twice identically.

[47] For "Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domine" (Blessed who comes in the name of the Lord), the choir presents a soft melody in triplets.

[50] The piano then begins another ostinato pattern as the base for expressive melodies by the contralto soloist, repeating many times "Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis" (Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy).