Giaochino Rossini - Chorus for mixed voices (1857) - "O salutaris hostia" (Stuttgart Vocal Ensemble)

Rossini is often considered to be, above all, a secular composer, and, to be honest, some of his holy masses are, well, not exactly "holy"; the most obvious example are the two masses I posted several months ago: "Messa di Gloria" and "Messa di Milano" which, if it were not for the text and some genuinely spiritual music, could pass off as cantatas or even operatic material. This motion is contrasted, however, by a number of pieces that, if not exactly on par with more well-established sacred music, are surprisingly (for a composer who has "Il barbiere" and "L'italiana" in his resume) beautiful invocations of the holy sphere, including the present simple but breathtaking prayer for mixed chorus, composed around 1857.

"O salutaris Hostia" or "Oh, saving Host" is a section of one of the Eucharistic hymns written by St. Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi. He wrote it for the Hour of Lauds in the Divine Office. It is actually the last two stanzas of the hymn "Verbum supernum prodiens". Rossini, however, only sets the first verse a verse rendering of which is provided below:

O saving Victim, open wide
The gate of Heaven to man below;
Our foes press on from every side;
Thine aid supply; Thy strength bestow.

The music itself is thoroughly beautiful and affecting, though, among this sheer musical splendor, three sections stand out in my opinion: 1:06 which finds the men extending the final note of the phrase into a reprise of the main theme; 2:10, a stunning concentrato that combines the women's ornamented music with the more stern responses of the men, all the while developing an intense crescendo of sound (it almost saddens the listener that Rossini decides not to overstretch the music, returning to the "da robur" theme); the ending at 3:14, ideally understated, serves as a perfect final word for the whole piece. Throughout Rossini successfully plays with the vocal dynamics, so successfully, in fact, that is not immediately apparent that the piece is unaccompanied.

Stuttgart Southwest German Radio Vocal Ensemble is the first and, probably, the last version of the piece that I would want to hear, as the chorus works superbly, bringing true harmony to the proceedings. Hope you'll enjoy :).

P.S. It is also obvious that this is the first time that I attempted to create an animated score. I do hope that it works well :).