Messe solennelle de sainte Cécile
CG 56
“Shining rays stream from the Messe de sainte Cécile. At first people were dazzled, then bewitched, then overcome.” This is how the composer Camille Saint-Saëns described his impression of what was probably Charles Gounod’s best-known setting of the mass. The work written in 1855 in honor of the patron saint of church music, soon became well-known beyond the borders of France and acquired a degree of popularity like almost no other sacred composition. In the Messe de sainte Cécile, Gounod combines sublime simplicity with operatic-dramatic elements and a colorful, effective orchestration.
Critical edition in proven Carus quality.
Thanks to the arrangement for chamber orchestra by U. Stäuble (Carus 27.095/50) it is also possible to perform the work in smaller settings.
An anonymous arrangement of the mass for two equal voices and organ or piano accompaniment is also available (Carus 27.025/00).
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Composer
Charles Gounod
| 1818-1893Charles Gounod is known today especially as the composer of the operas Faust (1859) and Roméo et Juliette (1867), and of the very popular Méditation sur le 1er prélude de piano de J. S. Bach (1852), arranged in 1859 as an Ave Maria. The fact that Gounod is regarded primarily as an important opera composer does not do justice to his extensive œuvre, which encompasses all genres. His creative output is dominated by his church music, which overshadows that of all other 19th-century composers. Personal details
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Editor
Frank Höndgen
| 1967
Reviews
... Die Edition ist gewohnt vorbildlich und allen Chorleiterinnen und -leitern für die Anwendung zu empfehlen.
Neue Töne, Kirchenmusik im Bistum Münster, 11/2018
... Die Cäcilienmesse ist eine der klangvollsten Messen überhaupt, so richtig „was fürs Herz”, ideal für einen großen Chor, noch idealer in einem großen Raum mit viel Weihrauch - Katholizismus pur. ....
Kirchenmusik im Bistum Limburg, 2/2018
In der Partitur sind neben dem Original aus napoleonischer (III.) Zeit auch alternative Textvarianten angegeben. Ein ausführliches und informatives Vorwort ergänzt diese Neuausgabe.
Singende Kirche, 2/2018
... der Editor der Carus-Ausgabe, Frank Höndgen, beleuchtet in seiner Vorrede die Entstehung der Messe im Kontext von Gounods Lebensumständen und erklärt die unterschiedlichen Kompositionsphasen. ... Höndgen beschreibt die einzelnen Teile der Messe genau nach Struktur, theologischem Inhalt und Stilistik. Der - deutsche - Kritische Bericht im Anhang geht sehr genau auf die Quellenlage und Editionsprinzipien ein und zeigt notwendige editorische Korrekturen gegenüber Manuskript und Erstdrucken auf...
Musik und Kirche, November/Dezember 2017
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