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).-
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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