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INTRODUCTION
ALTHOUGH ROSSINI IS A WELL RESPECTED composer of opera, his song literature is to a large extent unknown, or, at best, underperformed. Some of Rossini's songs have still not been published; others are in early editions which are out of print; and many are only in critical/scholarly editions of Rossini's works. The lack of good performance editions limits the inclusion of Rossini's songs on voice recitals and recordings. Yet Rossini's smaller compositions represent his artistic output for a large part of his life, as he gave up writing opera in 1829 and was to live for another thirty-nine years. During his later years, he devoted himself to composing songs, vocal chamber music, and small compositions for the piano, an oeuvre that represents a barely excavated gold mine of beautiful music.
The solo songs of Rossini represent only a very small portion of his nonoperatic vocal works. Rossini's vocal chamber music is an untapped and potentially rich body of music that also remains to be explored. As can be seen in his operas, he was a masterful composer of ensembles. It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss the numerous duets, quartets, and other chamber pieces; rather, discussion is limited to the solo songs with piano.
Rossini's output as a song composer can be divided into three general categories: 1) early songs; 2) the Soirées musicales and miscellaneous songs from the 1830s and 40s; and 3) the Péchés de vieillesse, written after Rossini's return to composition in 1855.
EARLY SONGS
The songs that comprise the early group are particularly difficult to locate. Philip Gossett who has been directing the new critical edition of the complete works of Rossini has done much to locate these and other songs.
Rossini's two earliest songs are "Se il vuol la molinara" (before 1813) and "Qual voce, quai note" (1813). While he was artistic director of the Teatro San Carlo and its affiliated theaters (1815-1823), he wrote a number of other songs: "Il trovatore," "Addio ai viennesi," "La pastorella," "Amori scendete" (Beltà crudele), "Canzonetta spagnuola," "Infelice ch'io son," and "Les adieux à Rome."1
"La pastorella" is a charming strophic song for soprano to a text by N. di Santo-Magno. A staccato melody in the piano depicts the...