Work: Petite messe solennelle

Several of Tokyo’s finest collaborate in successfully delivering a re-opening concert at Suntory Hall

The ultimate musical misnomer, Rossini's last major work is beautifully sung in the wonderful surroundings of the Chapel of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

That Rossini was a wag. The master of the bon mot, you suspect he probably had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he entitled his 1864 choral work the Petite Messe Solenelle.

It is the first version of Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle, with piano and harmonium, that the Flemish Radio Choir and Hervé Niquet chose to perform, their fine performance demonstrating the originality and impact of this more intimate version.

Though Rossini’s name is synonymous with 19th-century comic opera, his contribution to sacred music is not inconsiderable; a sizeable collection of masses, hymns and cantatas reach the pinnacle of their popularity in two works that still make an entertaining evening in the concert hall or church.