Gioachino Rossini lost no time in enjoying his self-imposed retirement in the wake of William Tell. By 40, he was already the avuncular, Falstavian figure presiding over parties well attended by fellow musicians, artists, writers and society elite. Yet, unlike the deafening silence of the oft-compared early retirement of Sibelius, the creative flame still burned, albeit at a low pilot, for the now-affluent Italian. Against this convivial backdrop, the Soirees musicales (Musical Evenings) came into being between 1830 and 1835.

This collection of a dozen songs is comprised of eight for solo voice and four duets, all with piano accompaniment. The texts are varied, but the bulk are provided by Count Carlo Pepoli, amateur man-of-letters and frequent guest at Rossini's. The first, "La Promessa," is in what has been described as the composer's "kittenish" mode, playful yet relaxed. This is followed by "Il Rimprovero," its languid spinning-wheel rhythm brought to a jolting close by a series of rapidly modulating chords, a favored device in the codas of the composer's overtures. "La Partenza," despite its bittersweet lyrics of farewell, is in the tempo of an old-fashioned minuet and is followed by the heartier excursion in triple time, "L'orgia." The following four form a suite of contrasting national dances: "L'invito," a Spanish bolero; "La Pastorella delle Alpi," a Tyrolean laendler; "La Gita in Gondola," a Venetian boat song; and the most famous of the set, the Neapolitan "La Danza," one of the most evocative pæans to the rising hormones of youth. Set against a swirling tarantella rhythm, the lyrics, including guitar onomatooeia and exclamations of "Mama Mia!" rallies young lovers to a nocturnal dance. The following four duets for various vocal combinations includes "La Reganata veneziana"; its main theme is strikingly similar to one used by Von Suppe in his Poet and Peasant a decade later. The wandering chromatic melody of "La Pesca" may lead one to ponder the possible indebtedness of Berlioz to Rossini. "La Serentata" is in the same vein. The last of the works is the most striking, the darkly dramatic "I Marinai." No sunny Mediterranean view can be found in this brooding seascape, usually sung by tenor and baritone. The piano accompaniment seems to cry out for larger forces, unlike the technically uncomplicated others in the set. It is not surprising that this song caught the attention of young Richard Wagner, then a conductor in Riga, who made an orchestral transcription of "I Marinai" and performed it under his direction.

© All Music Guide

8.La danza (‘Già la luna è in mezzo al mare’)

This exuberant song, "The Dance, " describes a dance by the sea-side.

"Already the moon is half-way into the sea, mamma mia, we'll leap about!"

The singer imitates the sounds of the instruments and the almost dazzling

speed of the dance, and ends the song with quick, almost whooping

"la la la la la" patterns. The orchestra or piano accompaniment is lively

and vivid, and in the orchestral version, often uses folk percussion

instruments such as tambourines.

The song is a combination of salon song and folk song elements, making it

more challenging for the singer than might first appear. Too much

delicacy, and the exuberance seems artificial, too much exuberance, and

the delicacy is lost. The rhythms are occasionally tricky as well, with

some notes held where one wouldn't expect them, and the words require

almost as much mastery of diction as Gilbert and Sullivan patter-songs.

© All Music Guide