Rossini wrote his "Petite Messe Solennelle" quite late in life. He had all but given up composing for the opera stage while still comparatively young and very successful. He left Italy and retired to live in Paris. For several years he composed very little. However he returned to composing towards the end of his life and this work was one he referred to as "a sin of my old age". It was somewhat miss named. Napoleon 111 pointed out when he heard it that it was "neither little, nor solemn, nor is it particularly liturgical". The work is, however, very melodic and as one would expect given Rossini's forte as a composer, very operatic. The version we are performing is the original with choir, four soloists, and accompanied by just piano and harmonium.  

Soloists are: 

Claire Melanie Day (Soprano)
Claire Day recently received a Masters degree from The Royal Northern College of MusicDuring her studies she performed in many opera, both with the college and with a number of regional opera societies. She also performed with the college chorus, most notably in Shostakovich’s 2nd and 3rd Symphony under the baton of Sir Mark Elder at the Bridgewater Hall. She has also appeared in a number of oratorio, including the current work Elijah. Claire has been the recipient of numberous awards for her singing. Claire first performed with us last November.





Nicola Dunne (Mezzo)
Nicola was born in Liverpool but much of her music education has been in Manchester. She graduated from the RNCM in 2005 and has since sung both in opera and  concerts throughout Europe. She has recently appeared with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Nicola sang with the HCS in 2007 in a performance of Verdi's Requiem and again last November in Mendelssohn's Elijah.






Bo Wang (Tenor)
Bo Wang studied musicology at Beijing Normal University, taking both batchelor and Masters degrees. He took part in a number of singing competitions and received a number of awards. Most notable was a gold medal from the Singapore International Music and Dance Competition. He has subsequently done further post graduate study at the Royal Northern College of Music and has worked with a number of very well known singers. He has performed frequently in both opera and oratorio. This will be his first performance with HCS.




Alastair McCall (Baritone)
Alastair was trained at the Royal Northern College of Music. He has performed in many operas in England and abroad. He has worked with both the Festival Opera Company and Gilbert and Sullivan festival company in Buxton. He has sung in oratorio, also both in England and continental Europe. Alastair has performed in numerous G & S operas at Gawsworth Hall and will be singing there again this year. This his first engagement with the HCS.





We will be accommpanied by:

David Houlder (Piano)

A native of Preston, David Houlder has had close associations with Merseyside for many years. He is currently Associate Conductor of the Doncaster Choral Society and Banks Music recently published a new arrangement by David of "Silent Night". By all accounts this was very well received when performed recently in Yorkshire.
David has accompanied many of Hoylake Choral Society's concerts in the past, in particular, he performed the stupendous feat of accompanying our performance of the Verdi Requiem in 2007. David last accompanied us in November 2010 when he played both organ and piano, not at the same time, though sometimes one suspects that if pushed he might even manage that.

Victoria Wells (Harmonium)
Victoria has been Hoylake Choral Society’s rehearsal accompanist for a number of years. Her biographical details can be found in the biographies page of this site. She often performs with us at our Carol concerts. She played the Harmonium part in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle in 2005 when we last performed this work.