A rite for Napoléon, a Requiem for Paris
Rediscovered in the sixties in the archives of the Bibliothèques des Tuileries, Mass for the Coronation of Napoleon by Paisiello remains a rarity even today. Better known for his catalogue of buffa opera, the Neapolitan Paisiello had a European career from his title of official court composer for Catherine II of Russia, to that of Ferdinand IV in Naples to that of Napoleon's chapel-master. It was therefore quite natural that the future Emperor commissioned him to compose two pieces, a Te Deum and a Mass, to be performed at his Coronation at Notre Dame on 2 December 1804. It is a piece of luminous classicism, alternating the majesty of the choral parts and the flamboyance of the solo parts with a brilliant vocally athletic style. Paisiello and Mozart met in Italy and in Vienna, and it is known that they had a mutual respect for each other. The string section of the Gloria of Paisiello's Mass resonates with certain passages from Mozart's Requiem, a page that Paisiello probably did not know, but which left behind it a troubling memory that two centuries of legend have still grown.

COPRODUCTION Palazzetto Bru Zane / Théâtre des Champs-Elysées Dans le cadre du 9e Festival Palazzetto Bru Zane Paris