Musique anodine / Album italiano

In May of 1855, after years of physical and psychological disturbances that prevented him from composing regularly or living a normal life, Rossini returned to Paris to pursue a cure. In the summer of 1856 he visited various German spas - Wildbad, Kissingen, and Baden - and by the autumn his health had noticeably improved. For him, for his wife Olympe, and for their friends, the gift he presented her on her nameday, 15 April 1857, marked his return to active composition: a collection of six songs preceded by a Prelude for piano, titled Musique anodine (Soothing Music). It was dedicated to her in gratitude for the care with which she tended him during the years of illness. The six songs of Musique anodine all use the Metastasian text "Mi lagnerò tacendo" that Rossini repeatedly used as an armature for composing songs.

The second collection published in this volume is the first of the series of albums that Rossini gathered, in his later years, into the collection he called Péchés de vieillesse. Many of these pieces were performed at the renowned samedi soirs held by Rossini at his apartment in the Chausée d'Antin. The album comprises a dozen songs with piano accompaniment: nine for solo voice, a duet, and two quartets. The texts represent at least four poets of the period, with three poems written specifically for Rossini.

*MUSIQUE ANODINE*
Prélude	(Piano)
N. I	Mi lagnerò tacendo	(C and Pf)
N. II	Mi lagnerò tacendo	(Bar and Pf)
N. III	Mi lagnerò tacendo	(S and Pf)
N. IIII	Mi lagnerò tacendo	(S and Pf)
N. IIIII	Mi lagnerò tacendo	(MS and Pf)
N. IIIIII	Mi lagnerò tacendo	(Bar and Pf)
APPENDIX TO MUSIQUE ANODINE
N. IIIIIa	Mi lagnerò tacendo ["Un'empia mel rapì!"]	(MS and Pf)
N. IIIIIIa	Mi lagnerò tacendo (29 February 1852)	(C and Pf)

*ALBUM ITALIANO*
N. 1	I gondolieri (Quartettino)	(S, C, T, B, Pf)
N. 2	La lontananza	(T and Pf)
N. 3	Tirana alla spagnola (rossinizzata)	([S] and Pf)
N. 4	L'ultimo ricordo	([Bar] and Pf)
N. 5	La fioraja fiorentina	(S and Pf)
N. 6	Le gittane	(S, C, Pf)
N. 7	Ave Maria (su due note)	(C and Pf)
	La regata veneziana: Tre canzonette
N. 8	Anzoleta avanti la regata	(MS and Pf)
N. 9	Anzoleta co passa la regata	(MS and Pf)
N. 10	Anzoleta dopo la regata	(MS and Pf)
N. 11	Il fanciullo smarrito	(T and Pf)
N. 12	La passeggiata (Quartettino)	(S, C, T, B, Pf)
APPENDIX TO ALBUM ITALIANO
N. 2a	La lontananza (versione originale)	([T] and Pf)
N. 3a	Amour sans espoir (Tirana all'espagnole rossinizé)	([S] and Pf)
N. 6a	Mi lagnerò tacendo	(S, C, Pf)
N. 8a	Barcarolle	([MS] and Pf)