''Péchés de vieillesse'' ("Sins of Old Age") is a collection of 150 vocal, chamber and solo piano pieces by composer

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

, who was best known for his operas. The pieces are grouped into fourteen unpublished albums under this self-deprecating and ironic title. The ordering of the pieces in the albums does not reflect the sequence or the dates of their composition, which range from 1857 to shortly before Rossini's death in 1868. The title ''Péchés de vieillesse'' was given by Rossini only to volumes V to IX but has been applied to all. The collection is

salon music Salon music was a popular music genre in Europe during the 19th century. It was usually written for solo piano in the Romantic music, romantic style, and is often performed by the composer at events known as "Salon (gathering), Salons". Salon compo ...

, though of a refined order, meant to be performed in the privacy of Rossini's drawing room at

Passy Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, on the Rive Droite, Right Bank. It is adjacent to Auteuil, Paris, Auteuil to the southwest, and Chaillot to the northeast. It is home to many ...

. Volumes I, II, III and XI are vocal music to piano accompaniment. Volumes IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, X and XII are music for solo piano. Volume IX is for chamber ensemble or solo piano. Volumes XIII and XIV comprise vocal and non-vocal music. *''Vol I Album italiano'' *''Vol II Album français'' *''Vol III Morceaux réservés'' *''Vol IV Quatre hors d’œuvres et quatre mendiants'' *''Vol V Album pour les enfants adolescents'' *''Vol VI Album pour les enfants dégourdis'' *''Vol VII Album de chaumière'' *''Vol VIII Album de château'' *''Vol IX Album pour piano, violon, violoncello, harmonium et cor'' *''Vol X Miscellanée pour piano'' *''Vol XI Miscellanée de musique vocale'' *''Vol XII Quelques riens pour album'' *''Vol XIII Musique anodine'' (1857). Presented to his wife Olympe in gratitude for her care during his long intermittent illness. *''Vol XIV Altri Péchés de vieillesse'' After the composer's death in 1868, his widow, Olympe Pélissier, sold the entire collection, which was then auctioned in London, in 1878. The ''Société anonyme de publications périodique'', Paris, was among the buyers, who sold publishing rights to the firm of Heugel. The edition was prepared by Auguste Vaucorbeil (1821–1884), director of the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

, who reordered the pieces and gave them new picturesque titles, as Rossini's often nonsensical titles, which looked forward to

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...

's, were deemed unsuitable. Critical editions of all the albums are in process of publication by the , Pesaro, which conserves the original autograph manuscripts; they are distributed by Ricordi of Milan. The new editions restore Rossini's expressively precise musical notation and offer heretofore unpublished alternative versions of some ''Péchés''.

Arrangements

In 1918, Ottorino Respighi orchestrated a number of the piano pieces for the ballet '' La Boutique fantasque''. In 1925, he arranged some more piano pieces, from Vol. XII (''Quelques riens''), as the orchestral suite '' Rossiniana''.

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

also used some of Rossini's themes in his orchestrally arranged suites "Soirées musicales", Op. 9, (1936) and " Matinées musicales", Op. 24 (1941).

Recordings

From 2008 to 2018

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records, which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...

released 11 albums with ''Péchés de vieillesse'' played by pianist Alessandro Marangoni.

References

List and text of the songs on the website of the ''German Rossini Society''Houghton Library, Harvard University:
35 ''Péchés'' in scribal manuscript

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peches De Vieillesse Compositions by Gioachino Rossini Compositions for solo piano