Pietro Mascagni, the composer best remembered for the famous opera Cavalleria Rusticana, left an extensive oeuvre of fine instrumental and vocal works. The Messa di Gloria, very popular in its time and unashamedly romantic, was written in the same period as Cavalleria Rusticana. Devoid of the usual religious features, it sounds like grand opera in its jubilant arias and ariosos, orchestral pomp and circumstance and feeling for atmosphere and drama. This 1991 recording features tenor and bass soloists with Flavio Colusso conducting the Ensemble Seicentonovecento.
