Editing Gioachino Rossini (section)

===Withdrawal, 1830–1868===
[[File:Charles-Antoine Cambon - Set design for the première of Rossini's Robert Bruce, Act III, Scene 3.jpg|thumb|Set design for the original production of ''[[Robert Bruce (opera)|Robert Bruce]]'' (1846)|alt=A painting of a stage setting based on the ramparts of Sterling Castle in the Late Middle Ages.]]

Rossini's contract required him to provide five new works for the Opéra over 10 years. After the première of ''Tell'' he was already considering some opera subjects, including [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]]'s ''[[Goethe's Faust|Faust]]'', but the only significant works he completed before abandoning Paris in 1836 were the [[Stabat Mater (Rossini)|Stabat Mater]], written for a private commission in 1831 (later completed and published in 1841), and the collection of salon vocal music ''Soirées musicales'' published in 1835. Living in Bologna, he occupied himself teaching singing at the Liceo Musicale, and also created a ''[[pasticcio]]'' of ''Tell'', ''Rodolfo di Sterlinga'', for the benefit of the singer {{ill|Nicola Ivanoff|it|Nicola Ivanoff (tenore)}}, for which [[Giuseppe Verdi]] provided some new arias.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;6. Retirement}} Continuing demand in Paris resulted in the production of a "new" French version of ''Otello'' in 1844 (with which Rossini was not involved) and a "new" opera ''[[Robert Bruce (opera)|Robert Bruce]]'' for which Rossini cooperated with [[Louis Niedermeyer]] and others to recast music for ''La donna del lago'' and others of his works which were little-known in Paris to fit a new libretto. The success of both of these was qualified, to say the least.{{sfn|Everist|2009|pp=644–653}}

Not until Rossini returned to Paris in 1855 were there signs of a revival of his musical spirits. A stream of pieces, for voices, choir, piano, and chamber ensembles, written for his soirées, the ''[[Péchés de vieillesse]] (Sins of old age)'' were issued in thirteen volumes from 1857 to 1868; of these, volumes 4 to 8 comprise "56 semi-comical piano pieces&nbsp;.... dedicated to pianists of the fourth class, to which I have the honour of belonging."{{sfn|Osborne|1993|pp=293–297}} These include a mock [[funeral march]], ''Marche et reminiscences pour mon dernier voyage (March and reminiscences for my last journey).''{{sfn|Osborne|1993|p=270}} Gossett writes of the ''Péchés'' "Their historical position remains to be assessed but it seems likely that their effect, direct or indirect, on composers like [[Camille Saint-Saëns]] and [[Erik Satie]] was significant."{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;7. A new life}}{{refn|The popular [[Duetto buffo di due gatti|Cat's duet]], frequently attributed to Rossini, is not by him but is a confection of the "Katte-Cavatine" by the Danish composer [[Christopher Ernst Friedrich Weyse|C.E.F. Weyse]] with music from Rossini's ''Otello''.{{sfn|Osborne|1993|p=179}}|group=n}}

The most substantial work of Rossini's last decade, the ''[[Petite messe solennelle]]'' (1863), was written for small forces (originally voices, two pianos and [[harmonium]]), and therefore unsuited to concert hall performance; and as it included women's voices it was unacceptable for church performances at the time. For these reasons, Richard Osborne suggests, the piece has been somewhat overlooked among Rossini's compositions.{{sfn|Osborne|2004|p=159}} It is neither especially ''petite'' (little) nor entirely ''solennelle'' (solemn), but is notable for its grace, counterpoint and melody.{{sfn|Hurd & Scholes|1991|p=286}} At the end of the manuscript, the composer wrote:

<blockquote>Dear God, here it is finished, this poor little Mass. Is it sacred music I have written, or damned music? I was born for opera buffa, as you know well. A little technique, a little heart, that's all. Be blessed then, and grant me Paradise.{{sfn|King|2006|pp=4–7}}</blockquote>