Here are two of Rossini"s "secular" cantatas: "The Lament of Harmony on the Death of Orpheus" for tenor, male chorus, and orchestra, written when he was a 16-year-old conservatory student, and the far more substantial "Wedding of Thetis and Peleus," one of many such pieces he composed for special occasions, commissioned for the marriage of an Italian princess to a French prince. Both consist of primarily short, separate, contrasting numbers, most of which would be perfectly at home in the opera house. Indeed, Rossini himself evidently made no distinction between the genres, recycling and adapting arias freely from one to the other. No wonder much of the music here sounds familiar. It is also very beautiful. There are some echoes of Haydn and Mozart, but most is vintage Rossini, full of charm, grace, and beguilingly lovely, celestially floating melodies, as well as exciting sections of high drama. Only the end of the Wedding Cantata gets repetitious, as if Rossini had run out of ideas. The orchestration is singularly felicitous, with wonderful woodwind passages and horn solos. The vocal parts are extremely difficult, demanding agile coloratura, melting lyricism, and dramatic weight. All are stratospheric, going up to many high B-flats and B"s; the tenors have several C"s and even a D. The singing ranges from excellent to spectacular; only the soprano is a little shrill at times. Tenors Florez as Peleus and Kelly as Harmony are outstanding, and Cecilia Bartoli, who gets stellar treatment with the only picture in the booklet, also gets every chance to display her strengths in all their glory: the intense, focused voice, pure throughout a huge range; the large palette of colors and timbres; the rippling, immaculately clear coloratura. The orchestra and chorus, led by Riccardo Chailly, are splendid. --Edith Eisler