Great Mass in C minor by Mozart

×

Expand

Image courtesy of Palau de la Musica

Mozart's Mass in C minor is one of his most spectacular religious works. Gone had been that handful of "short" Masses that Archbishop Colloredo had made him compose when he worked in his service at the court of Salzburg. Colloredo forced him to make functional religious music: no frills, no repetitions, no large orchestral masses.

Mozart, already installed in Vienna and freed from that yoke, wrote the Great Mass betting on expressiveness and looking for the different states of mind that he experienced as a man, between light and darkness. It uses all the technical resources that it masters, from the old figado style to arias in quasi-operatic format, going through the maximum exploitation of the choir, sometimes in eight voices. The result was a monumental work, shocking and deep that premiered in Salzburg far from the archbishop's palace.

Back in Vienna, Mozart spent a few days in Linz, where he was asked to hold a concert. Since he had no work in his suitcase, he decided to compose a symphony which he completed in three days. The Linz Symphony breathes luminosity and freshness on all four sides: direct, cheerful, technically perfect and like that indescribable air that only the genius from Salzburg knew how to impress on music.

Program

• W.A. MOZART: Symphony no. 36, KV 425 "Linz"
• W.A. MOZART: Great Mass in C Minor, KV 427

For more music events check our online events calendar.