Stiftskirche St. Peter
Salzburg, Austria
Wolfganz Amadeus Mozart
Mass in C minor K. 427
Nadezhda Pavlova, Soprano I
Rachel Redmond, Soprano II
Mingjie Lei, Tenor
Matthias Winckhler, Bass
Utopia Orchestra and Choir
Teodor Currentzis, Conductor
The Great Mass in C minor is recognised as one of the greatest works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The composer wrote it in Vienna during the years 1782 and 1783. The Mass was to be performed in Salzburg at the time of Mozart’s reconciliation visit to his father (during which Mozart also introduced him to his wife, Constanze). Constanze sang at the premiere, where only four of the canonical parts were performed: Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Benedictus. The Mass was left unfinished.
This monumental work was written for an equally monumental ensemble, consisting of two sopranos, a tenor, and a bass (which appears only once in the quartet of singers), a double chorus, and a large orchestra. Mass in C minor astounds by presenting a perfect union of gravity and soulful beauty. In it, the melodics of Italian opera and symphonic mentality of classicism fuse organically with the legacies of Bach and Handel, which were actively studied by Mozart at the time.