Missa Beatissimae Virginis Mariae MH 15

Scoring: Soli SATB, Coro SATB, 2 Tr, 2 Trb, Timp, 2 Vl, Bc

The Missa Beatissimae Virginis Maria was composed ca. 1758–1760, between the end of his tenure as a singer in the choir of St. Stephen’s in Vienna and the beginning of his first position as violinist and music director for the Bishop of Großwardein.

The scoring of SATB (for soli as well as choir) and “church trio” was augmented by two trumpets (clarini) and timpani, as well as two trombones. The latter instruments double the alto and tenor voices in tutti passages but in the “Et incarnatus est” they are also employed in an obbligato role.

On the one hand, as an early work this Mass is in the style of the festive baroque tradition, as practiced in south-German regions until the middle of the eighteenth century; on the other hand it already shows the subjective inspiration which distinguished it from many of the mass settings by Haydn’s contemporaries.