Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mass in C Minor

In the summer of 1782, Mozart began composing a work that was not commissioned but promised. Newly married to Constanze Weber, and despite his father’s opposition, he returned to his native Salzburg after a three-month trip with the “moral obligation” to finish the score. The result was a colossal mass, with demanding arias designed to showcase his wife’s vocal talent and technical skills. This Great Mass in C Minor can be seen both as a wedding gift and as a way for Mozart to demonstrate their abilities as a couple to his strict father, Leopold.

However, the work remained incomplete: Mozart did not finish the orchestration of some parts of the Credo and left out the Agnus Dei. At the premiere, he probably completed it using fragments of other pre-existing works. The reasons for leaving it unfinished remain uncertain—it may have been due to the tragic death of his first child, family problems, or simply turning to other projects. Despite this, the Mass remains a masterpiece of sacred symphonic-choral music, combining tradition and forward-looking innovation.

Mozart was deeply influenced by late Baroque composers, especially J.S. Bach and Handel, and sought the expressiveness and drama of Italian opera, with bright orchestral colors, complex choral writing, and virtuosic solo passages. The Mass opens with a solemn Kyrie, followed by a radiant Gloria featuring solos for one, two, and three singers, and double-chorus sections, with moments of beauty and sorrow, culminating in a grand fugue. The Credo is lively and light, including the longest and most demanding soprano solo, Et incarnatus est, and it concludes with a monumental Sanctus and a more intimate Benedictus.

Jordi Savall, with La Capella Nacional de Catalunya and Le Concert des Nations, will perform this cornerstone of Western music on a European tour including five concerts:

• Stiftung Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria – 26 January 2025

• Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, Germany – 28 January 2025

• Palace of Arts – Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, Budapest, Hungary – 30 January 2025

• L’Auditori, Barcelona, Spain – 6 February 2025

• Philharmonie de Paris, France – 10 February 2025

The new edition to be performed is prepared by conductor, musicologist, composer, and historical keyboard soloist Luca Guglielmi, who carefully revised and expanded the manuscript, using as much original Mozart material as possible, with minimal reconstruction or composition of new material. The tour will also include an intensive professional academy and a final recording, preserving this extraordinary performance for the future.