Salieri:  Emperor Mass in D Major
Mozart:  Coronation Mass (first performance by Arsys)
Misericordias Domini and Ave Verum Corpus motets
Church Sonata KV329 in C Major

Program
Emperor Mass in D Major by Antonio Salieri (1750-1825)
Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei

Coronation Mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Offertoire Misericordias Domini KV222, Church Sonata in D Major KV329, Sanctus, Benedictus, Ave Verum Corpus KV618, Agnus Dei

Duration
Mass in D : 35 minutes - Coronation Mass : 25 minutes - Misercordias Domini : eight minutes - Church Sonata : five minutes - Ave Verum Corpus : four minutes.

Antonio Salieri was the last Kappellmeister at the Hapsburg court in Vienna (a post Mozart longed for but never attained).  He numbered Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt and Czerny among his pupils.  Salieri wrote about a hundred sacred works, including a requiem and four masses for choir and orchestra.  All were written for the imperial chapel in Vienna.

The Mass in D Major, composed in 1804, adheres to the tradition of late 18th century Viennese masses both vocally and instrumentally.  The title Kaisermesse, or Emperor Mass, is because it contains a brief quotation of Joseph Haydn's Hymn to the Emperor.

Mozart completed this Coronation Mass for Salzburg Cathedral on 23rd March 1779 in his capacity as court composer for Prince Colloredo.  It was performed in 1791 for the coronation of the King of Bohemia, at the same time as the first performance of La Clemenza di Tito, conducted by Salieri.

From a musical standpoint one cannot help but notice that although he writing a solemn mass, Mozart has developed and deploys here a sumptuous and brillant style, transcending the purely personal, to which he will adhere. The Mass' last movement is a jubilatory Dona Nobis Pacem with an overwhelming brass fanfare, offering up to God the splendour and festivity of a grand opera finale.

Composed in early 1775, the motet Misericordias Domini in D minor exhibits all Mozart's alchemy, both in structure and expression, both horizontally and vertically.  Its rigorous contrapuntal construction and ardent homophonic writing, its harmonic tension and lyrical passages are pure Mozart.

The Ave Verum Corpus in D Major was written in June 1791, just six months before the composer's death. It is extremely well-known, and for good reason, ranking with the Requiem as Mozart's more famous sacred composition.  Here, in a mere 46 bars of adagio, are concentrated one thought and one life. Mozart here expresses the quintessence and universal nature of Man's emotions as he contemplates his own death...