Mass in C major KV 258

The relatively unspectacular nature of the Spaur Mass may be one of the reasons for the fact that writers on music generally refer to it only as a peripheral work, a little sister of Mozart’s “important” church works. With regard to scoring, the Spaur Mass belongs to the category of the “missa solemnis,” but its brevity and its stylistic character belong far more to the “missa brevis.” Unlike the Organ Solo Mass KV 259, here the soloistic element – both instrumental and vocal – is clearly integrated to the background in favour of the development of the whole ensemble.

Scoring: Soli SATB, Coro SATB, 2 Ctr, Timp, 2 Vl, Bc, [2 Ob, 3 Trb]