Joseph Haydn: Missa in honorem Beatissimae Virginis Mariae, Hob. XXII:4

The "Great Organ Solo Mass" is one of Haydn's early masses, written when he had only been in the service of Prince Nicholas I Esterházy as Court Conductor for a short time. The venue of the premiere, the Eisenstadt Palace Chapel, is a relatively small space, which is reflected in the relatively small instrumentation. Yet it is precisely in the instrumentation that Haydn shows himself to be modern: for example, he uses two English horns, which require an unusual range - instruments of this kind were acquired by Haydn at the time the mass was written.

The outstanding feature of this mass, however, is the soloistic prominence of the organ; it was not for nothing that this Marian Mass ("Missa in honorem Beatissimae Virginis Mariae") later received the description "Great Organ Solo Mass". Using the organ as a concert instrument in the liturgy was also popular at this time. In this way, smaller organ concerts (stylistically corresponding to concerts for other keyboard instruments) could also be performed in the mass. While in other "organ solo masses" the organ traditionally appears primarily as a soloist in the Benedictus, in this mass, in addition to its virtuoso appearance in the Benedictus, it is used as a concerto in almost all movements from the beginning of the Kyrie. Haydn himself presumably played the organ part at the premiere.

Dr.ⁱⁿ Maria Helfgott

Translation: Godwin Gundacker using www.deepl.com

Conductor: Jordi Casals
Organist: Wolfgang Kogert
Choir: Vienna Boys Choir, Vienna State Opera men's choir, "Choralschola der Wiener Hofburgkapelle"
Orchestra: Members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Celebrant: Peter Schipka

Ticket reservation at  office@hofmusikkapelle.gv.at

Online ticket sale through Culturall: 

Buy tickets online (Culturall)