- Mozart’s “Great” Mass in c minor was written between 1782-83. The sacred choral work was first performed incomplete in Salzburg at the Church of St. Peter’s Abbey, conducted by the composer. Fun fact – Constanze Mozart was the soprano soloist at this performance.1
- Mozart began writing the mass around the time he married Constanze, and he supposedly intended to have it performed in honor of their marriage.
- Like his infamous Requiem, Mozart also left his Mass in c minor unfinished (in this instance for reasons unknown). Some historians speculate that the death of Mozart’s 2-month-old child in 1783 may have influenced him to abandon the work. The mass as a whole would have been enormous for the time, not unlike Bach’s Mass in b minor.
- Only the “Kyrie” and “Gloria” were completed by Mozart. The “Credo,” “Sanctus,” and “Benedictus” were incomplete, and the “Agnus Dei” was completely missing.2
Sources
- “Mass in C minor, K.427/417a (Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus),” IMSLP, accessed August 12, 2025, https://imslp.org/wiki/Mass_in_C_minor,_K.427/417a_(Mozart,_Wolfgang_Amadeus).
- Martin Pearlman, “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mass in C minor, K. 427,” Boston Baroque, accessed August 12, 2025, https://baroque.boston/mozart-427.
Cut IDs
24854 40637 45076