Haydn - 'Theresa' Mass

Haydn composed six great masses between 1796 and 1802 to celebrate the name-day of the wife of his patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy. Fired by the composer’s religious devotion and written with his extraordinary skill, the masses are supreme examples of the Viennese Classical style. The "Theresa” Mass, written in 1799, is one of these great sacred works, scored for solo vocal quartet, chorus and orchestra.
Titled in honor of the Austrian empress Maria Theresa, the mass embodies an astonishing synthesis of the qualities for which Haydn’s great choral works are celebrated.