Joseph Leopold Eybler: Missa Sancti Alberti: Chœur Mixte et Ensemble

Mozart and Haydn greatly admired the church music of their friend, the composer and Vienna court Kapellmeister Joseph Eybler. With its lyrical-pastoral mood, his Missa Sancti Alberti contrasts with his large-scale mass settings; in structure, extent, and orchestration it recalls Franz Schubert’s well-known Mass in G major. Apart from two solo quartets which can be performed by soloists from the choir) the chorus is the main carrier of the musical action; the concise setting of the mass text is mainly set homophonically. Starting with a basic string group, the orchestra can be expanded ad libitum by the addition of two oboes, two bassoons, two trumpets, and timpani, enabling the work to be presented in its masterly orchestration.