In 1805, towards the end of his immensely productive and successful career, Haydn significantly expanded the youthful Missa brevis setting he had composed over fifty...

In 1805, towards the end of his immensely productive and successful career, Haydn significantly expanded the youthful Missa brevis setting he had composed over fifty years earlier, enriching the orchestration with flute, clarinets, bassoons, trumpets and timpani. The other work on this disc, his Mass in B flat major of 1801, gained its nickname ‘Creation Mass’ from a short quotation taken from his most famous oratorio. Although this upset the Empress Marie Therese, audiences to this day smile in recognition at this musical phrase, which enlivens the work’s overarching mood of splendour.