ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
PHILIPPE HERREWEGHE
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791):
Grosse Messe in C-minor KV427
Valda Wilson _soprano_
Diana Haller _alto_
Robert Getchell _tenor_
Benoît Arnould _bass_
Collegium Vocale Gent
Orchestre des Champs-Élysées
Philippe Herreweghe
*Great Mass in C Minor*
In 1782 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart married Constanze Weber without first obtaining the approval of his father Leopold. At that time he had been living in Vienna for some time as a composer and keyboard virtuoso. Wolfgang hoped to regain his father’s favour by promising to write a Mass for the archbishop of Salzburg. The orchestral and vocal forces and the proportions of this Grosse Messe in C minor K.427 would have undoubtedly resulted in a monumental missa solemnis, but sadly it remained unfinished. Still, this is Mozart at his best: full of masterly bravura, carefree elegance and emotional depth.