The festive and dramatic Coronation Mass, written in the spring of 1779, is the greatest of a series of church works written by the young Mozart for the Salzburg court. We perform it as it would have been heard in Salzburg Cathedral, with an Epistle sonata played between the Gloria and the Credo, and motets sung at the Offertory and the Communion. For the Offertory we have chosen his fine contrapuntal setting of ‘Misercordias Domini’ K222, written in 1775, while the Communion motet is Mozart’s virtuoso setting of ‘Exsultate, jubilate’ K165 (1773), written for Milan but revised for Salzburg in 1779 with flutes instead of oboes.

The rest of the concert consists of three contrasted works written for the Salzburg court orchestra. The large-scale and richly scored Symphony in D major K133 (1772) is one of Mozart’s finest early orchestral works, while the Serenata Notturna in D major K239 (1776) is a brilliant parody of popular dance music featuring a village band of two violins, viola and double bass accompanied by timpani and strings. The Concertante in G major from the Posthorn Serenade K320 (1779) is a beautifully scored miniature concerto for pairs of flutes, oboes, horns and bassoons and strings.     

Philippa Hyde needs no introduction to SVF audiences, having been a member of the regular team of performers for many years. She is active in the early music scene here and abroad, with her own group The Musicke Companye and with leading specialist choirs and orchestras.