Missa solemnis

Album by Ludwig van Beethoven & Carolyn Sampson & Marianne Beate Kielland & Thomas Walker & David Wilson‐Johnson & Cappella Amsterdam & Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century & Daniel Reuss

Missa solemnis is a solemn mass composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, completed in 1823 and first performed in 1824. Scored for vocal soloists, choir and orchestra, it exemplifies Beethoven's late-period approach to large-scale vocal-orchestral writing, employing dense contrapuntal textures, expansive harmonic language and an emphasis on structural breadth within the liturgical form.