Missa brevis KV. 258 Missa longa KV. 262

Abstract

The Mass was written by Mozart in 1776 on the occasion of the consecration of Ignaz von Spaur (hence the nickname of the work) as archbishop of Salzburg . Subsequently, the musician and composer of the court Antonio Salieri directed the Sunday August 28th of 1791 , in the presence of Mozart himself, as part of the musical program to celebrate the coronation of Emperor Leopold II in Prague . The score autograph of this work has been recently found in the Archive of the Cathedral of Bressanone . The place where the discovery occurred "can be inferred with certainty that is the Piccolomini Mass KV 257 ". 2 Previously, this mass was classified in the catalog of Mozart works like the Mass KV 257 and KV 258 , or as 262 KV . Already in 1987 , the musicologist British Alan Tyson concluded that this score should be rather the 257 KV , and the recent discovery confirms this.