Missa Cellensis

This Mass (whose full name is Missa Cellensis in honorem Beatissimae Virginis Mariae) was originally composed by Haydn in 1766, after he was elevated to the post of Kapellmeister at Esterhäza following the death of Gregor Joseph Werner (the previous Kapellmeister). It is believed that the original manuscript was destroyed in the Eisenstadt fire of 1768, and that when Haydn re-wrote the work from memory, he may have expanded it. It may originally have consisted solely of Kyrie and Gloria, and the remaining movements added later. It is thought that this Mass may have been performed by the Saint Cecilia''s Congregation, a Viennese musician''s fraternity, on some Saint Caecilia''s Day (November 22nd) during that time, but this also lies in the realm of conjecture.