Psalm.24

Composed for celebrations from Christmas to Epiphany and first produced in Leipzig in 1734–35, Bach's Christmas Oratorio unfolds movingly in a set of six cantatas unified by a single narrative

This volume contains two of Beethoven's most unusual, highly innovative and original works: the Concerto in C Major, Op. 56, for piano, violin, cello and orchestra; and the Fantasia in C Minor, Op. 80, for

Late in his career, Haydn, inspired by the oratorios of Handel, turned to composing oratorios himself, launching what would become a final brilliant and successful phase of his extraordinary rich and

First performed in Berlin in 1821, Der Freischütz is recognized as the wellspring of German Romantic opera. It was immensely influential in subject matter, atmosphere, orchestration, and other aspects

One of the last works of German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), the oratorio Elijah was first performed at England's Birmingham Festival in August 1846. Elated by the audience's response,

This edition of Brahms' greatest, most ambitious vocal work is reprinted from the definitive edition of the composer's works, prepared by Breitkopf & Härtel of Leipzig. Inexpensive but sturdily

Considered the greatest Italian opera composer since Verdi, Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) created many of the most popular operas in the repertoire, including Madama Butterfly, La Boheme, Tosca, Manon

Written between 1850 and 1854, L'enfance du Christ (The Childhood of Christ) was first performed under Berlioz's direction during the holiday season of 1854. The three-part work―consisting of "Herod's

The B Minor Mass, a cornerstone of Western music, is a composition of truly monumental dimensions, one that occupied Bach intermittently from the 1720s to the 1740s, and the work often regarded as the

Although not as well known as the Missa Solemnis or the choral finale of the Ninth Symphony, the two works in this volume nevertheless offer striking testimony to Beethoven's ability to compose

The best-known and most beloved large-scale musical work in the English-speaking world, Messiah was first performed in Dublin over 200 years ago to benefit local charities. Since that time, it has given

Masterpiece of sacred music is a vast symphony structured around the five divisions of the Ordinary of the Catholic Mass. Too monumental for ordinary liturgical purposes but a work that stands with

One of the standards of the operatic repertoire, Norma is Bellini's masterpiece, a work of great emotional power and radiant melody, celebrated for its purity of style and "an ecstatic unfolding of

Among the most widely performed choral works in the repertoire, the Fauré Requiem is generally considered the greatest achievement of its highly influential French composer. Written in memory of

The Requiem was not only one of Mozart's most inspired works, it was one of his last. It was commissioned in the summer of 1791 to memorialize the deceased wife of Count Walsegg-Stuppach, an amateur

"From the purely artistic and musical points of view the Requiem is certainly Verdi's greatest work to this date and an astounding manifestation of … continual progress and inner development. The

Two great masterpieces of sacred music in one volume: Requiem Mass (Grande messe des morts), Op. 5, and Te Deum, Op. 22. Requiem unrivaled in the grandeur of its conception, calling for huge orchestral

One of the most moving of all the musical settings of the Passion of Christ, and one of the most frequently performed of all religious choral works. In its solos and choruses, Bach’s choral

One of the most performed and recorded of Bach's major works, the St. Matthew Passion has been a focal point of concert seasons and festivals around the world for over 150 years. First performed in the late

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980) offers ample reason why the complete score to Strauss's Salome is worthy of study. "It is virtuoso display of the creation of atmospheric colour by

After the brilliant success of his last series of London Symphonies, Haydn went home to Vienna, recognized throughout Europe as the supreme master of both the symphony and the quartet; but his career was

The composer's most-admired Masses, among them the moving "Coronation" Mass in C Major, composed in Salzburg in 1779, and the great Mass in C Minor, which Mozart wrote at the time of his marriage in 1782.

Beautiful and highly dramatic, Antonín Dvorák's Stabat Mater was inspired both by the centuries-old image of the Virgin Mary's vigil at the foot of the cross and by the composer's grief at the

"The first performance of the work took place at Munich on September 12, 1910, Mahler himself conducting. Its reception, which was overwhelming, was the first unqualified success that he had ever enjoyed.