Messe solennelle Hol 20

The 20 year old Berlioz wrote his Messe solennelle in 1824, his first large scale work for chorus and orchestra. His later Memoirs suggest he burnt the manuscript due to his doubts about its quality. However the manuscript had made its way to Antwerp and the Church of St Carolus-Borromeus where it was catalogued by church officials probably in 1956. But it was not until 1991 when Franz Moors, a retired teacher, organist and choir master, discovered it in a wooden chest on the organ platform and gradually began to realise its status as a work of some significance.

The work was published by Bärenreiter in the 'New Berlioz Edition' and modern premieres were given during1993 and 1994.