Although Salieri achieved his greatest fame as an opera composer, he also composed over a hundred sacred works, including five masses. This edition presents Salieri's first orchestral mass, written in 1788 for a celebration of the return of Emperor Joseph II from battle with the Turks. A work of impressive beauty, the Mass in D Major is a landmark in the history of music at the Vienna court chapel, where Salieri presided as Hofkapellmeister for thirty-six years.