Missa Sancti Hieronymi MH 254

Just by reason of its scoring the Missa Sancti Hieronymi occupies a special place not only among the settings of the Mass by Haydn, but also in the repertoire of church music at the Royal Court of Salzburg.

Other than the Hieronymus Mass and the Proprium motet Timete Dominum MH 256, which is connected with it, there are no additional surviving works in the Salzburg repertoire with this type of instrumentation. The unusual instrumentation, the contrapuntal style in the fugal sections, as well as the melodic invention and harmonic elaboration show that this Mass is a masterpiece.