Scande coeli limina K. 34

Full instrumentation: Soprano solo, Mixed choir (SATB), 1. Trumpet, 2. Trumpet, Timpani, Strings, Basso continuo

The Offertorium in Festo Sti Benedicti “Scande coeli limina” K.34, constisting of an aria and chorus, is Mozart’s earliest surviving shorter sacred work.

The three-part aria, which bears traces of French models, is motivically related to the four-hand piano sonata K.358 (186c) and the piano sonata K. 330 (300h).

According to Max Keller, Mozart composed it on his return from Paris in 1766 at the abbey of Seeon in Bavaria for the feast of St. Benedict.

The text most likely stems from a monk poet of the Baroque era.