The offertory “Misericordias Domini” K.222 (205a) has a special place among Mozart’s minor ecclesiastical works. A letter from Wolfgang to Padre Martini dated 4 September 1776 informs us that the piece was written in January or February 1775 in Munich at the request of the Prince Elector of Bavaria and was performed there on 5 March. Drawing closely on the carefully wrought works of Mozart’s Salzburg predecessors and incorporating a motif from Johann Ernst Eberlein’s “Benedixisti Domine” this contrapuntal masterpiece unites polyphony with expressive tension-laden harmonies. Unfortunately as the copy sent to Padre Martinicannot be located in Bologna the authenticity of the viola part is still open to question.- Urtext of the New Mozart Edition- Full score performance material (BA4789) and vocal score (BA4789-90) available for sale.
