W A Mozart (1756-91) wrote his Missa brevis in D K194 in 1774 at the age of eighteen. As with many of his shorter mass settings, it is a remarkably compact and tightly constructed work, ingenious in its concision. Nevertheless, the solo lines display flashes of Mozart’s melodic fluency, as well as a sense of musical drama and humour – heard at its most developed in the Agnus Dei.

Cheryl Frances-Hoad (b. 1980), Bogoróditse Dévo, ràduisya

Frances-Hoad studied at Cambridge and then Kings College, London.  Her works are characterised by their diverse influences: from classic literature to pop and folk music.  This piece clearly pays homage to Rachmaninov’s famous setting of the same text – starting with a simple repeating pattern in the altos, Frances-Hoad builds up to a grand texture at the climax.