In addition to his masses and the Requiem, Mozart wrote an abundance of smaller sacred choral works for the church. Misericordias Domini KV 222 (205a) was created at the beginning of 1775 in Munich as a commission for the prince-elector. Mozart wrote in a letter of 1776 to Padre Martini (who had instructed him in counterpoint a few years earlier) that a few days before his departure, the prince elector had expressed the wish ‘to hear an offertory made in counterpoint, which had to be composed, written out and rehearsed by the following Sunday’. Despite this short timeframe, Mozart created a contrapuntal masterpiece in the style of his Salzburg role models, which he combined with the exciting harmony of his own time. Although a quasi-hymn of praise, the mood of this work is rather solemn and dark. It can therefore be performed as a standalone piece, or preceding a work such as the Requiem KV 626, to which it is lyrically and musically perfectly suited.

Editorial note: By its nature, this SAM-Klang edition occasionally challenges the performers with a somewhat higher level of activity than in the original SATB version, and in some places a slight redistribution of entries in the polyphonic sections has been made. Despite this, the original orchestral accompaniment can be used together with this version without restraint, and the work can also be performed with piano accompaniment. The name SAM-Klang takes the three voice parts from the arrangements – Soprano, Alto and Men – and combines it with the Scandinavian and German words for ‘sound’ to create the portmanteau word ‘sound together’ or ‘harmony’. The SAM-Klang series offers basic and advanced choral repertoire arranged for soprano, alto and one male voice- part.