Donald Macleod explores the importance of religion to Haydn, how it permeated his career and the choices he made throughout his life.

Joseph Haydn’s prodigious creativity earned him the titles Father of the Symphony and Father of the String Quartet. However, he was also occupied with sacred music throughout his career. This week, as Donald Macleod follows Haydn’s journey from humble choirboy to Europe’s most celebrated composer, he shines the spotlight on music from Haydn’s many settings of the Mass. It's music that is as chock-full of invention and character as any of the instrumental forms he made his own.

Haydn was brought up in a Catholic family at a time when the values of the Enlightenment were held in high esteem in Europe. As a young choir boy, Haydn’s daily routine followed the pattern of the liturgical year, which was an influence he never forgot. His steadfast faith is evident in his compositions, copies of which travelled along the length of the Danube and beyond.

Stabat Mater: Sancta Mater
Patricia Rozario, soprano
Anthony Rolfe Johnson, tenor
The English Concert
Trevor Pinnock, musical director

Mass in F major ‘Missa brevis a due soprani’
Susan Gritton, soprano
Pamela Helen Stephen, mezzo-soprano
Mark Padmore, tenor
Stephen Varcoe, baritone
Collegium Musicum 90
Richard Hickox, conductor

Arianna a Naxos cantata: Aria ‘Dove sei’
Carolyn Watkinson, mezzo-soprano
Glen Wilson, piano

String Quartet in B flat major Op 64 No 3
The Salomon Quartet
Simon Standage, violin
Micaela Comberti, violin
Trevor Jones, viola
Jennifer Ward Clarke, cello

Producer: Eleri Llian Rees for BBC Cymru Wales Show less