Missa in C for Mixed Three-Part Chorus, Orchestra and Organ

Ferdo Livadić (1799 – 1879) recieved his musical education in Graz. After graduation he settled at his family estate in Samobor (Croatia) and spent the rest of his life there, composing in his spare time. During the Croatian national movement (1835–48) he was a prominent supporter of its leader, Ljudevit Gaj. He composed numerous art songs in Croatian, Slovenian, and German, as well as marches, dances and scherzi for piano. Probably the best of these piano works is a Nocturne in F sharp minor (1820) written even before famous Chopin's nocturnes. „Livadić’s musical world is a copy of generally accepted composition procedures. As such, in a somewhat simplified form, they point to the author's musical role models and his foundations in the classicist-romantic tradition, thus confirming Livadić's association with the circle of “small” mid-European masters. That is why the early Romantic Missa in C is quite a rarity in the abundance of mostly salon compositions of the time (especially for Croatian circumstances). Permeated with Livadić’s specific lyrical character, it represents the essence of his creativity in sacral music. In addition, Livadić’s Mass represents the continuity of centuries of tradition of Croatian sacral music, which was somewhat suppressed within artistic circles in the early 19th century. With its intended use, concise form and harmonic structure, and especially with its international musical vocabulary, the composition reflects a blend of classicist simplicity and early Romantic lyric character.“ (Rozina Palić-Jelavić)