Hummel’s small but important corpus of sacred works belongs to a period of unparalleled richness in the history of church music. Between 1796 and 1808 first Haydn, then Hummel and Beethoven composed an extraordinary series of Masses for Prince Nicolaus II Esterházy. Hummel’s Missa Solemnis in C, recorded here for the first time, is a worthy successor to the late Haydn Masses but no pale, bloodless imitation. Its brilliant orchestration, inventive and flexible choral writing and technical resourcefulness are the work of an experienced and gifted composer. Completed a few months earlier, the exuberant Te Deum recalls all the brilliance and verve of Haydn’s great Te Deum of 1799.