Sammartini had a long and active musical career, working as maestro di capella or organist in as many as ten different churches, yet surprisingly few of his sacred compositions survive. Il pianto degli Angeli della Pace features three soloists and was first performed in the church of San Fedele in Milan in 1751. Vocal texture is largely dominated by a typically Italianate melodiousness and virtuosity, while the orchestral writing is full of daring harmonies, sparkling themes, and a refined and inexhaustible wealth of ideas. His Symphony in E flat major is part of a large body of works in the genre, which Sammartini was among the first to exploit, earning him the title ‘Father of the Symphony’.