Mozart Sparrow Mass Sheet Music — Missa in C, KV 220
The complete performance edition of Mozart’s Missa brevis in C, KV 220 — full score, every part, and a printable choral score with organ. Prepared and repeatedly conducted in performance by Paul Lorenz.
Mozart’s Missa brevis in C major, KV 220 (196b) — the “Sparrow Mass” — is about sixteen minutes of festive C major for SATB soloists and choir, two trumpets, timpani, strings and organ: short enough for a Sunday high mass, brilliant enough to open a concert. This is the complete performance edition by Paul Lorenz — conductor’s score, every individual part, and a printable choral score with organ, delivered as an instant PDF download you own outright. Complete Edition €89.90 (launch price; regular price €119.00), or the Choral Score with organ on its own for €49.90.
What separates this edition from the free scans is everything that happens after the download. Mozart’s Salzburg scoring has no viola at all, and a single shared bass line for cellos and basses. This edition adds an idiomatic viola part, separate cello and double-bass parts, a fully written-out organ part, and trumpet parts notated for modern B-flat instruments — and it cues the alto, tenor and bass lines for three trombones ad lib., the Salzburg cathedral practice that is still the fastest way to give an amateur choir a spine. Every one of these parts has stood on a music stand: Paul Lorenz has performed this mass repeatedly with orchestra, choir and soloists.
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Choose your “Missa in C (Sparrow Mass)” edition
Complete Edition — Full Score & All Parts
The complete performance library: conductor’s score plus every individual part — 2 trumpets, timpani, organ, Violin I & II, viola, cello and double bass — and the full SATB choral score with organ. Includes everything in the Choral Score edition.
- Instant PDF download
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- Licensed for performance
Choral Score with Organ
€49.90The SATB vocal score with a fully written-out organ part — everything your choir and organist need to rehearse and to perform the mass in a service. Alto, tenor and bass cued for trombones ad lib.
- Instant PDF download
- Secure checkout
- Licensed for performance
Quality in detail
- Complete Performance Material: Conductor’s score plus every individually extracted part — 1st and 2nd trumpet, timpani, organ, Violin I, Violin II, viola, cello, double bass — and the full SATB choral score. One download, nothing to order separately, yours to keep and reprint every season.
- The Viola Part Mozart Never Wrote: Salzburg church scoring omits violas entirely. This edition adds an idiomatic viola part, so a modern string section — or a school and community orchestra — has nobody sitting the mass out.
- Separate Cello & Double-Bass Parts: Instead of one shared “Basso” line, cellists and bassists each receive their own engraved part with their own page turns and their own cues.
- Choral Score with Organ: A self-contained SATB score with a fully written-out organ part — the score your choir actually needs in the rehearsal room, and the one your organist can perform from.
- Trombones ad lib. — Paul’s Practical Tip: Alto, tenor and bass are cued for Trombone I–III colla parte. Historically this is authentic Salzburg practice; practically it is the quickest way to steady the inner voices of a volunteer choir.
- Road-Tested in Live Performance: Not a desk edition. Paul Lorenz has conducted this mass with orchestra, choir and soloists on numerous occasions — the parts have survived real rehearsals, real page turns and real performances.
Mozart’s Sparrow Mass sheet music at a glance
| Work | Missa brevis in C major, KV 220 (196b), “Spatzenmesse” / “Sparrow Mass” — Mozart, around 1775/76; public domain |
| Movements | Kyrie · Gloria · Credo · Sanctus · Benedictus · Agnus Dei |
| Duration | approx. 16–17 minutes |
| Voicing | SATB choir, with the solo passages taken from the choir or by four soloists |
| Instrumentation | 2 Trumpets in B-flat, Timpani, Organ, Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Violoncello, Double Bass — Trombones I–III ad lib. colla parte with alto, tenor and bass |
| Arranger / Editor | Paul Lorenz — arrangements recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios |
| Difficulty | Grade 3 — experienced church, community and semi-professional choirs; advanced amateur to professional orchestra |
| Format | High-resolution PDF — instant download, print-ready and tablet-optimised |
| Licence | Public-domain work; edition © Edition Zeitlos, Austria. Print for your ensemble, perform in concert and liturgy — no rental, no return deadline |
| Price | Complete Edition €89.90 (launch price, regular €119.00) · Choral Score €49.90 |
Which edition do you need?
| Choral Score with Organ | Complete Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| You have | A choir and an organist | A choir, an organist and instrumentalists |
| Best for | Sunday high mass, small chapels, the whole rehearsal phase | Feast days, patronal festivals, sacred concerts, Easter and Christmas |
| Included | SATB vocal score with fully written-out organ part, trombone ad lib. cues | Everything in the Choral Score plus conductor’s score and all parts: 2 trumpets, timpani, organ, Violin I & II, viola, cello, double bass |
| Price | €49.90 | €89.90 — launch price, regular €119.00 |
The Complete Edition contains the Choral Score, so a choir can start rehearsing from the same pages it will sing from on the day — and step in front of trumpets, timpani and strings later without relearning a single bar.
What Mozart’s original score doesn’t give you
Mozart wrote the Sparrow Mass for the forces of Salzburg Cathedral in the 1770s, and that has practical consequences the moment a modern ensemble opens a facsimile: there is no viola part at all, cellos and basses share a single figured “Basso” line, the organ is a bass line with figures rather than a playable part, and the trumpet parts are written for clarini in C. This edition closes every one of those gaps.
| Mozart’s Salzburg original | This edition |
|---|---|
| No viola part | An idiomatic viola part, so a full modern string section can play |
| One shared “Basso” line | Separate cello and double-bass parts, individually engraved |
| Figured bass for organ | A fully written-out organ part, playable as printed |
| Clarini in C | Trumpets notated in B-flat — no transposing at sight |
| Trombones assumed by local practice | Alto, tenor and bass explicitly cued for Trombone I–III ad lib. |
| Vocal score sold separately | A printable SATB choral score with organ, included |
None of this is decoration. It is the difference between a score you admire and a set of parts you can hand out on a Tuesday evening.
The single most useful thing I can tell a choir director about this mass: put three trombones on the alto, tenor and bass lines. It is exactly what would have happened in Salzburg, it costs you nothing in authenticity — and a volunteer choir that has been drifting flat in the Credo suddenly sings with a spine under it. That is why the cues are printed in every relevant part of this edition.
— Paul Lorenz, arranger and conductor, on performing KV 220
The six movements
| Movement | Approx. | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Kyrie | 2 min | Allegro, C major — trumpets and timpani announce the mass, choir enters over chirping violins |
| Gloria | 3 min | Brilliant and fast, with the compressed text-setting typical of the missa brevis |
| Credo | 3½ min | The dramatic centre — a hushed Et incarnatus est framed by driving outer sections |
| Sanctus | 1 min | Short, radiant, and the movement that gave the mass its nickname |
| Benedictus | 3 min | The lyrical heart, carried by the solo voices |
| Agnus Dei | 4 min | Pleading, then resolving into a bright Dona nobis pacem to close |
Want to hear it before you buy? The complete mass is on YouTube in a reference recording of KV 220 (a third-party recording, not this edition) — about sixteen and a half minutes from Kyrie to Dona nobis pacem.
Why “Sparrow Mass”?
Listen to the violins. Again and again Mozart writes short, repeated, chirping figures above the voices — most audibly in the Sanctus — and to early listeners they sounded like sparrows twittering in the rafters. The nickname is not Mozart’s; it was attached later, and it stuck because it is exactly right. It also tells you how to conduct the piece: light, quick, articulate, with the strings never heavy. This is festive music written by a twenty-year-old for a church that wanted brilliance without delay.
Programming the Sparrow Mass
At sixteen minutes for the complete ordinary, KV 220 solves the hardest problem in church music programming: it sounds like a feast day and fits inside a liturgy. Use it for a patronal festival, Easter, Christmas, a first communion or a confirmation, where the full scoring with trumpets and timpani turns an ordinary Sunday into an occasion — or perform it from the choral score with organ alone when the calendar is tight. In concert it makes an ideal opening half, paired with shorter sacred works.
For the full picture — forces, a four-rehearsal plan, the Salzburg trombone practice and what to check in any edition — read the conductor’s guide to performing KV 220.
Programming a full sacred evening? Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus is the natural quiet counterweight to the mass, and the wider sacred choral catalogue and choir editions fill out the rest of the programme. If you need a transposition, a reduced scoring or a voicing adapted to the singers you actually have this season, ask before you buy — bespoke adaptation is part of what this publisher does.
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Missa in C (Sparrow Mass) sheet music — frequently asked questions
What exactly is included in the Complete Edition?
Everything needed to put the mass on stage: the full conductor’s score, and individually extracted parts for 1st Trumpet in B-flat, 2nd Trumpet in B-flat, Timpani, Organ, Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Violoncello and Double Bass, plus the complete SATB choral score with organ. The alto, tenor and bass lines are additionally cued for Trombone I–III ad lib. All files are delivered as high-resolution, print-ready and tablet-friendly PDFs immediately after purchase.
What is the instrumentation of Mozart’s Sparrow Mass?
This edition is scored for SATB choir (with the solo passages taken from the choir), 2 trumpets in B-flat, timpani, organ, Violin I, Violin II, viola, cello and double bass — with trombones I–III ad lib. doubling alto, tenor and bass. Mozart’s Salzburg original uses two violins and bass with organ continuo, two clarini and timpani, and no violas; the viola part, the separate cello and double-bass parts and the written-out organ part are additions of this edition that make the mass practical for a modern string section.
Why is it called the “Sparrow Mass”?
The nickname “Spatzenmesse” comes from the chirping, repeated-note violin figures that run through the work — most audibly in the Sanctus — which reminded early listeners of sparrows twittering. Mozart never used the title himself; it was attached later and has stuck ever since, which is why the mass is catalogued as Missa brevis in C major, KV 220 (196b) but known to choirs everywhere as the Sparrow Mass.
How long does Mozart’s Sparrow Mass take to perform?
About 16 to 17 minutes for all six movements — roughly Kyrie 2 minutes, Gloria 3, Credo 3½, Sanctus 1, Benedictus 3 and Agnus Dei 4. That brevity is the point. Mozart complained to Padre Martini in 1776 that a Salzburg mass had to fit from Kyrie to Agnus Dei inside three quarters of an hour, and this missa brevis is the elegant answer to that constraint — festive enough for a feast day, short enough for a Sunday liturgy.
Do we need four soloists?
Not necessarily. Mozart writes the solo passages within the same SATB staves rather than as separate solo movements, so the traditional and most practical solution is a quartet drawn from your own choir — which is exactly how Paul Lorenz has performed the work. Engaging four soloists gives a more brilliant result on a feast day, but no service or concert is off the table because you do not have them.
Can we perform it with reduced forces, or without trumpets and timpani?
Yes. The mass works with SATB choir and organ alone from the choral score, which is why that edition is offered separately — ideal for a Sunday service, a small chapel or an early rehearsal phase. Adding strings, then trumpets and timpani, scales the same material up to full festive scoring. If you need a specific reduction, a transposition or an alternative voicing, Paul Lorenz adapts the edition on request — please ask before you buy.
Mozart is public domain — why buy this edition instead of a free scan?
Mozart’s music is public domain and free scans of the old collected edition do exist; what they do not give you is a performance library. This edition supplies a viola part that does not exist in the original at all, separate cello and double-bass parts, a fully written-out organ part instead of a figured bass line, trumpet parts notated for modern B-flat instruments, and a printable choral score with organ — all freshly engraved, proofread and laid out with sensible page turns. The realistic alternative is not a free download; it is several evenings of copying and part extraction before the first rehearsal.
What is the difference between the Complete Edition and the Choral Score?
The Choral Score (€49.90) is the SATB vocal score with a fully written-out organ part — everything a choir and organist need to rehearse and to perform the mass liturgically. The Complete Edition (€89.90 launch price, regular price €119.00) contains that same choral score plus the conductor’s score and every instrumental part — trumpets, timpani, organ, violins, viola, cello and double bass — so you can move from the rehearsal room to a full festive performance without buying anything else.
What difficulty level is this, and can the edition be customised?
Grade 3 — comfortable for experienced church, community and semi-professional choirs and for advanced amateur or professional orchestras. Mozart’s choral writing is largely homophonic and syllabic, so the notes learn quickly; the challenge is Classical style, clean articulation and intonation rather than technical difficulty. Bespoke customisation is a core service — transpositions, reduced scorings, alternative voicings or added instruments on request before purchase.
What licence do we get, and what is the refund policy?
Mozart’s composition is in the public domain, so no royalties are due for the work itself. This edition is published by Edition Zeitlos, Austria, and your purchase licenses you to print the parts for your own ensemble and to perform the mass in concert and liturgy — you own the files, there is no rental and no return deadline. Because the complete files are delivered immediately, downloads cannot be refunded; please study the score previews on this page, and contact us for extended sample pages before buying if you would like to see more.