It was when the young Haydn was appointed Kapellmeister to Prince Nikolaus Esterh�zy that he composed his Missa Cellensis, a work of vast proportions, whose popularity is demonstrated by the many surviving copies. In this interpretation full of vivid contrasts, the RIAS Kammerchor and the Akademie f�r Alte Musik confirm their extraordinary ability to reveal every subtlety of a composition that possesses almost operatic energy.