This missa brevis is thought to have been composed for ordinary liturgical use in the Salzburg Cathedral, under the directive of Archbishop Colloredo. Mozart tried to satisfy Colloredo's demands for brevity and concision in the composition of this mass – none of the movements have an orchestral prelude, the orchestra itself is highly reduced, there is very little fugal writing, and much of the setting is homophonic. In 1793, the Lotter house published the mass posthumously; it was the first of Mozart's works to appear in print.

Date of composition 1774 (August 8)
First published 1793 - Augsburg: J.J. Lotter & Sohn
Type Mass
Tonality D Major
Catalogue KV 194/186h
Spoken language Latin
Autotranslations beta Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Missa Brevis n°8 en ré majeur, KV 194/186h
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Missa Brevis n. 8 in re maggiore, KV 194/186h
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Missa Brevis Nr. 8 D-dur, KV 194/186h