Kurt Thomas’ Mass in a op. 1 for Soloists and two mixed choirs a cappella was composed in 1925 at the end of his music studies in Leipzig. It is dedicated to his patron, Thomaskantor (choirmaster of St. Thomas) Karl Straube, “in highest gratitude and reverence”.

It was published in the same year as his first printed work by Breitkopf & Härtel, founding a long-term collaboration which later enabled the publication of the Small Sacred Choral Music op. 25  and the conducting tutorial Lehrbuch der Chorleitung.

In 1927, it was awarded with the Beethoven-Preis of the Prussian Academy of Arts. The work is set for double choir throughout, partly also giving way to eight-part passages and shorter sections in which the choir sings in turn with the four solo voices.

The Venetian polychorality is also used as a stylistic device, emphasizing the model character of baroque choral music.