The Daily News section of the newspaper Mercy’s Anzeiger 28/3/1857 reported that ‘The Prague Musical Artists Society will on 6th April with the participation of members of the Žofín Academy, of the Cecilia Society, pupils of the local Music Conservatory, the orchestra members of the Royal Estates Theatre and many dilettantes perform in the Hall of Žofín Island for the benefit of the Widows and Orphans Institute the great Mass in D major (op.123) by Beethoven.’ No further details were given by this source. An almost identical report was published by Tagesbote aus Böhmen 28/3/1857.

Tagesbote aus Böhmen 29/3/1857 related news that ‘At the concert of the Prague Society of Musical Artists taking place on 6th April, Miss Mayer will not participate, as was at first expected. Miss Mayer was invited by the Directorate of the Lower Rhine Music Festival in Aachen, to take solo parts in the Pentecost music festivals. Miss Mayer has promised to accept the invitation.’

A review, signed ‘-h.’, of this concert was published by Tagesbote aus Böhmen 8/4/1857. The correspondent remarked: ‘Beethoven’s grandiose Mass in D, which the Society of Musical Artistis [Tonkünstlerverein] performed for the first time at Christmas of last year, was repeated the day before yesterday in the Society’s Easter concert to an equally receptive audience and to the same honourable success. As concerns the work itself, we believe that we may refer to the tribute of full and animated admiration that we gave it under the powerful impressions of the first performance. It was not only the solemnity of the singing of the solo quartet and the classically pure form of all the movements up to the last that found the keenest understanding of the conductor and the most joyful favour in the auditorium, but also the close of the Dona [nobis pacem], far more difficult to perform and stranger to comprehend, in which the Christians evidently storm the heavens in order to obtain the longed-for ‘peace’, like Prometheus the fire, and with violence if necessary, which was as successfully performed as it was glowingly received. The soprano part of the solo quartet was taken this time by Miss Chaloupka, who with complete stability of timing, constant purity in the peculiar intonations and calm, dignified execution brought a task to completion that while not presenting extraordinary technical difficulty, may be considered in the highest musical sense one of the most challenging of any in the musical literature. The performances of Miss Müller, Mr Strakaty and Herr Lukes, the latter in particular with his fine stylistic command, were again as commendable as they were in the first performance. In the choruses the upper voices were particularly pleasing to hear, with the strong animation of the many boys and the lights, fastened onto this, of the fresh girls’ voices of the Žofín choir [‘Sophienchor’ – undoubtedly referring to the female members of the chorus of the Žofín Academy]. The firm and secure conducting of Kapellmeister Mr Skraup [Škroup] gave to the colossal assembly of musical forces the spirit of precision and the soul of the fiery, fully-nuanced execution. This beautiful performance concluded with curtain calls for the admirable conductor and the four soloists, deserving of every praise.’