Post by erik on Mar 16, 2024 17:31:54 GMT -5
Franz Schubert, who packed a lot of great works in his lamentably brief time, is in this week's Classical Albums Spotlight in the form of a 2-CD recording of his final two settings of the Latin Mass.
Schubert: MASS NO. 5 IN A FLAT MAJOR; MASS NO. 6 IN E FLAT MAJOR
Soprano: HELEN DONATH
Mezzo-Soprano: INGEBORG SPRINGER
Tenor: PETER SCHREIER
Tenor: HANS-JOACHIM ROTZSCH (Mass No. 6)
Bass: THEO ADAM
Organ: CHRISTOPH ALBRECHT (Mass No. 6)
Leipzig Radio Choir
Dresden State Orchestra/WOLFGANG SAWALLISCH (Philips)
Franz Schubert didn’t live a particularly long life, passing away less than two months short of what would have been his 32nd birthday, in the fall of 1828. Nevertheless, he managed to compose an incredible amount of work, including hundreds of art songs, nine symphonies, dozens of piano sonatas, and plenty of operas (though none of the latter were ever performed in his lifetime, and even the ones that did get performed didn’t see any real productions until the late 1970’s). A field that Schubert did excel in very successfully was in the way of church music, composing six settings of the Latin Mass, each of which fits into the pattern that Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven had laid out in their own settings. The Fifth setting of the Latin Mass, which took three years (1819-1822) to complete, is an example of how elaborate Schubert’s thinking had become when it came to large scale choral music. Averaging 50-55 minutes in length, it is a hugely powerful work, with sizeable orchestration (including three trombones) and vivid writing for both chorus and vocal soloists. No record exists of this Mass being performed while Schubert was still alive, but performances of this work became more frequent in the early 1970’s.
The Sixth and final Latin Mass setting of Schubert’s recalls the great Missa Solemnis of his hero Beethoven, in the impressive architecture of the choral performance, and the elaborate and dramatic punch of the orchestration, once again of the size that Beethoven had for his. Much of this may have had to do with the fact that Schubert was one of the three dozen torch-bearers at Beethoven’s funeral in the spring of 1827; and it took close to a year of concentrated writing to get it finished. As with its immediate predecessor, the Mass No. 6 didn’t receive a performance during the composer’s lifetime, but the composer’s brother did conduct its first performance eleven months after Franz’s passing. Like Beethoven, Schubert’s approach was to be felt in the later choral works of Brahms, Bruckner, and Mahler, and even well into the 20th century via certain parts of Arnold Schoenberg’s massive oratorio “Gurrelieder”.
The underrated German composer Wolfgang Sawallisch had done a Schubert symphony cycle for Philips in 1967 with the Dresden State Orchestra; and four years later, in 1971, he recorded both of the late Mass settings with this same orchestra, along with a great line-up of vocal soloists, including soon-to-be legendary tenor Peter Schreier, along with the Leipzig Radio Choir. Both settings are paired on a 2-CD set that is very much worth having.
Schubert: MASS NO. 5 IN A FLAT MAJOR; MASS NO. 6 IN E FLAT MAJOR
Soprano: HELEN DONATH
Mezzo-Soprano: INGEBORG SPRINGER
Tenor: PETER SCHREIER
Tenor: HANS-JOACHIM ROTZSCH (Mass No. 6)
Bass: THEO ADAM
Organ: CHRISTOPH ALBRECHT (Mass No. 6)
Leipzig Radio Choir
Dresden State Orchestra/WOLFGANG SAWALLISCH (Philips)
Franz Schubert didn’t live a particularly long life, passing away less than two months short of what would have been his 32nd birthday, in the fall of 1828. Nevertheless, he managed to compose an incredible amount of work, including hundreds of art songs, nine symphonies, dozens of piano sonatas, and plenty of operas (though none of the latter were ever performed in his lifetime, and even the ones that did get performed didn’t see any real productions until the late 1970’s). A field that Schubert did excel in very successfully was in the way of church music, composing six settings of the Latin Mass, each of which fits into the pattern that Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven had laid out in their own settings. The Fifth setting of the Latin Mass, which took three years (1819-1822) to complete, is an example of how elaborate Schubert’s thinking had become when it came to large scale choral music. Averaging 50-55 minutes in length, it is a hugely powerful work, with sizeable orchestration (including three trombones) and vivid writing for both chorus and vocal soloists. No record exists of this Mass being performed while Schubert was still alive, but performances of this work became more frequent in the early 1970’s.
The Sixth and final Latin Mass setting of Schubert’s recalls the great Missa Solemnis of his hero Beethoven, in the impressive architecture of the choral performance, and the elaborate and dramatic punch of the orchestration, once again of the size that Beethoven had for his. Much of this may have had to do with the fact that Schubert was one of the three dozen torch-bearers at Beethoven’s funeral in the spring of 1827; and it took close to a year of concentrated writing to get it finished. As with its immediate predecessor, the Mass No. 6 didn’t receive a performance during the composer’s lifetime, but the composer’s brother did conduct its first performance eleven months after Franz’s passing. Like Beethoven, Schubert’s approach was to be felt in the later choral works of Brahms, Bruckner, and Mahler, and even well into the 20th century via certain parts of Arnold Schoenberg’s massive oratorio “Gurrelieder”.
The underrated German composer Wolfgang Sawallisch had done a Schubert symphony cycle for Philips in 1967 with the Dresden State Orchestra; and four years later, in 1971, he recorded both of the late Mass settings with this same orchestra, along with a great line-up of vocal soloists, including soon-to-be legendary tenor Peter Schreier, along with the Leipzig Radio Choir. Both settings are paired on a 2-CD set that is very much worth having.