Schubert composed his
first mass at the age of 17, writing
it within the space of 37 days. It was
performed the year it was written, at
Schubert’s own parish church. His final
mass was written a few months before
his death so that the masses span an
important period of his creative life.
The first four Masses
are played by Prague-based forces, Virtuosi
di Praga and Prague Chamber Choir. The
Virtuosi di Praga plays with style,
shaping the phrases well. Though this
is very much a traditional performance,
they generally keep the orchestral textures
admirably clear. The Prague Chamber
Choir sing with clarity and a feeling
for Schubertian style. In the first
Mass, neither choir nor orchestra seems
over-large for the work and they do
not overburden the piece with noise
and volume. The woodwind and brass have
a slight tang, but you would not necessarily
know that you were listening to a Czech
ensemble and though the choir sing with
Germanic pronunciation of Latin, they
too have rather an international vocal
style, fine though it is. This does
mean that they keep vibrato to a minimum
which is a relief. The soloists, though,
are an admirably distinctive group.
Soprano Zdena Kloubova displays a silvery
voice, shot through with steel, in her
long solo in the Kyrie. Both Kloubova
and Tenor Walter Coppola have bright
voices which turn slightly steely in
the higher register but both have the
suppleness and flexibility needed for
performing Schubert’s lovely vocal lines.
Bass Jurij Kruglov has a remarkable,
dark, grainy voice which I loved but
might not be to everyone’s taste. In
all, the soloists give us a welcome
hint of a distinctive Czech sound to
the piece, whilst remaining true to
Schubert stylistically.
The choral part is
not overly complex and includes quite
a bit of homophony. The beauty of the
pieces comes from the melodic interest
of the solos and interaction between
choral, solo and orchestral sections.
In the Credo, Schubert sets the words
almost exclusively homophonically, the
chorus being interrupted by just two
solos, for bass and for tenor. Despite
missing out crucial words from the text
of the Credo this setting, with its
highly audible words, implies Schubert
anticipated a liturgical use for the
movement.
As companions to Mass
No. 1 on the first disc, the Prague
forces give us a Salve Regina for soprano
and orchestra and a Magnificat for chorus
and soloists. In the Salve Regina Kloubova
again shows her suppleness and style
in this fine work. The chorus part for
the Magnificat is homophonic and is
interspersed with solo sections where
Schubert uses his four soloists like
a semi-chorus.
The second disc has
three masses on it, Mass No. 2, Mass
No. 3 and Mass No. 4. Mass No. 2 uses
just strings and organ for the accompaniment.
Schubert creates a rather more intimate
atmosphere, but the work is surprisingly
varied and includes the quite stunning
quiet ending to the Credo. Soprano,
Ludmila Vernerova shines in her solo
in the Kyrie giving us beautifully spun
lines. She is well supported by chorus
and orchestra who shape the phrases
finely. A massive Sanctus is followed
by a fugal Hosanna, which is a welcome
contrast in the choral writing. The
Benedictus give Vernerova another chance
to shine, initially a soprano solo developing
into a trio for soprano, tenor Richard
Sporka and bass Roman Janal.
Mass No. 3 starts with
a massive choral statement well supported
by the orchestra, in this mass the woodwind
and brass return. The conductor, Jack
Martin Händler seems to have been
tempted by these resources and sections
of the mass sound over-vigorous, perhaps
even a little wearying. Soprano Vernerova
does not spin Schubert’s lines quite
as well here. Tenor Rodrigo Orrego has
an attractive, open, English timbre
but sounds a little stretched by the
tessitura at times. This choral writing
is a little more complex than in the
other two masses on this disc. The excellent
chorus relish the limited opportunities
that Schubert gives them.
Mass No. 4 is, despite
its short length, quite a robust, big-boned
work, but again conductor Ulrich Backhofen
overdoes it occasionally as he encourages
the chorus to produce a too vigorous
performance. There are hardly any real
solo opportunities in this mass; generally
the soloists are used in ensemble as
a semi-chorus. The soprano, Marta Filova,
gets the only real solo moment in the
Hosanna and Benedictus, but she has
difficulty with the tessitura and does
not shape the phrases well. The Agnus
Dei is a remarkably jolly movement and
towards the end the clarinet contributes
a perky solo.
These four masses were
obviously recorded at different times,
as they use a varying case of soloists
and conductors. It is noteworthy that
the various conductors have manage to
achieve a high degree of consistency
in these generally fine performances.
The large roster of soloists and Schubert’s
use of them in ensemble, mean that some
of the individuals rarely get much of
a chance to shine. But nevertheless
we are treated to some lovely singing,
particularly from the sopranos.
For the remaining two
masses, the forces change and the works
are performed by the rather larger Oregon
Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra and
the Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart
and the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, both
groups under Helmuth Rilling. Mass No.
5 and Mass No. 6 are rather larger scale
works and are eminently suited to these
bigger forces. Nevertheless I would
have been rather interested to hear
what the Prague group made of these
works.
Mass No. 5 is a far
more substantial work that its predecessors.
Schubert took three years to write it
and subjected it to various revisions.
It is substantial not just in size,
but in the way Schubert handles the
chorus and the orchestra. Not only do
the Chorus get a substantial fugue for
the ‘Cum Spirito Sancto’ in the Gloria,
but the ‘Crucifixus’ in the Credo is
also a substantial choral moment. Rilling
has a fine group of soloists, Donna
Brown, Monica Groop, James Taylor and
Michael Volle. They all have rather
more operatic voices than those on the
Prague-based discs. Schubert uses them
almost exclusively like a semi-chorus
and they treat these solo moments like
dramatic ensembles. Donna Brown has
a fine, expressive voice but she sings
the music in a manner rather than spinning
a fine line. But this is the choruses’
mass and they respond brilliantly, well
supported by Rilling and his ensemble.
As added interest, they also include
a couple of variant movements.
Mass No. 6 dates from
Schubert’s final year, composed in June
and July 1828 just a few months before
his death in November 1828. The work
is a sombre one with the chorus taking
a substantial role. Helmuth Rilling’s
Stuttgart-based choir is famous for
its Bach performances and their wonderful
control and flexibility make them eminently
suitable for these two masses. The choir,
though a large group, make a fine sound
and they shade their sound down to a
well shaped pianissimo. The soloists
are not much used and Schubert often
combines them with the chorus to create
dramatic ensembles. The substantial
choral ‘Cum Spirito Sancto’ which concludes
the Gloria is followed by a wonderfully
hushed opening to the Credo. For the
‘Et incarnatus est’ the tenor solo,
finely sung by Scot Weir, develops into
an ensemble for the soloists and choir
which develops a real dramatic feel
for the meaning of the words. The Credo
concludes with another big fugue for
the ‘Et vitam venturi’. It is in these
big fugal moments that the power and
control of the Gächinger Kantorei
really comes to the fore. The harmonically
unexpected Sanctus leads into a lyrical
Benedictus, the soloists come to eminence
here. The disc finishes with two more
of his late sacred works, the lovely
Offertorium where Scot Weir displays
a fine lyric tenor and the Tantum Ergo.
The final disc in the
set is the Deutsche Messe. This is a
mature work, dating from 1826. It was
written for the Polytechnic School of
Vienna and is a technically simple work,
written for amateurs with wind accompaniment.
The piece sets a German text by J.P.
Neumann, the movements corresponding
to the movements of the Latin mass.
The settings are hymn-like with some
melodic charm. Here they are sung by
the Tölz Boys Choir in a recording
dating from 1975. The choir sing very
attractively, but this disc is really
for completists only.
There are undoubtedly
greater performances of the Schubert
masses, but those on this set are never
less than convincing and sometimes a
good deal more so. They form an ideal
base from which to explore Schubert’s
sacred music; at super-budget price
you can’t go wrong.
Robert Hugill
Zdena Kloubova (soprano) (1,2,3)