For Schubert, religious music was different from church music. His masses are more expressions of his own religious experience than predictable fill-in exercises of church regulations. That premise gives him room to show his vulnerable, human side. Some parts of Schubert's mass have the character of a requiem, in which the composer seems to predict his own impending end. In other sections, the composer of hundreds of songs is not far away and Schubert looks back on more happy periods in his life. (Cited from AVROTROS Klassiek on Youtube)
Schubert composed about 40 sacred works during his life - the first liturgical chants already at the age of 12. Although most of these are short (and the only oratorio, Lazarus, remained unfinished), among these sacred works are also six Latin masses. He is thus the first major mass composer to stand in the "bourgeois tradition," meaning that he no longer wrote his masses for use at court, but for performance in parish churches by the church choir. After the first four smaller masses, Schubert composed two large-scale masses, in A-flat major and in E-flat major.
The Mass in E-flat major was written in June and July of the last year of Schubert's life (1828). Like many of his other great late works (e.g., the C major Symphony), Schubert never heard it. The premiere took place on October 4, 1829, in the parish church "Heilige Dreifaltigkeit" in Vienna-Alsergrund, where Schubert's friend Michael Leitermayer was choir director. The public found great pleasure in the mass and it was repeated several times, but soon fell into oblivion afterwards.
Thanks to the efforts of Johannes Brahms, the work could appear in print in Leipzig in 1865. Brahms himself also prepared the piano reduction necessary for the rehearsal of the work.
The influence of Beethoven is felt in the mass, particularly in the ambitious architecture. This setting and the earlier Mass in A-flat major are regarded as Schubert's "late masses," which are distinguished from his four early masses by an overall maturation in Schubert's technical capabilities and knowledge of harmony. Schubert took great freedoms with the Mass text, adding and removing parts in a bid to deepen expression or enhance a particular aspect of meaning.
Schubert's two late masses are seen as the composer's two finest and most substantial settings. They are thought to have influenced the composition of Bruckner's Mass in F minor.
The work consists of the following parts (edited from the German-language text about this mass in Wikipedia):
Kyrie
The Kyrie is in E-flat major, 3/4 time, and is composed as an entire, large three-part piece. In the first section, very quiet movements predominate. In the second section the mood changes; now the strings play in triplets and a dynamic climax is reached, followed by the recapitulation of the first section.
Gloria
The Gloria is in B flat major and is also in three parts, but with a change of meter before the Domine Deus. The Domine Deus in G minor, 3/4 time, is very stirring. It begins fortissimo with the use of trombones. In measure 260, a long fugue, full of rich chromaticism, begins to the words "Cum sancto spiritu in Gloria Dei patris. Amen."
Credo
Even longer than the Gloria is the Credo, which is in E-flat major and begins pianissimo with a timpani solo. As in the Gloria, polyphonic and homophonic sections alternate constantly. The "Et incarnatus est" is a terzet for two tenors and soprano in A-flat major and leads into the "Crucifixus," in which the choir is again used. The movement ends with one of the longest fugues in classical and romantic mass composition.
Sanctus
The Sanctus, Adagio, 4/4 time, is one of Schubert's most interesting movements. Schubert understands the text not as a colossal hymn of praise to God, but as a humble prayer.
Benedictus
In the A-flat Benedictus the soloists again make their appearance. The movement does not sound sweet and carefree, like most settings of the Benedictus, but there is something cautionary about it.
Agnus Dei
The basis for the Agnus Dei, Andante con moto, 3/4 time, C minor, was the song "Der Doppelgänger" from the "Schwanengesang." An ominous four-note motif is repeatedly intoned; the orchestration is rich. The ensuing "Dona nobis pacem," E-flat major, seems like a rescue from gloom, with its undulating and joyful string movements. The Mass ends quietly.
Listen to: Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, Groot Omroepkoor, and solists, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe.
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