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Naxos

Schubert: Mass In C Major, Mass In G Major / Schuldt-Jensen, Immortal Bach Ensemble

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Details

Composer
SCHUBERT, FRANZ
Artist
Schuldt-Jensen, Leipziger Kammerorchester
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Nov 17, 2009
Catalog #
8570764
UPC
747313076475

About



SCHUBERT Mass No. 4 in D, D 452. Mass No. 2 in G, D 167. Deutsche Messe, D 872 • Morten Schuldt-Jensen, cond; Immortal Bach Ens; Leipzig Chamber O • NAXOS 8570764 (61:38)


This is a follow-up to Naxos 8570381, which contained Schubert’s great E?-Major Mass, D 950 (No. 6), his last, coupled with the Stabat Mater in G Minor, D 175, and performed by these same forces. Joel Kasow did not care much for the earlier release, calling the performance “perfunctory” in a Fanfare 32:1 review. He felt that Morten Schuldt-Jensen’s reading of the score “lacked the spirituality of the major defenders of this work, Harnoncourt and Sawallisch, or Corboz to a slightly lesser degree.” Not being familiar with any of Kasow’s notable mentions, I’m unable to comment; but of the three I do have—Robert Shaw with his Atlanta forces on Telarc, Claudio Abbado with his Vienna contingent on Deutsche Grammophon, and Charles Mackerras with the Dresdeners on Carus—the only one I would recommend would be the last-named. But my reasons are not relevant to this review since we’re discussing different works.


The first four of Schubert’s numbered masses are relatively early works, the G-Major dating from 1815, the D-Major from a year later. Of course, in Schubert’s case, age is not a reliable measure of his musical maturity. In 1816, at the age of 19, nearly two-thirds of his life was already over. Comparing his output of masses to his symphonies, it might be useful to say that in terms of musical development and sophistication his first four masses are analogous to his first six symphonies, and that just as the “Unfinished” Symphony of 1822 marks a significant turning point in Schubert’s symphonic writing, the Mass No. 5 in A? of the same year marks a departure in his writing of sacred choral music.


The Mass No. 2 has about it the sound of a wide-eyed innocent. There is something especially precious in the prettiness of its Kyrie and Credo movements. Compared to the aforementioned Shaw recording on Telarc, Schuldt-Jensen’s reading does seem a bit on the swift side. But in this blissful and ingenuous work, I’m not sure the accelerated tempo is deleterious. Slowing it down can have a cloying effect, so I rather like this performance, which is clear-eyed and straightforward. The choristers enunciate clearly, sing in tune, and have plenty of heft and body for the weightier passages.


Much of the wide-eyed innocence has disappeared a year later in the D-Major Mass (No. 4), which is scored for a larger instrumental ensemble and is more serious in tone. If only a few seconds longer in duration than the G-Major Mass, the D-Major is a bigger-boned and heavier-textured work, more in the style of Haydn’s late masses. Again, I like the clarity of diction and transparency of voicing, both choral and orchestral, that Schuldt-Jensen brings to the score. In any case, pickings are a bit slimmer for the D-Major Mass than they are for the G-Major, though Sawallisch, mentioned by Kasow in connection with the E?-Major Mass, can be heard in the D-Major as well as in a budget twofer on EMI. For the period-instrument crowd, there’s a Sony Vivarte recording with Bruno Weil leading the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Chorus Viennensis. And for those whose taste runs to boy trebles and altos in place of female voices, there’s George Guest with the Cambridge St. John’s College Choir and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields on Decca.


The so-called Deutsche Messe , D 872, is one of Schubert’s last sacred works, and due to the circumstances of its commission, quite possibly one of the least inspired and least interesting things he ever wrote. But listeners may at least take comfort in its “divine length,” all 24 minutes of its homophonic, hymnic monotony. The commission came from a Professor J. P. Neumann of the Polytechnic School of Vienna, the churchman who had previously provided Schubert with the libretto for Sakantala , an opera that never fully materialized. The texts for the Deutsche Messe are Neumann’s, and his request to Schubert was that the score be as musically simple as possible so that it could be performed by amateurs. Schubert discharged his duty accordingly, providing what sounds like a succession of German Protestant church hymns. The booklet provides only the titles and tempo indications for each of the nine movements, but not the full texts or translations.


Schubert wrote a large volume of sacred choral music, so it cannot be dismissed as an insignificant or occasional interest on his part. Yet with the exception of his two late masses, his sacred works have not been as widely embraced as have his songs, orchestral works, and chamber music. So, if you are just now beginning to explore this area of Schubert’s output, the new Naxos release is a modest enough investment for getting started. The G-Major Mass from the pen of the 18-year-old composer is one of his loveliest creations, and well worth getting to know.


FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

Tracklist 28 tracks

  1. 1 Kyrie 02:17
    Track
    1
    Title
    Kyrie
    Duration
    02:17
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Claudia Reinhard, Christine Wehler, Raimund Minarschik, Tobias Berndt
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  2. 2 Gloria 03:49
    Track
    2
    Title
    Gloria
    Duration
    03:49
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Claudia Reinhard, Christine Wehler, Raimund Minarschik, Tobias Berndt
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  3. 3 Credo: Credo in unum Deum 01:24
    Track
    3
    Title
    Credo: Credo in unum Deum
    Duration
    01:24
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Claudia Reinhard, Christine Wehler, Raimund Minarschik, Tobias Berndt
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  4. 4 Credo: Et incarnatus est 01:24
    Track
    4
    Title
    Credo: Et incarnatus est
    Duration
    01:24
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Claudia Reinhard, Christine Wehler, Raimund Minarschik, Tobias Berndt
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  5. 5 Credo: Et resurrexit 01:51
    Track
    5
    Title
    Credo: Et resurrexit
    Duration
    01:51
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  6. 6 Sanctus: Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus 00:38
    Track
    6
    Title
    Sanctus: Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus
    Duration
    00:38
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  7. 7 Sanctus: Osanna in excelsis 00:44
    Track
    7
    Title
    Sanctus: Osanna in excelsis
    Duration
    00:44
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Claudia Reinhard, Christine Wehler, Raimund Minarschik, Tobias Berndt
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  8. 8 Benedictus 03:00
    Track
    8
    Title
    Benedictus
    Duration
    03:00
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Claudia Reinhard
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  9. 9 Agnus Dei: Agnus Dei 01:46
    Track
    9
    Title
    Agnus Dei: Agnus Dei
    Duration
    01:46
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Claudia Reinhard, Christine Wehler, Raimund Minarschik, Tobias Berndt
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  10. 10 Agnus Dei: Dona nobis pacem 01:57
    Track
    10
    Title
    Agnus Dei: Dona nobis pacem
    Duration
    01:57
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Claudia Reinhard, Christine Wehler, Raimund Minarschik, Tobias Berndt
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  11. 11 Kyrie 03:08
    Track
    11
    Title
    Kyrie
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Claudia Reinhard
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  12. 12 Gloria: Gloria in excelsis Deo 01:12
    Track
    12
    Title
    Gloria: Gloria in excelsis Deo
    Duration
    01:12
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  13. 13 Gloria: Domine Deus 01:33
    Track
    13
    Title
    Gloria: Domine Deus
    Duration
    01:33
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  14. 14 Credo: Credo in unum Deum 03:20
    Track
    14
    Title
    Credo: Credo in unum Deum
    Duration
    03:20
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  15. 15 Sanctus: Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus 00:40
    Track
    15
    Title
    Sanctus: Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus
    Duration
    00:40
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  16. 16 Sanctus: Osanna in excelsis 00:35
    Track
    16
    Title
    Sanctus: Osanna in excelsis
    Duration
    00:35
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  17. 17 Benedictus: Benedictus qui venit 03:22
    Track
    17
    Title
    Benedictus: Benedictus qui venit
    Duration
    03:22
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Claudia Reinhard, Rudiger Ballhorn, Markus Flaig
    Ensemble
    Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  18. 18 Benedictus: Osanna in excelsis 00:38
    Track
    18
    Title
    Benedictus: Osanna in excelsis
    Duration
    00:38
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  19. 19 Agnus Dei 04:16
    Track
    19
    Title
    Agnus Dei
    Duration
    04:16
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Claudia Reinhard, Markus Flaig
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  20. 20 Zum Eingang: Massig 03:34
    Track
    20
    Title
    Zum Eingang: Massig
    Duration
    03:34
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  21. 21 Zum Gloria: Mit Majestat 02:23
    Track
    21
    Title
    Zum Gloria: Mit Majestat
    Duration
    02:23
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  22. 22 Zum Evangelium und Credo: Nicht zu langsam 03:48
    Track
    22
    Title
    Zum Evangelium und Credo: Nicht zu langsam
    Duration
    03:48
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  23. 23 Zum Offertorium: Sehr langsam 02:10
    Track
    23
    Title
    Zum Offertorium: Sehr langsam
    Duration
    02:10
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  24. 24 Zum Sanctus: Sehr langsam 02:46
    Track
    24
    Title
    Zum Sanctus: Sehr langsam
    Duration
    02:46
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  25. 25 Nach der Wandlung: Sehr langsam 02:22
    Track
    25
    Title
    Nach der Wandlung: Sehr langsam
    Duration
    02:22
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  26. 26 Zum Agnus Dei: Massig 03:06
    Track
    26
    Title
    Zum Agnus Dei: Massig
    Duration
    03:06
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  27. 27 Schlussgesang: Nicht zu langsam 01:48
    Track
    27
    Title
    Schlussgesang: Nicht zu langsam
    Duration
    01:48
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen
  28. 28 Das Gebet des Herrn: Massig 02:04
    Track
    28
    Title
    Das Gebet des Herrn: Massig
    Duration
    02:04
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Ensemble
    Immortal Bach Ensemble, Leipziger Kammerorchester
    Conductor
    Morten Schuldt-Jensen