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Franz Schubert He was a prolific composer, in his short lifetime writing over 600 lieder (German art songs) including 3 song cycles, 9 symphonies, 15 string quartets, 21 piano sonatas, several operas and operettas, many choral works, 6 masses, and numerous other works. On his premature death in 1828 his epitaph aptly read: "The Art of Music here entombs a rich possession but even finer hopes."
Mass in A flat (Missa Solemnis) There is little doubt that this mass was a very personal expression of faith; the music speaks for itself. But a long held view that textual discrepancies in Schubert's masses represent his own idiosyncratic religious views (in particular the omission from the Creed of the "et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam" - "and in one holy catholic and apostolic church") has now given way to the more likely conclusion that Schubert was simply using a translation dating from the time of Emperor Joseph II, a monarch who wished severely to restrict the influence of the papacy within his domain. More importantly, however, the Mass in A flat clearly reflects facets of Schubert's own faith, and to understand them may well give us a more profound appreciation of the music itself. Compare, for example the difference between his treatment of the chorus and the soloists. The allocation of texts to different groups might well be dismissed as the result of purely musical considerations, but the differences in their musical treatment are much harder to account for. It seems as if he deliberately wrote music for the chorus which embodied the institutional aspects of his religion - in awe of God, solid, unchanging, powerful, sure of itself - and characterised it with forthright declamation, square melodic lines and firm unequivocal harmony. The music of the soloists, however, is more sensuous, and seems to imply a much more intimate relationship with God - perhaps his own. It is music of greater softness, delicacy (even fragility), melodic and harmonic invention. | |
About the Music | |
Kyrie | |
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(Andante con moto) Kyrie eleison (ter) Christe eleison (ter) Kyrie eleison (ter) |
(Andante con moto) Lord have mercy (three times) Christ have mercy (three times) Lord have mercy (three times) |
| As befits a penitential section, the Kyrie is sober and reverential in tone, beginning tentatively first with the woodwind then with strings. Its outer sections (sung by the choir to the words Kyrie eleison - Lord have mercy) are models of melodic and harmonic simplicity. These contrast with the shapely melodic outlines, more chromatic harmony and imitative style of the central Christe eleison performed first by the soloists and then taken up by the choir. Unusually, Schubert extends the customary Kyrie-Christe-Kyrie pattern, permitting the soloists to revisit the Christe themes once more before closing the movement with a serene final Kyrie. | |
Gloria | |
| (Allegro maestoso e vivace) Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te, benedicimus te, glorificamus te, adoramus te. Gloria, etc. |
(Al1egro maestoso e vivace) Glory to God in the highest, and peace, goodwill to all. We praise you, we bless you, we glorify you, we worship you. Glory, etc. |
| By contrast, the Gloria erupts fortissimo onto the scene with no preamble whatsoever, in the totally unexpected key of E major. The chorus forcefully declaim their phrases, Gloria, Gloria in excelsis deo, in choral outbursts that punctuate a scurrying semiquaver movement in the strings to thrilling dramatic effect. The mood changes subtly at the words Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis, the choir singing quietly against a delicate accompaniment of woodwind and upper strings, but with no loss of momentum, courtesy of the relentless quaver movement always present in one or other of the parts. Laudamus te etc. marks a return to the fervent style of the opening, a mood briefly interrupted by the soloists' Adoramus te, but which then continues to bring the section to a rousing cadence with a restatement of the opening Gloria and choral repetitions of Gloria Deo. | |
| (Andantino) Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, gratias agimus Deus Pater omnipotentem, gratias agimus Domine Jesu Christe, gratias agimus tibi Fili unigenite, gratias agimus tibi. Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens Gratias, etc. |
(Andantino) We give thanks to you for your great glory. Lord God, heavenly King, we give thanks. God the Father almighty. Lord Jesus Christ, we give thanks to you. Only begotten Son, we give thanks to you. Lord (God, heavenly King, God the Father almighty. We give thanks, etc |
| A change from triple to duple time and a beautifully melodic upper string introduction in A major denote the intimate mood of this next section. Each new phrase is introduced by the soprano soloist, before being joined by the other soloists and finally by the chorus singing agimus tibi pianissimo, as if to echo the sentiments of the soloists. Next follows a more intense section in A minor, in which choral declamations accompanied by large orchestral forces and upward striding bass figures are contrasted with the mellifluous pleas of gratias agimus from the soloists lightly accompanied by the orchestra. This beautiful section closes with a return to the major key and a varied treatment of the Gratias agimus tibi. | |
| (Allegro moderato) Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Filius Patris, Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Quoniam tu solus sanctus, tu solus altissimus, tu solus Dominus. Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloriae Dei Patris. Amen. |
(Allegro moderato) Lord God, Lamb of God, who bears the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Son of the Father, Lamb of God, who bears the sins of the world, have mercy on us. For you alone are holy, you alone are the most high, you alone are the Lord. With the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. Amen. |
| The penitential section which follows repeats a pattern in which phrases introduced by the soloists (first alto, then bass, then tenor) are answered by the choir's pianissimo pleas for mercy Miserere, miserere nobis, and each is followed by a brief instrumental interlude. The last of these interludes closes in the sombre key of B minor, but a rising chromatic setting of Quoniam tu solus against bass pedal notes cranks up the harmonic tension effecting a change from penitence to exultation within the space of only eight bars. Then follows a varied and exciting version of the tu solus etc. , now in E major, first with the whole choir in unison, next with the soloists' phrases answered by full choir and, after a dramatic interruption, a pianissimo cadential passage leading to the final fugue in E major Cum Sancto Spiritu, bringing this kaleidoscopic movement to a close. | |
Credo | |
| (Allegro maestoso e vivace) Credo in unum deum, patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terrae, visibilium et invisibilium et in unum dominum Jesum Christum, filii unigenitum et ex patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum non factum consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de coelis et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est. |
(Allegro maestoso e vivace) I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is visible and invisible and in one Lord Jesus Christ only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before time began. God from God, light from light, true God From true God, one in substance with the Father and through Him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered death and was buried. |
| A striking feature of the first part of this movement is its insistent use of the word Credo (I believe) to preface each article of faith as it is announced. Initially simple brass chords introduce unaccompanied choral singing in a low register and shifting harmonies lend an appropriate sense of mystery to the declared belief in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible(patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terrae, visibilium et invisibilium). But belief in Jesus Christ, his only Son, Our Lord(et in unum dominum Jesum Christum) and all his attributes receives a much more triumphant treatment with unequivocal major tonality and full orchestral accompaniment underpinning the overlapping statements of faith which alternate between upper and lower voices, each in their most effective registers. Voices recombine powerfully with full orchestra to declare their faith in God by whom all things were made, but the mystery of the incarnation (Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de coelis) returns to hushed tones, before bringing the section to close with a stirring reaffirmation of faith in God the creator. Et incarnatus est poignantly evokes the belief in the birth of Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary. Schubert here divided the choir into eight parts in writing of hushed intensity, his use of suspensions adding a bitter-sweet quality as if to anticipate the article which follows. Even with such preparation, the graphic mixture of brutality and sadness found in the Crucifixus, in which choral outcries are contrasted with imitative writing in a minor key, is especially affecting, and renders the quiet contemplation of passus et sepultus est all the more telling. | |
| (Tempo I) Et resurrexit tertia die secundum scripturas, et ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est com gloria judicare vivos et mortuos, cuius regni non erit finis. Et in Spiritum Sanctum dominum et vivificantem qui ex patre filioque procedit. Qui com Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur qui locutus est per prophetas. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen. |
(Tempo I) On the third day he rose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge both the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who, together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting. Amen. |
| Schubert's treatment of Et resurrexit, is just as individual and unexpected. The change to C major at this point would be part of the stock-in-trade of most established composers, but not the hushed start and gradual crescendo which leads inexorably to sedet ad dexteram Patris with its emphatic fortissimo repetitions. It is almost as if Schubert is reliving the experiences of the apostles as the implications of resurrection gradually dawn on them. No less the Day of Judgment (Et iterum venturus est com gloria judicare), and the everlasting Kingdom of God (cuius regni non erit finis), which Schubert invests respectively with authority (with the choir in unison), and mystery (with four part chromatic writing). But he also seems to have held in reserve some of his undoubted gift for melody especially in order to depict Belief in the Spirit, which he portrays with palpable joy, in spontaneously tuneful music and exquisitely delicate accompaniment. A brief return to the style of the opening bars for Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum renders the final article et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen even more exciting when it launches fortissimo into an exultant celebration of eternal life and the thrillingly affirmative Amens that follow. | |
Sanctus | |
| (Andante) Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. | (Andante) Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. |
| The opening of the Sanctus has an almost visionary quality and seems to have been written in the white heat of inspiration. The eerie horn calls amid tremelando strings, the uncanny transition from the F major opening to the F# minor of the first Sanctus and the succession of extended crescendi evoke an other-worldly experience, which continues effortlessly in the sumptuous rocking melody of Pleni sunt coeli et terra Gloria tua. | |
| The Osanna that follows is pleasant but much less convincing, more reminiscent of a country dance than celestial flight, and has been likened elsewhere to a Mendelssohn glee. Schubert certainly had trouble writing it, and he revised it a number of times before finally settling for this version in 1826. But , given the meticulous care he lavished on the rest of the Mass, perhaps this slightly uneasy juxtaposition of the ethereal and earthly was just what he intended after all! | |
Benedictus | |
| (Andante con moto) Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini. Hosanna in excelsis. | (Andante con moto) Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. |
| Relentless quaver movement underpins this lovely movement, which is characterized by its delicacy and melodic charm. Its shapely thematic material is introduced by the soloists, taken up by the choir and then explored in a whole range of delightful combinations (including choir and soloists together) before the Osanna is once more repeated. | |
Agnus Dei | |
| (Adagio) Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem. |
(Adagio) Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, grant us peace. |
| This ravishingly beautiful movement begins by following the three-part structure expected in this penitential prayer. Its place in the Mass gives it a different character to the opening Kyrie, because here its pleas for mercy already embody the confidence that they will be answered. Schubert has this just right. There are no dramatic gestures, just the lovely melody he gives to the soloists and the stepwise chromatic Miserere to indicate the contrition of the chorus. If Schubert had completed the third iteration of Agnus Dei in the same style, this would still have been a wonderful movement in its own right. But he didn't. Whether he was working instinctively, or had his eye on the formal unity of the work, wanted to make a personal intervention into this institutionalized prayer or just wished to stir up his audience/congregation, we may never know. But the addition to the Agnus Dei of the dramatic Allegretto Dona nobis pacem with its duple time and vehement character achieves all these objectives in a seemingly intuitive gesture which ensures the structural integrity of a work in which the greatest unifying factor is the distinctive character of its every movement. | |
Born in Vienna in 1797, the son of a schoolteacher, Schubert was brought up as a Roman Catholic and educated in the Imperial Chapel's choir school, home of the now famous Vienna Boys Choir. After studying music with Antonio Salieri, an influential musician of the period (who currently enjoys an unfair reputation courtesy of the film "Amadeus"), he embarked on an abortive and short-lived career as a schoolteacher, before settling for life as a freelance composer/musician. In spite of having attracted a circle of artistic friends who did much to encourage and sustain him, he led a precarious and often penniless existence. Despite his dogged determination, he failed to establish himself as an operatic composer and he was equally unsuccessful in achieving any of the prestigious conductorships for which he applied.
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