Schubert:
Mass in A Flat D.678; Mass in E Flat D.950
Luba Orgonasova, soprano; Birgit Remmert, contralto; Deon van der Walt, tenor; Wolfgang Holzmair, baritone (D.950); Anton Scharinger, bass; Arnold Schoenberg Choir; Chamber orchestra of Europe conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Teldec 4509-98422-2; 0630-13163-2
Recorded live in the Stefaniensaal in Graz on June 25th (D.678) and June 24th (D.950) 1995.
These two masses are among Schubert’s highest masterpieces. They have in common their length (more than 50 minutes) and, more generally, their belonging to the type of the "Missa solemnis", which implies a kind of majesty with the use of a large orchestra, a "full-sized" choir, at least four soloists and the respect of a more or less established frame (5 big sections which can be subdivided, a fugue for the ending of the Gloria end/or the Credo, soloist parts for the Benedictus, etc). They also have in common Schubert’s omission of some rather important sentences (I believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic church, which Schubert omitted in all his masses, I believe in the resurrection of the dead, which he omitted in all his masses but the first, and some more). Apart from these let’s say external characteristics, these two masses are completely different.
Schubert started the composition of the Mass in A flat D678 in November 1819 and completed it in September 1822. It fell in a time when he was reconsidering his relation to the traditional forms, leaving thus unfinished many attempts of sonatas, symphonies, quartets, operas and, which is particularly relevant for this mass, the oratorio Lazarus D689 in February 1820. One can say without a big exaggeration that this mass is, along with the piano sonata D664, the Trout Quintet D667 and the opera Alfonso und Estrella, the only completed big work of the so-called crisis years, the only one the composition of which lasted during about the whole of this period.
The result is a composition which allies tradition (the mighty fugue at the end of the Gloria) and innovation (the whole harmonic plan), some of Schubert’s most beautiful -and most complex- writing for choir and for orchestra with demanding solo parts, an achievement far from the directness of his first four masses, composed between 1814 and 1816, a rich and very personal work.
For years and years, my favourite recording had been the one by Sir George Guest and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields from the late sixties, which shows a rather classical approach of the work, with the famous British choral singing (boy sopranos and countertenors included) and fair soloists whose voices can blend into the choir when necessary. It didn’t get any serious concurrent till the 1980 recorded version by Wolfgang Sawallisch, which was released as a part of Schubert’s complete sacred works, originally on LP, then on CD.
The new recording was made during one unique concert session. The sound engineers captured very convincingly the concert atmosphere: the spatial disposition of orchestra, choir and soloists sounds very natural (in contrast to Sawallisch’s recording where the soloists seem to be miles in front of the choir) and you can really feel the intensity of the performance.
For intense it is: far from Sir Guest’s distinguished approach, Harnoncourt’s is much more dramatic. But, unlike Sawallisch’s, it never tends to a hollow pathos, for the dramatic tension comes from the partition itself. To obtain this, Harnoncourt takes the whole of a beautiful orchestra (listen to the expressive winds in the Sanctus, where Schubert demands much from them or to the strings at the beginning of the Credo, where the climate recalls the Unfinished) and of a precise and expressive choir. The balance between the voices is perfect and even the most complex sections (the eight-part Crucifixus or the Cum sancto spiritu fugue) don’t lose anything of their clarity. I seldom heard a choir which is so even and so wealthy together.
The soloist quartet is in no ways behind. Schubert didn’t require acrobatic virtuosity but he shaped wide curves which demand much from the breath and a sense for the expressive line. In Sawallisch’s recording, Brigitte Fassbaender is the one who matches the best the demands of the partition. Francisco Araiza has (astonishingly!) too dark a timbre, Fischer-Dieskau sacrifies somehow the line to the expression and Helen Donath’s performance suffers from the discrepancies between the registers. In Harnoncourt’s team, Brigitte Remmert is maybe more of a mezzo than a real contralto but it becomes rather well to the balance of the quartet which is illuminated by Luba Orgonasova’s lyrical soprano. Orgonasova manages to control a real belcanto line which lies above the other parts without being outside the whole, to which her homogeneous and warm timbre contributes greatly. To sum up, this recording is qualified by its compromiseless balance: between orchestra, choir and soloists, between fine details and the vision of a whole, between sharp accents and a well paced rhythm, a balance which suits well to this complex masterpiece.
The Mass in E flat D950 is another case. It was composed rather quickly in the summer of 1828 and is surrounded by a bunch of masterpieces composed during the astoundingly fertile last months of Schubert’s life. Its harmonic plan is less audacious that the one of D678, which fits the atmosphere of the work : it is essentially a choral mass, the soloists appearing only in the Et incarnatus section of the Credo, in the Benedictus and the Agnus Dei. In those last two cases, they appear not so much like soloists but more like a solo quartet, in dialogue with the tutti choir. There is no organ part and the orchestra has no flutes, giving the whole a very fervent character, with beautiful melodies, a solidly constructed architecture which focusses to the Agnus Dei, where Schubert borrows the main theme from his Doppelgänger. Each of the "movements" is perfectly engineered by the same hand which was writing the String Quintet and drafting the Tenth symphony, decidedly not avoiding a kind of severity, which makes the ultimate prayer Dona nobis pacem all the more moving, severity to which the two choral fugues contribute (cum sancto spiritu at the end of the Gloria and et vitam venturi saeculi to conclude the Credo), severity which is even enhanced by the lightness and intimacy of the Et incarnatus est, sort of miniature Christmas carol in form of a canon for three high soloists (soprano and two tenors), the spatial and spiritual heart of the work. Thus this mass, which doesn’t give the soloists much to sing, needs paradoxically five of them.
D950 has enjoyed more recordings than D678 and, being technically less difficult, has been generally well served. My favourite had also been for a very long time Sir George Guest’s, which shares the qualities of his recording of D678 and also the same kind of distinguished distanciation. The Sawallisch version, recorded in 1982, is in this case a more serious concurrent, for the temptation of pathos is not present and the demands for the soloists are not the same as for the A flat mass. The trio Helen Donath, Francisco Araiza and Peter Schreier harmonizes very well. The 1987 recording by Claudio Abbado with the Vienna Philharmonic suffers from his Brucknerian understanding of the work. The tempi are generally slow, choir and orchestra are compact and dark, the Et incarnatus trio (Karita Mattila, Jerry Hadley and Jorge Pita) is not so well balanced, the tenors being too light-weighted. Maybe for this reason, just that section is in a faster tempo, which is not a very clever choice, threatening the unity of the Credo instead of generating a kind of "bliss island" where time stands still. More recently, Carlo Maria Giulini with Sawallisch’s orchestra and chorus (the Bavarian radio ones) gave us a recording the wide tempi of which never sound slow and where Ruth Ziesak’s light soprano gives a touch of innocence, as it were.
Harnoncourt’s recording of D950 has most of the assets as his recording of D678: a well-engineered live recording of great intensity with an accomplished performance of orchestra and choir, the same sense of taking care of details without forgetting the scope of the whole, which is all the more convincing in the case of this elaborated architecture. The problem comes from the soloists, more exactly two of them. The choice of the baritone Wolfgang Holzmair as "tenor II" in the Et incarnatus is not very happy (as far as his participation to the Benedictus is concerned, it is not so problematic since the notes he has to sing there are rather deep for a tenor and his colour of voice is well integrated in the quartet). More disturbing though are Deon van der Walt’s difficulties to master the line of Et incarnatus and his sharp tones in that section (the words ex Maria virgine sound almost ugly in his mouth). Orgonasova’s beautifully shaped phrases and her endless legato cannot rescue what should be the heart of the work and is thus out of balance. The perfection was so near that this flawed few seconds are difficult to accept.
Two other negative points of these new productions finally need to be mentioned: the rather poor booklets with mostly identical comments for both CD’s, e.g. Harnoncourt’s personal explanation of Schubert’s text omissions -to sum it up, that are not omissions, Schubert just expressed the meaning of that words by the means of pure music !- and the length of hardly above 50 minutes: each mass is alone on one CD. Let’s excuse it by the fact they are not studio productions!
Now, what should be the definitive choice? Sir George Guest’s recordings are still available (2 mid-price CD’s in a Decca set with the bonus of the C major mass D452 with David Atherton and several choirs). Sawallisch’s are available also at EMI, either among the complete sacral works or as isolated CD’s (The E flat mass is completed by two contemporary offertories, the A flat mass together with the C major one). The Schubertian who doesn’t already know these works should maybe take the Decca opportunity. If your enthousiasm is more important than the health of your bank account, Harnoncourt should be your choice for D678. As far as D950 is concerned, the choice is more difficult. If you don’ t have already opted for Sir George Guest or if you want "more than this", choose between Sawallisch with bonus, Giulini and Harnoncourt without, the last one being highly recommendable... but for a short but decisive moment. Anyway, once you’ll know that work, you’ll need more than one recording.
At the end, one remark and one wish. The remark: all Schubert masses have been newly released with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Bruno Weil, but the choice of boy soloists for the soprano and contralto parts makes them out of competition, at least for D678 and D950. The wish: a critical recording of the A flat mass with the two versions Schubert composed for the Benedictus and for the fugue Cum sancto spiritu!