Schubert: Masses Nos. 2 & 6

Myron Myers (Performer), Franz [Vienna] Schubert (Composer), Robert Shaw (Conductor), Marietta Simpson (Performer), Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus (Orchestra), Dawn Upshaw (Performer), Benita Valente (Performer), David Gordon (Performer), Jon Humphrey (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Myron Myers, Marietta Simpson, Dawn Upshaw, Benita Valente, David Gordon, et al.
• Orchestra: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
• Conductor: Robert Shaw
• Composer: Franz [Vienna] Schubert
• Audio CD (May 7, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B000003CVY
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,412 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #3 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Upshaw, Dawn
  • #7 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Featured Performers, A-Z > U to Z

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a Must Have choral CD!, April 21, 2002

By 

D. Seymour "snadmus" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Schubert: Masses Nos. 2 & 6 (Audio CD)

I am ashamed to admit that I do not listen to this recording as often as it deserves to be heard. If the Lord has ears to hear with, then Schubert can be assured a place in the highest echelons of Heaven for having written such music. His Kyrie in Mass No. 2 drips with lyrical beauty. The Sanctus will take your breath away with its forceful simplicity. The Agnus Dei is a prayer on par with Faure's Pie Jesu for sheer, pure beauty. Highlights of the Mass No. 6 include the grandiose, Beethoven-esque Gloria and the gentle Benedictus. Shaw is absolutely in his element directing the Atlanta Chorus through their lush phrases and delicate melodies. The balance between chorus and orchestra is precise and the excellent sound quality can be best described as clear & present. A great selection of Masses for your collection.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Schubert Mass in G Robert Shaw w/ Atlanta Symphony Orch., November 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Schubert: Masses Nos. 2 & 6 (Audio CD)

I love this CD. It is an exquisite rendition of Schubert's wonderful music. I am performing this with my choir, and have been looking for a different presentation to hear the contrasts in interpretation.

I highly recommend this beautiful audio CD to anyone who loves good classical music.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a voice teacher and early music fan, February 17, 2007

By 

George Peabody "Ariel" (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Schubert: Masses Nos. 2 & 6 (Audio CD)

SCHUBERT, A MASTER OF THE ROMANTIC, CONDUCTED BY SHAW, A CONFIRMED PEDANTIC, MAKES A GREAT MARRIAGE IN THIS RECORDING.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was raised a Roman Catholic in Vienna, and as a clear-voiced choir boy and violinist, he became acquainted with the works of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, who was his favorite composer.

Among Schubert's vocal works are many with religious texts, most intended for service use. The majority of these, including his first 5 Mass settings, were written for specific occasions and received performances soon after being completed, but this was not the case with his Sixth Mass, which lay unperformed until a year after his death.

In his settings of the mass, Schubert took Romantic liberties, omitting words, repeating words,or even entire paragraphs, thus treating the text not as unchangeable doctrine, but as a flexable libretto to be subservient to his artistic needs. His setting made significant omissions in the Gloria and Credo texts. Some sentences are omitted in all six of his masses, leading to speculation that he dissented from such teachings as the Church's divine authority.

The G major Mass was composed in 1815, and is simple and tuneful, direct and innocent in its idiom. He wrote it in 6 days; it is a small-scaled work accompanied by strings and organ.

The Mass in E-flat major is the product of that remarkable surge of new music that Schubert produced in his final year. Musically it has two aspects: it follows traditional practise in overall shape and construction. However, we encounter, in its harmonic language, Schubert, the Romantic ,using daring chromatic digressions and frankly pictorial writing with telling dramatic effect. This is basically a choral mass, and the soloists are used sparingly.

The performance of the soloists is excellent, and who but a Robert Shaw could bring out the best of the Chorus and Orchestra? Shaw was such a genius in the art of choral performance, but fortunately for us, he left much of his work behind on several recordings. While I enjoy both of these Masses, my preference still leans to the g major. probably because of its more traditional sound.