10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There are no words to describe it, just music..., November 23, 2008
This review is from: Schubert: Sacred Works - Wolfgang Sawallisch (7 CD's) (Audio CD)
How can anyone judge a so magnific masterpiece ? Obviously purists will find "highs" and "lows" in small details. The ensemble is extraordinary!
For the whole product I would just add, on the explanation notes, the D number when a specific piece is cited. It will facilitate the newcommer to find the work on the following section.
A special highlight to the short and relatively simple Salve Regina D 811, superbly interpreted !
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Schubert and the Old Firm, July 30, 2011
This review is from: Schubert: Sacred Works - Wolfgang Sawallisch (7 CD's) (Audio CD)
For someone who would not have described himself as an orthodox Catholic, Schubert composed extensively for Mother Church even if much of it cannot be used liturgically (omitting the line 'Et in unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam' was never going to sit well with clerical thought-police).
The most substantial works here are the Masses in E Flat (D. 950) and A Flat (D 678). They are both masterpieces even if they are highly ambiguous in matters of faith. The E Flat's Sanctus, for instance, is death-ridden - and it is Death the Hunter. The Benedictus that follows is loveliness itself. The Dona Nobis Pacem that concludes the work is highly unsettled - and unsettling. The A Flat Major, which Einstein likened to "seeing the colour red for the first time in a stained glass window", is most notable for its Credo: it embodies a non-doctrinaire mystical experience. Elswhere in the collection, the most lovable work is the little Mass in G - D 167 - it imparts grace to all, believer and non-believer alike. One can easily imagine it being played in one of those pilgrimage churches in provincial Austria.
The shorter works in this collection warrant little comment - by and large they are not Schubert at his most inspired. The Tantum Ergo, D 962, is probably the best of them: it sounds like a precusor to Bruckner. Indeed, the connection between the two composers is a key outtake of this collection.
The unfinished cantata Lazarus is also included. It was abandoned by Schubert around the time he contracted syphilis. As my old friend CMML once noted, Lazarus has only male friends . . . . . It is a fine work though not essential listening. The same comment applies to the German Mass.
Sawallisch had recorded the two keys masses for Philips and these earlier interpretations are not necessarily superceded by these remakes
Schubert: Great Masses in A flat, D.678, & E flat, D950. Even so, one could almost declare that this endeavour is his testament. This EMI cycle is finely recorded and exhaustive in its coverage. The array of soloists is astoundingly strong. In short, if you are seeking a comprehensive survey of Schubert's sacred works, look no further and buy with confidence - if not faith.
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