Susan Gritton (soprano), Pamela Helen Stephen (mezzo-soprano), Mark Padmore (tenor), James Gilchrist (tenor) & Matthew Rose (bass) Collegium Musicum 90, Richard Hickox Schubert’s final mass and most ambitious setting was composed during the summer of 1828, only months
before his death. It was premiered posthumously, on October 4, 1829, under the direction of his brother,
Ferdinand. Much more than his previous efforts in the genre, it is a choral mass, relegating the vocal
soloists to three brief episodes to allow for large chorus passages, and provides an extremely active role
for the orchestra. Today, the Mass in E Flat is increasingly acknowledged as an individual masterpiece;
powerful and disquieting, more monumental than the fifth, but likewise seeking to reconcile liturgical
grandeur with Schubert’s own subjective romantic feeling, whilst still influenced by Haydn, Beethoven
and Bach. Its concern for splendour is most obvious in the huge set-piece fugues at the end of the Gloria
and Credo but all the time liturgical tradition is coloured by an individual and sometimes unsettling
chromaticism, possibly evoking the personal pain he was suffering, not only physically but also the
anguish of questioning his faith. The result is some of the most violent anguish encountered in a setting
of the text. The recording is dedicated to the memory of Francesca McManus, the manager of CM90 who sadly died
at the end of November. “Richard Hickox directs his crack period forces in a strong, sympathetic performance, glowingly recorded. Among rival conductors, Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Elatus) uncovers more disquiet in, say, the Kyrie. But Hickox's pacing and shaping are always convincing, not least in the monumental - and potentially interminable - fugues of the Gloria and Credo. The chorus blaze with white-hot intensity in Schubert's many fff climaxes, while the soloists sing with tenderness and grace in the Benedictus and the ravishing "Et incarnatus est".” The Telegraph, 19th April 2008 “Few period bands have tackled this late, great work, and it comes up gleaming in the care of Collegium Musicum 90 under Richard Hickox's direction. Hickox's soloists are superb, too.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2008 **** “Turn to Hickox and you'll hear how this heavenly music should sound, with the three soloists (Mark Padmore, James Gilchrist - an ideally matched tenor pairing - and soprano Susan Gritton) singing with pure tone and wondering tenderness.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2008 |
