ANDRÁS SCHIFF - Società del Quartetto di Vicenza

Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato:
passus, et sepultus est.
Et resurrexit tertia die,
secundum scripturas.
Et ascendit in caelum:
sedet ad dexteram Patris.
Et iterum venturus est
cum gloria judicare vivos et mortuos:
Cujus regni non erit finis.
Et in Spiritum sanctum Dominum,
et vivificantem:
Qui ex Patre, Filioque procedit.
Qui cum Patre, et Filio simul adoratur,
et conglorificatur:
Qui locutus est per Prophetas.
(N.B. not composed by Schubert: Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.)
Confiteor unum baptisma
in remissionem peccatorum.
Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum
Et vitam venturi saeculi.
Amen.
Sanctus
Adagio. Allegro ma non troppo: Osanna.
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua.
Osanna in excelsis.
Benedictus
Andante
Benedictus qui venit
in nomine Domini.
Osanna in excelsis.
Agnus Dei
Andante con moto. Andantino: Dona nobis pacem. Allegro molto moderato: Agnus Dei.
Andantino: Dona nobis pacem.
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.
Even though he wasn’t a fervent believer, at least according to his biography, the catalogue of
Schubert includes several sacred works: six latin Masses, one Mass and one Lutheran Requiem
and other pieces; the seeming discrepancy results from the fact that sacred music was often
commissioned and gave a source of profit for the musician. In particular, the composition
of his Mass n° 6 was assigned him by his friend Leitermayer, master of the choir in Alsergrund,
in 1828. This work is characterized by a symphonic breath, where choral parts are more
important than sections written for solo voices. There are some similarities with Beethoven’s
Missa Solemnis: following his example, Schubert uses expansive fugues and abundant counterpoints,
but he differs from him in the wideness of melodies, that are almost lyric, and in the
modulations, which are freer and bolder than those used in classic harmony.
It is very interesting to notice the sudden change into the minor mode at Crucifixus, or the
imposing entry of the Sanctus, in which the juxtaposition of distant chords generates a resonance
that gives us the impression of seeing an afterworld.
Beethoven’s death determined a very important transformation in the musical scene in Vienna:
in fact on the one hand, the leading reference figure was lost, on the other younger musicians
had the possibility to emerge from the shadow of the Maestro, asserting their personality
and becoming well known to the audience.
That’s why in 1828 Schubert completely devoted himself to composition, achieving significant
goals that are, at last, entirely romantic: we remember above all his last sonatas for piano, his
Mass in E-flat and other works, among which his last String Quintet, D 956. The three sonatas
D 958 – D 960 actually form a group, distinguished by common formal elements, such as the
division and the structure of the four movements, and by an overall stylistic connection which
enhances a close and deep feeling.
The sonata in B-flat major perfectly shows these characteristics: Schubert can’t forget Beethoven’s
teaching, but goes beyond those features, determining a personal language, which starts from time
expansion and produces a more fluent and less dramatic tone and a less consistent progress: it is
the so-called “divine length” (Schumann), that his contemporaries didn’t always understand.
“In Beethoven’s music we never lose our bearings, we always know where we are; Schubert, on
the other hand, puts us into a dream”: a difference stressed by Alfred Brendel who, developing
his thought, justifies the parallel he drew between Schubert and Mahler.
Schubert surpassed his master, but he didn’t reject him: the beginning of the Molto moderato
derives from the Trio op. 97 by Beethoven and the theme of the last movement is taken from
the last part of the Quartet op.130; this two references show that Schubert absorbed and understood
the preceding pattern and then he was able to evolve it.
Andrea Scarpari