SCHUBERT: Mass No. 6 in E-flat, D 950 – Brigitte Fournier, soprano/ Jacky Cahen, alto/ Jorg Durmuller, tenor/ Andreas Karasiak, tenor/ Gaston Sister, bass/ Lausanne Vocal Ensemble/ Lausanne Chamber Orchestra/ Michel Corboz, conductor – Mirare

by | Jun 19, 2008 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

SCHUBERT: Mass No. 6 in E-flat, D 950 – Brigitte Fournier, soprano/ Jacky Cahen, alto/ Jorg Durmuller, tenor/ Andreas Karasiak, tenor/ Gaston Sister, bass/ Lausanne Vocal Ensemble/ Lausanne Chamber Orchestra/ Michel Corboz, conductor – Mirare MIR051, 54:48 *** (Distr. by Harmonia mundi):
Schubert created his final Mass just a few months before the end of his life, and was never to hear the premiere, given by his brother in Vienna several years later. His eight masses, four early and four later, are rich with choral imagination and decorative melodic figurations, surely some of the most tuneful pieces ever written in the genre – from the young and boisterous No. 2 to the A-flat phenomenon to this E-flat wonder, where even the soloists are included almost as an afterthought in the predominantly choral edifice. It ranks among the greatest choral pieces ever composed, breathing the same air as the String Quintet, and touched with the grace of tribute to J.S. Bach in the Agnus Dei and even the tempestuous Dona Nobis Pacem.
Michel Corboz has been around a long time, and anyone even remotely interested in classical music knows the name, figuring prominently on the covers of well over 100 recordings. This latest was done live, and may even be a radio recording—at least it sort of sounds that way. Performance wise, this is slightly anachronistic for those who prefer smallish ensembles (something Corboz seems to avoid), but it is certainly well within acceptable limits, and the large choir adds to the lush sonorities of Schubert’s wonderful textures. Corboz has a definite feeling for this music and presents fine Schubertian style.
 
The problems really emanate from the rather closed off and compressed recording. Usually these types of issues open up somewhat when heard on headphones, but this time for once I listened on headphones first and noticed the compression right away. This causes a sense of distortion in some of the more vigorous passages when in fact there may actually be none present in the recording.
If you take these issues and couple them with the fact that you can get this work along with the aforementioned No. 2 on a splendid Telarc recording with Robert Shaw, I am afraid this release becomes more of a supplement for those fans of the conductor, though I must admit that Corboz does have things to say here.

–Steven Ritter 

 

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