Creation history

Schubert is the author of 6 masses which he wrote both to the early period (1814 — 1816), and in the 1820th years. The sixth mass was composed in June of the 1828th, less than for half a year to death. At this time there are most tragic compositions of Schubert — the vocal cycle "Winter Way", 6 songs on Heine's verses which soon after the death of the composer have been published together with others in the collection "Swan Song". However the Sixth mass differs from them on mood markedly: light, joy reign in her, major images triumph. The last mass has something in common with written in the same years by the last the symphony and the quintet, two last piano sonatas. Her execution has taken place on October 4, 1829 in Vienna, in Holy Trinity Church.

Music

The sixth mass — the large-scale composition with much larger forms, than in the previous Schubert's masses, with wide use of polyphonic methods of development that is traditionally inherent in this genre. However and there is a lot of typically shubertovsky, romantic. Approach to the text of a Latin church service is indicative in this regard: as well as in songs, the composer resorts to numerous repetitions.

Comparisons of parts traditional and romantic are frequent. So, for the first, Kyrie eleison (My God pardon) with a song melodics in a three-part form, follows Gloria (Glory) — stately, with the fugirovanny final section. Internal contrast and in a large-scale 3rd part is similar, Credo (I believe). The lyrical light tercet of soloists narrating about Et incarnatus vochelovecheniye is resisted by the ominous chorus in beat the funeral march drawing a crucifixion (Crucifixus), and for revival (Et resurrexit) the composer uses repetition of the initial subject Credo. In a lyrical 5th part, Benedictus It (is blessed), the subject varies as in the song, develops canonically as in polyphonic forms. And the only gloomy, drama episode — the beginning of the 6th part, Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) — has directly something in common with baroque music: the angular subject фугато graphically reminds a cross that is so characteristic of Bach.

A. Konigsberg