Schubert: Mass No 4 in C D452 / Mass No 2 in G D167 / Deutsche Messe D872

"It was only natural for former choir boy Schubert to compose church music, but like Mozart's, his seven masses do not constitute the central pillar of his oeuvre-lovely as they are. The musical forces in this (first?) disc of Schubert's sacred music are very fine, and the music as attractive as could be-especially the folksong-oriented German Mass." Cliffs Classics, November 2009

"…Schuldt-Jensen's buoyant tempi and the freshness of the choral response do much to vindicate the rococo auto-bustle of parts of the C major Mass. The second soloists… all have light "early music" voices. If the bass sounds strained in the high-lying "Benedictus" of D167, the singers blend well in ensemble, not least in the poignant "Et incarnatus" of the C major Mass." Gramophone

A chorister from the age of eight until his voice broke seven years later, Franz Schubert was well placed to compose sacred music, including several splendid settings of the Mass. His second, completed in 1815, and fourth, written during the following year, follow Mozart's examples but with strikingly Schubertian touches such as his dramatic use of key relationships and contrasting vocal textures to express the prayerful, meditative and glorious nature of the liturgical text. For the so-called German Mass, Schubert wrote unassuming yet heartfelt settings of congregational hymns for performance during the service.