Schubert, Franz : Mass in Ab major D 678

« To strive for the highest in art » – these are the words with which Franz Schubert announced his A flat major Mass in 1828, a work which he designated as « Missa solemnis » in his autograph. Alone the genesis of the work shows the imp Ortance which the composer placed on this work. Schubert wrote the score between 1819 and 1822, an unusually long period of time for him. He later fundamentally revised the mass when he applied for the post of Vice Court Kapellmeister in Vienna, which he did not obtain. After this disappointment, he rejected his original intent of dedicating the mass « to the Emperor or Empress.  » Thanks to Peter Jost’s « Breitkopf Ur Text » edition, Schubert’s « Missa solemnis » once again adds its luster to the publisher’s catalogue: Breitkopf & Härtel published its final version in the Schubert Gesamtausgabe in 1887. Previously Jost produced an equally exemplarily prepared edition of Schubert’s E flat major Mass D 950. « Wie immer bei Breitkopf ist das Satzbild der Neuausgabe der Zweitfassung in der Gestalt vorbildlich.  » (Goede, Kirchenmusikführer) « Eine Ausgabe, die höchsten wissenschaftlichen Anspruch mit bester Praktikabilität ganz selbstverständlich verbindet.  » (Chor aktuell)