Franz Schubert - Sacred Works

Sawallisch's is an impressive achievement; not so much in recording the complete Schubert sacred oeuvre, but in maintaining so consistent an approach and producing performances of exemplary musicianship, even in works of less than uniform quality themselves. The recordings are first rate, with the older analogue transfers coming up unusually well. Sawallisch never fails to reveal the inherent beauty in almost everything Schubert wrote. A treat for all devout Schubertians.
Schubert's sacred choral works seem very much the poor relation in an output comprising so mnay indisputable masterpieces of vocal, piano, chamber and orchestral music. Yet he wrote more than enough, as EMI show us, to fill seven discs. There are seven Masses, ranging from the plain Deutsche Messe (D872) to the majestic one in B flat major (D324), an intense Stabat mater and the tantalizingly incomplete oratorio Lazarus, not to mention a host of smaller pieces and fragments. Quantity doesn't necessarily imply quality, even where Schubert is concerned. The rather meagre representation this music has always received in the catalogue would seem to suggest that much of what is included in these discs is of little more than academic interest. Certainly not even Schubert's greatest advocates would describe everything he wrote for the Church as a masterpiece; the Credo from the Deutsche Messe, D872 must rank as one of the dullest ever written, while his use of counterpoint, most notably in D950, is often dismissed as rudimentary. But there can never be any doubting the sincerity of Schubert's intentions and given sensitive, well-conceived performances, his unquenchable gift for melodic invention and ability to write instantly attractive music overrides any technical shortcomings.

Such are Sawallisch's performances. His clear sense of direction, his natural feel for the line, and his unpretentious approach never fail to reveal the inherent beauty in almost everything Schubert wrote. The Bavarian Radio Chorus, with their rich, vibrant tone, show a consistent level of technical accomplishment, following Sawallisch's naturally shaped lines and beautifully moulded hairpin dynamics with a wholly natural flow. Similarly, with such accomplished Schubertians as Lucia Popp, Robert Tear and Fischer-Dieskau one can expect some memorable performances; and Tear's sublimely controlled (although hardly sung "with a feeble voice") opening aria sets the scene for a performance of Lazarus almost overburdened with sublime artistry. For me the highlight of these discs is the deliciously delicate trio between Popp, Adolf Dallapozza and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, supported by some extraordinarily elegant orchestral playing, in the Benedictus of D167: if I had to take just one recording of Schubert to a desert island, this, surely, would be it.

— Gramophone [8/1994], reviewing a prior reissue of these recordings

Bavarian Radio Chorus, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Capella Bavariae
Adolf Dallapozza, Lucia Popp, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Brigitte Fassbaender, Helen Donath et al…