As so often, Robert Schumann composed his music in groups of compositions belonging to the same genre. After the piano year 1839, the song year 1840 and the chamber music year 1842, the year 1851 was dominated by Roman Catholic church music Both the Missa Sacra, op.147 and the Requiem, op.148 saw the light then. Perhaps Schumann's brand new appointment as Städtischer Musikdirektor of the city of
… Düsseldorf played a stimulating role in this. At the same time, Schumann felt he was ready. 'In our youth we are firmly rooted in the earth by all our joys and sorrows; but with advancing age, the branches reach higher and so I hope that the time of my higher endeavors is not far off,' the composer noted at the same time. Contrary to what one might expect, Schumann did not create a monumental mass with his Missa Sacra. Rather, his starting points were the counterpoint of Palestrina and Bach and the sound worlds of Mozart's church music and Beethoven's smaller Mass in C. The nice thing about this recording is that the Swedish Radio Choir chose the independent organ part that musicologist Bernhard R. Appel created based on the subordinate organ accompaniment in the orchestral score. It gives the mass an even more intimate character and also makes it suitable for liturgical use. The Swedish Radio Choir completes the album with Schumann's Vier Doppelchörige Gesänge, op.141 of 1849. (JWvR)more
