Mass No. 2 in G major, D 167, by
Franz Schubert was composed in less than a week in early March 1815 and remains the best known of his three short settings, or missae breves, dating between his more elaborate
No. 1 and
No. 5. Apart from some passages for soprano, its solistic interventions are modest; Schubert, characteristically, inclines toward a devotional mood. The First Mass had been successfully performed in the composer's parish the year before.
The Second was originally modestly scored, requiring only a string orchestra and organ in addition to the soprano, tenor and bass soloists and the choir. It was not printed until 1845, some years after Schubert's death, and until then remained one of his less-noted compositions (so much so that that first edition was usurped by one by
Robert Führer, director of music at Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral, a man who eventually landed in prison for embezzlement). But a 1980s discovery at Klosterneuburg of a set of parts dated later than Schubert's full score suggests that his final thoughts about the work were on a grander scale, with trumpet and timpani parts added and minor changes throughout. (The discovery led to recordings of the work by Sony Classical and Carus Classics, in 1995 and 1996 respectively, and to Carus-Verlag's publishing of the enhanced score.) Separately, Schubert's brother Ferdinand wrote parts for woodwinds, brass and timpani in response to the work's popularity.
The mass consists of six movements. Performances require approximately 22 minutes.
