Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Mass No. 1, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in D minor, WAB 26: I. Kyrie. Alla breve (mehr langsam)
2. Mass No. 1, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in D minor, WAB 26: II. Gloria. Allegro - Meno mosso - Tempo I - Etwas langsamer
3. Mass No. 1, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in D minor, WAB 26: III. Credo. Moderato - Langsam (Adagio) - Allegro - Tempo des
4. Mass No. 1, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in D minor, WAB 26: IV. Sanctus. Maestoso - Allegro moderato
5. Mass No. 1, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in D minor, WAB 26: V. Benedictus. Moderato - Allegro moderato
6. Mass No. 1, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in D minor, WAB 26: VI. Agnus Dei. Andante quasi Allegro - Allegro moderato
7. Mass No. 2, for chorus & winds in E minor, WAB 27: I. Kyrie. Feierlich
8. Mass No. 2, for chorus & winds in E minor, WAB 27: II. Gloria. Allegro - Andante - Tempo I
9. Mass No. 2, for chorus & winds in E minor, WAB 27: III. Credo. Allegro moderato - Adagio - Allegro - Tempo I

Disc 2:

1. Mass No. 3, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in F minor ('Great'), WAB 28: I. Kyrie. Moderato
2. Mass No. 3, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in F minor ('Great'), WAB 28: II. Gloria. Allegro - Andante, mehr Adagio (sehr la
3. Mass No. 3, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in F minor ('Great'), WAB 28: III. Credo. Allegro - Moderato misterioso - Langsam
4. Mass No. 3, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in F minor ('Great'), WAB 28: III. Credo (Forts. / cont.) Allegro - Tempo I - Mod
5. Mass No. 3, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in F minor ('Great'), WAB 28: IV. Sanctus. Moderato - Allegro
6. Mass No. 3, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in F minor ('Great'), WAB 28: V. Benedictus. Allegro moderato - Allegro
7. Mass No. 3, for soloists, chorus, orchestra & organ in F minor ('Great'), WAB 28: VI. Agnus Dei. Andante - Moderato

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26409 in Music
• Released on: 1996-01-23
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Customer Reviews

Magnificent
Being long under the impression that Bruckner's major achievement lay in his symphonies, the motets and the Te Deum, this CD-set came as quite a revelation to me.

Being a very devout Catholic, Bruckner left us with sublimely beautiful music in these Masses. Although al three masses were composed in his forties, the music strongly bears his signature: elements of mystery, striking thematic material, and deep spiritual devotion.

Jochum has a powerful vision, the singing of the choir is ethereal, and the recording after all these years retains a vivid presence.

The music has a strong emotional effect on me; listening to it is a spiritual experience.

Someone once said that God gave us music so that we could pray without words. This is the music I would expect to hear upon arrival in Heaven.

not to be missed
I tend to echo the sentiments of the prior reviewer. The Masses are some of Bruckner's greatest compositions and deserve the same level of respect as do his symphonies. When I was listening to the Mass No. 3 in E minor I could have sworn there was a rolling orchestral crescendo that was also used at least in part in the great adagio of his Symphony No. 7 (also in E). The texts of the Roman Catholic liturgy are delivered entirely in Latin and the choral and soloist contributions are impeccable in phrasing, diction and beauty of tone. The Benedictus passages have some extremely beautiful parts for the voice and the string sections, and nothwithstanding the lack of a violin solo can be mentioned in the same breath as that of the Beethoven Missa Solemnis. The Et Resurrexit sections of the Credos have thundering power and majesty. In some respects the Masses are a bit more closely argued in terms of musical structure and cohere better than the earlier symphonies. Eugen Jochum conducts with selfless dedication, letting this powerful music speak for itself. The playing of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra is superb, and the highly individual sound of the Mass No. 2, written solely for brass and wind instruments, almost (as the documentation implies) feels like Palestrina brought into the Romantic era. The remastering from the original issues, from 1962 to 1971, is very successful and there is a wonderful bloom on the choral sound. The spacious acoustics of the Herkules-Saal, which was also one of the venues for Jochum's first survey of Bruckner's symphonies with the same orchestra (and the Berlin Philharmonic), are heard to very good effect. Full translations of the Liturgy are printed in German, English and French.

This issue is a classic and its release as part of Deutsche Grammophon's Originals series cannot be too strongly welcomed.

Excellent Introduction to Bruckner
For someone like me, unfamiliar with Bruckner, this recording is an excellent introduction. These masses are a large amount of lovely, heartfelt music in a late Romantic idiom. The performances are excellent. The E minor Mass appears to be the most popular but I found the F minor Mass to be the most interesting of the three. Definitely whets your appetite for more Bruckner.