Mass No. 5 (Schubert)

Mass No. 5
by Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert in 1825 (watercolor by Wilhelm August Rieder)
Key	A-flat major
Catalogue	D 678
Form	Missa solemnis
Composed	1819 (1819) – 1822 (1822): Vienna
Movements	6
Vocal	SATB choir and soloists
Instrumental	orchestra and organ

Mass No. 5 in A flat major, D 678, is a mass composed by Franz Schubert, completed in 1822. There is no record of a performance during Schubert's lifetime. It is scored for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, SATB choir with divisi, violin I and II, viola, flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones colla parte, timpani and basso continuo (cello, double bass and organ). It is classified as a missa solemnis.

Schubert commenced composition of the mass in November 1819, completing it three years later in 1822. Various projects had competed for the composer's attention in the meantime, including his brother Ferdinand's request for a mass (D 755). Schubert wrote out the organ part in October or November 1822, and although plans were made for a performance in 1823, records of a performance in Schubert's lifetime do not exist.