During the last summer of his life, Franz Schubert completed the Mass in E-flat D 950. The occasion for the composition of this Missa solemnis cannot be clarified with certainty. Schubert did not live to see the premiere of his sixth mass, which was first performed posthumously in 1829 under the baton of his brother Ferdinand.

Among other things, the editor has paid particular attention to the articulation. In order to be able to present Schubert’s differentiated use of accents in the edition, a new symbol has been introduced: an accent which is flexible with regard to its length, thus making it possible to precisely visualize its compositionally intended duration.