Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem in D minor, K. 626, is a Requiem Mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). Mozart composed part of the Requiem in Vienna in late 1791, but it was unfinished at his death on 5 December the same year. A completed version dated 1792 by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had commissioned the piece for a requiem service on 14 February 1792 to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of his wife Anna at the age of 20 on 14 February 1791.
The autograph manuscript shows the finished and orchestrated Introit in Mozart's hand, and detailed drafts of the Kyrie and the sequence Dies irae as far as the first eight bars of the Lacrymosa movement, and the Offertory. It cannot be shown to what extent Süssmayr may have depended on now lost "scraps of paper" for the remainder; he later claimed the Sanctus and Benedictus and the Agnus Dei as his own.
Walsegg probably intended to pass the Requiem off as his own composition, as he is known to have done with other works. This plan was frustrated by a public benefit performance for Mozart's widow Constanze. She was responsible for a number of stories surrounding the composition of the work, including the claims that Mozart received the commission from a mysterious messenger who did not reveal the commissioner's identity, and that Mozart came to believe that he was writing the Requiem for his own funeral.
In addition to the Süssmayr version, a number of alternative completions have been developed by composers and musicologists in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Instrumentation[edit]
The Requiem is scored for 2 basset horns in F, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets in D, 3 trombones (alto, tenor, and bass), timpani (2 drums), violins, viola, and basso continuo (cello, double bass, and organ). The basset horn parts are sometimes played on conventional clarinets, even though this changes the sonority.
The vocal forces consist of soprano, contralto, tenor, and bass soloists and an SATB mixed choir.
Liturgical lyrics[edit]
I. Introitus[edit]
Requiem aeternam:
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,
et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam,
ad te omnis caro veniet.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
II. Kyrie[edit]
Kyrie eleison:
Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison.
III. Sequentia[edit]
Dies irae:
Dies irae, dies illa
Solvet saeclum in favilla,
teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus!
Tuba mirum:
Tuba mirum spargens sonum per sepulcra regionum,
coget omnes ante thronum.
Mors stupebit et natura, cum resurget creatura,
judicanti responsura.
Liber scriptus proferetur, in quo totum continetur,
unde mundus judicetur.
Judex ergo cum sedebit, quidquid latet, apparebit,
nil inultum remanebit.
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
quem patronum rogaturus,
cum vix justus sit securus?
Rex tremendae:
Rex tremendae majestatis,
qui salvandos salvas gratis,
salve me, fons pietatis.
Recordare:
Recordare, Jesu pie, quod sum causa tuae viae;
ne me perdas illa die.
Quaerens me, sedisti lassus,
redemisti crucem passus; tantus labor non sit cassus.
Juste judex ultionis,
bonum fac remissionis ante diem rationis.
Ingemisco, tamquam reus:
culpa rubet vultus meus; supplicanti parce, Deus.
Qui Mariam absolvisti, et latronem exaudisti,
mihi quoque spem dedisti.
Preces meae non sunt dignae, sed tu,
bonus, fac benigne, ne perenni cremer igne.
Inter oves locum praesta,
Et ab haedis me sequestra,
Statuens in parte dextra.
Confutatis:
Confutatis maledictis,
flammis acribus addictis,
voca me cum benedictis.
Oro supplex et acclinis,
cor contritum quasi cinis,
gere curam mei finis.
Lacrimosa:
Lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus, pie Jesu Domine,
dona eis requiem.
Amen.
IV. Offertorium[edit]
Domine Jesu:
Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae,
libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de poenis inferni
et de profundo lacu.
Libera eas de ore leonis,
ne absorbeat eas Tartarus,
ne cadant in obscurum.
Sed signifer Sanctus Michael,
repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam.
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus.
Hostias:
Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus.
Tu suscipe pro animabus illis,
quarum hodie memoriam facimus. Fac eas, Domine,
de morte transire ad vitam,
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus.
V. Sanctus[edit]
Sanctus:
Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus
Dominus Deus Sabaoth!
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua
Hosanna in excelsis!
VI. Benedictus[edit]
Benedictus:
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
Hosanna in excelsis!
VII. Agnus Dei[edit]
Agnus Dei:
Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi,
dona eis requiem.
Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi,
dona eis requiem sempiternam.
VIII. Communio[edit]
Lux aeterna:
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et Lux perpetua luceat eis,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.
Arrangements[edit]
The Requiem and its individual movements have been repeatedly arranged for various instruments. The keyboard arrangements notably demonstrate the variety of approaches taken to translating the Requiem, particularly the Confutatis and Lacrymosa movements, in order to balance preserving the Requiem's character while also being physically playable. Karl Klindworth's piano solo (c.1900), Muzio Clementi's organ solo, and Renaud de Vilbac's harmonium solo (c.1875) are liberal in their approach to achieve this. In contrast, Carl Czerny wrote his piano transcription for two players, enabling him to retain the extent of the score, if sacrificing timbral character. Franz Liszt's piano solo (c.1865) departs the most in terms of fidelity and character of the Requiem, through its inclusion of composition devices used to showcase pianistic technique.[27]