Aug 15 2022 6 mins 2
Requiem in D minor, K. 626 - VI. Benedictus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart started composing the Requiem Mass in D minor (K. 626) in Vienna in 1791, following an anonymous commision from Count Franz von Walsegg, who requested the piece to commemorate the anniversary of his wife's death. Mozart passed away on December of 1791, however, having finished and orchestrated only one movement. The Requiem is widely considered one of Mozart's greatest works, and its composition process is surrounded a shroud of mistery and myths, usually attributed to Mozart's wife Constanze, who had to keep secret the fact that Mozart hadn't completed the work in order to be able to collect the final payment from the commision. It is commonly accepted that Mozart finished the Introitus, and left detailed sketches of the Kyrie and Dies Irae all the way to the first eight bars of the Lacrimosa and parts of the Offertory. There are now several completions of the Requiem Mass, though the most common by far (considered the standard version of the piece) is the one by Franz Xaver Süssmayr. He not only completed the movements Mozart left (borrowing an unespecified amount from Joseph von Eybler's previous attemps at completing the work) but also added several movements of his own: Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei. He then added a final section, Lux aeterna by adapting the opening two movements which Mozart had written to the different words which finish the Requiem Mass. The myth surrounding this work was increased by the fictional rivarly between Mozart and Antonio Salieri first expressed in 'Mozart and Salieri', a play by Alexander Pushkin, which in turn inspired an opera by Rismky Korsakov of the same name, the inmensely popular 1979 play 'Amadeus', by Peter Shaffer, and it's 1984 film adaptation by Miloš Forman. The Requiem is scored for 2 basset horns in F, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets in D, 3 trombones (alto, tenor & bass), timpani (2 drums), violins, viola, and basso continuo (cello, double bass, and organ). The vocal forces include soprano, contralto, tenor, bass soloists, and an SATB mixed choir. Get bonus content on Patreon
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