The Composition
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began his Requiem in D minor (K. 626) in the autumn of 1791, responding to a commission from Count Franz von Walsegg, who intended to pass the work off as his own in memory of his deceased wife. Mozart completed the Introit and Kyrie in full score and drafted the vocal parts and basso continuo for the sequence (Dies Irae through Hostias) and the Offertory (Domine Jesu and Lacrimosa, the latter breaking off after eight bars). He died on 5 December 1791 at age 35, leaving the work incomplete. His widow Constanze engaged Franz Xaver Süssmayr, a former pupil, to complete the work, which he did by early 1792. The Requiem is scored for SATB soloists, SATB chorus, basset horns, bassoons, trumpets, trombones, timpani, strings, and organ. A performance of the Süssmayr completion lasts approximately 50 to 55 minutes.
Biblical Text
The text is the Latin Requiem Mass as codified in the Roman Missal, drawing from multiple biblical sources. The Introit ('Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine') paraphrases 2 Esdras 2:34-35 and Psalm 65:1-2. The 'Dies Irae' sequence is a medieval hymn attributed to Thomas of Celano (c. 1250), drawing on Zephaniah 1:15 ('a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish'), 2 Peter 3:10 (the elements dissolving in fire), and Revelation 20:12 (the books being opened). The 'Tuba Mirum' section references 1 Corinthians 15:52 ('the trumpet shall sound'). The 'Lacrimosa' draws on Revelation 21:4 ('God shall wipe away all tears'). The 'Rex Tremendae' invokes the imagery of divine kingship from Daniel 7:9-10 and Revelation 19:16. Mozart set these texts with deep sensitivity to their dramatic and theological weight.
The Creator
Mozart was 35 and in declining health when he received the commission. He had just completed Die Zauberflöte and La Clemenza di Tito and was at the height of his creative powers despite severe financial difficulties. Mozart was a practicing Catholic who had been deeply influenced by Freemasonry since his initiation in 1784, and both streams of thought inform the Requiem's sensibility. Contemporary accounts (notably by his wife Constanze and his first biographer Franz Xaver Niemetschek) report that Mozart became increasingly convinced he was writing the Requiem for himself. While some of the mythology surrounding his death (the anonymous messenger, the poisoning rumors involving Salieri) has been embellished over two centuries, it is documented that Mozart worked on the Requiem during his final illness and discussed its completion with Süssmayr.
Musical Analysis
The Introit opens in D minor with a solemn orchestral introduction featuring the distinctive dark timbre of basset horns and bassoons - Mozart deliberately omitted flutes, oboes, and clarinets to create a funeral sonority. The Kyrie that follows is a double fugue of severe grandeur, modeled on Handel's 'And with His stripes' from Messiah and the 'Et vitam venturi' of Bach's Mass in B minor. The 'Dies Irae' erupts in D minor with tremolo strings and hammering timpani, creating one of the most viscerally terrifying moments in sacred music. The 'Rex Tremendae' shifts between crushing forte chords on 'Rex' and the hushed, pleading 'Salva me' of the soloists. The 'Recordare' in F major is a quartet of extraordinary beauty, its flowing melodic lines offering respite from the surrounding terror. The 'Lacrimosa' - the last music Mozart wrote - builds from a weeping 12/8 figure to an anguished climax on 'Judicandus homo reus' before breaking off. The 'Confutatis' alternates between the fierce unison of the damned ('Confutatis maledictis') and the gentle supplication of the saved ('Voca me cum benedictis').
Theological Content
The Requiem Mass is fundamentally eschatological: it concerns the Last Judgment, purgatorial suffering, and the hope of eternal rest. Mozart's setting emphasizes both the terror of divine judgment and the mercy of Christ as intercessor. The work reflects the Catholic doctrine of prayers for the dead - the living petition God on behalf of the deceased. Mozart's treatment is notable for its balance between the objective drama of the Dies Irae sequence and the intimate, personal prayer of movements like the 'Recordare' and 'Lacrimosa.' The theological arc moves from fear to hope, from judgment to mercy, from death to eternal light ('Lux aeterna luceat eis').
Performance History
The first documented performance of the Süssmayr completion took place on 2 January 1793 at the Jahn restaurant in Vienna, organized by Baron Gottfried van Swieten as a benefit for Constanze Mozart. Count Walsegg performed it under his own name on 14 December 1793 at the Neuklosterkirche in Wiener Neustadt. The work quickly entered the standard repertoire and has been performed at state funerals and memorial services for over two centuries. Notable performances include those at the funerals of Beethoven (1827), Chopin (1849), and John F. Kennedy (1963, at St. Matthew's Cathedral, Washington). Leonard Bernstein conducted a celebrated performance with the Bavarian Radio Symphony in 1988.
Cultural Impact
The Requiem is the most frequently performed and recorded requiem mass and one of the best-selling classical recordings of all time. Its association with Mozart's death has made it a cultural symbol of the relationship between artistic creation and mortality. The work has been central to the popular mythology of Mozart, most notably through Peter Shaffer's play Amadeus (1979) and Milos Forman's film adaptation (1984), in which the deathbed dictation scene - though largely fictional - became one of the most iconic depictions of musical composition in cinema. The 'Lacrimosa' is one of the most frequently used classical pieces in film and television, appearing in scores of productions.
Controversies
The question of how much of the Requiem is actually by Mozart has generated over two centuries of scholarly debate. Süssmayr's completion has been criticized for its crude orchestration and harmonic language, and numerous alternative completions have been attempted: Richard Maunder (1986), Robert Levin (1991), and Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs (2013) are among the most performed. The question of whether Süssmayr worked from extensive sketches and instructions by Mozart or largely composed on his own remains unresolved, as the original sketches are lost. Constanze Mozart's role in commissioning and managing the completion - and her initial deception of Walsegg regarding its completeness - adds further complexity. The Romantic legend of the mysterious messenger commissioning the Requiem was demystified only in 1964 when the musicologist Otto Erich Deutsch identified Count Walsegg.
Legacy
Mozart's Requiem established the genre of the concert requiem and influenced virtually every subsequent setting of the Requiem Mass, from Berlioz to Verdi to Britten. Its emotional directness and dramatic power set a standard against which all later requiems have been measured. The work has been arranged for chamber ensembles, transcribed for piano, and adapted for film scores. Its cultural presence extends far beyond the concert hall: it is among the most recognized pieces of classical music worldwide.
Recommended Recordings
1. Karl Böhm with the Vienna Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon, 1971) - the classic Viennese reading, with warmth, gravity, and outstanding soloists including Edith Mathis and Julia Hamari. 2. John Eliot Gardiner with the English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir (Philips, 1986) - a historically informed performance of exceptional clarity and dramatic force. 3. René Jacobs with the Freiburger Barockorchester using the Levin completion (Harmonia Mundi, 2004) - a provocative alternative that attempts to restore what Mozart might have intended, with striking differences in the Sanctus and Agnus Dei.