Requiem Mass in D minor, KV 626 "Missa pro defunctis; Seelenmesse"

The Requiem Mass in D minor (K. 626) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the February 14 anniversary of his wife's death. It is one of the most enigmatic pieces of music ever composed, mostly because of the myths and controversies surrounding it, especially around how much of the piece was completed by Mozart before his death. The autograph manuscript shows the finished and orchestrated introit in Mozart's hand, as well as detailed drafts of the Kyrie and the sequence Dies Irae as far as the first nine bars of "Lacrimosa", 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 Agnus 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. A modern contribution to the mythology is Peter Shaffer's 1979 play Amadeus, in which the mysterious messenger with the commission is the masked Antonio Salieri who intends to claim authorship for himself. 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, and bass soloists and a SATB mixed choir. At the time of Mozart's death on 5 December 1791, only the opening movement (Requiem aeternam) was completed in all of the orchestral and vocal parts. The following Kyrie and most of the sequence (from Dies Irae to Confutatis) were complete only in the vocal parts and the continuo (the figured organ bass), though occasionally some of the prominent orchestral parts were briefly indicated, such as the violin part of the Confutatis and the musical bridges in the Recordare. The last movement of the sequence, the Lacrimosa, breaks off after only eight bars and was unfinished. The following two movements of the Offertorium were again partially done; the Domine Jesu Christe in the vocal parts and continuo (up until the fugue, which contains some indications of the violin part) and the Hostias in the vocal parts only. The Sussmayr completion of the Requiem is divided into fourteen movements, with the following structure: I. Introitus: Requiem aeternam (choir and soprano solo) II. Kyrie eleison (choir) III. Sequentia (text based on sections of the Dies Irae): -Dies irae (choir) -Tuba mirum (soprano, contralto, tenor and bass solo) -Rex tremendae majestatis (choir) -Recordare, Jesu pie (soprano, contralto, tenor and bass solo) -Confutatis maledictis (choir) -Lacrimosa dies illa (choir) IV. Offertorium: -Domine Jesu Christe (choir with solo quartet) -Versus: Hostias et preces (choir) V. Sanctus: -Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth (choir) -Benedictus (solo quartet, then choir) VI. Agnus Dei (choir) VII. Communio: -Lux aeterna (soprano solo and choir) Mozart esteemed Handel and in 1789 he was commissioned by Baron Gottfried van Swieten to rearrange Messiah. This work likely influenced the composition of Mozart's Requiem; the Kyrie is probably based on the And with his stripes we are healed chorus from Handel's Messiah (HWV 56), since the fugato, in which Handel was a master, is the same, with only slight variations by adding ornaments on melismata. Some believe that the Introitus was inspired by Handel's Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline (HWV 264), and some have also remarked that the Confutatis may have been inspired by Sinfonia Venezia by Pasquale Anfossi. Another possible influence may be Michael Haydn's Requiem in C minor; as the Introitus sounds rather similar to Mozart's. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- FREE .mp3 and .wav files of all Mozart's music at: http://www.mozart-archiv.de/ FREE sheet music scores of any Mozart piece at: http://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/nma/start.php?l=2 ALSO check out these cool sites: http://musopen.org/ and http://imslp.org/wiki/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: I do not know who the performers of this are, nor the place and date of recording!!! Any suggestions are welcome. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENJOY!!!! :D

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem in D minor (K.626) -- Live Version. I. Introitus: Requiem aeternam (choir with soprano solo) (0:00) II. Kyrie (choir) (5:28) III. Sequentia: - Dies irae (choir) (7:55) - Tuba mirum (solo quartet) (10:02) - Rex tremendae majestatis (choir) (13:47) - Recordare, Jesu pie (solo quartet) (16:22) - Confutatis maledictis (choir) (22:13) - Lacrimosa dies illa (choir) (24:32) * IV. Offertorium: - Domine Jesu Christe (choir with solo quartet) (27:48) - Versus: Hostias et preces (choir) (31:23) V. Sanctus & Benedictus: - Sanctus (choir) (35:46) - Benedictus (solo quartet and choir) (37:46) VI. Agnus Dei (choir) (42:50) VII. Communio: - Lux aeterna (soprano solo and choir) (46:03)

-- Schiller Institute Conference Attaining Freedom Through Necessity: THE LAST CHANCE FOR HUMANITY Frankfurt, Germany April 13-14, 2013 -- http://newparadigm.schillerinstitute.com

Mozart: Requiem Mass in D minor, K. 626 14 movements 1. Introitus 2. Kyrie Eleison 3. Sequentia: Dies irae 4. Sequentia: Tuba mirum 5. Rex tremendae majestatis 6. TSequentia: Recordare, Jesu pie 7. Sequentia: Confutatis 8. Sequentia: Lacrimosa 9. Offertorium: Domine Jesu Christe 10. Offertorium: Hostias et preces 11. Sanctus: Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth 12. Sanctus: Benedictus 13. Agnus Dei 14. Communio Directed By – Hendrik Timmerman Soprano Vocals – Rob Petri Bass Vocals – Gerard Rooker Countertenor Vocals – Jan Brink Tenor Vocals – Robert Overpelt Choir – Noordhollands Jongenskoor And Koorschool Of The "Grote Of St. Laurenskerk", Alkmaar, Holland . . . AMEN

- Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 -- 5 December 1791) - Orchestra: English Baroque Soloists - Choir: Monteverdi Choir - Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner - Soloists: Barbara Bonney (soprano), Anne Sofie von Otter (contralto), Hans Peter Blochwitz (tenor), Willard White (bass) - Year of recording: 1990 Requiem in D minor for soloists, chorus & orchestra, K. 626, written in 1791. This version is the Süssmayr completion of the Requiem, with the following structure: 00:00 - I. Introitus: Requiem aeternam (choir and soprano solo) 04:44 - II. Kyrie eleison (choir) ----- III. Sequentia: (text based on sections of the Dies Irae) 07:15 - Dies irae (choir) 09:01 - Tuba mirum (soprano, contralto, tenor and bass solo) 12:09 - Rex tremendae majestatis (choir) 14:20 - Recordare, Jesu pie (soprano, contralto, tenor and bass solo) 19:02 - Confutatis maledictis (choir) 21:17 - Lacrimosa dies illa (choir) ----- IV. Offertorium: 24:05 - Domine Jesu Christe (choir with solo quartet) 27:38 - Versus: Hostias et preces (choir) ----- V. Sanctus: 31:35 - Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth (choir) 32:58 - Benedictus (solo quartet, then choir) 38:12 - VI. Agnus Dei (choir) ----- VII. Communio: 41:25 - Lux aeterna (soprano solo and choir) The Requiem was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death on the 5th of December. A completion dated 1792 by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem mass to commemorate the 14th of February anniversary of his wife's death. The autograph manuscript shows the finished and orchestrated introit in Mozart's hand, as well as detailed drafts of the Kyrie and the sequence Dies Irae as far as the first nine bars of "Lacrimosa", 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 Agnus Dei as his own. Walsegg probably intended to pass the Requiem off as his own composition, the bulk of this copy derives from the hand of Franz Süssmayr. The Requiem contains five sections, each capped by a fugue: Requiem/Kyrie, Sequence ("Dies Irae"), Offertory, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. Throughout, choral writing drives Mozart's music; even the four soloists rarely sing alone. The darkly colored orchestra supports the choir with often vivid motives. This pictorial aspect is most evident in the Sequence: "Tuba mirum" (solo trombone), "Rex tremendae" (regal dotted-rhythms), "Confutatis" (fiery accompaniment), and "Lachrymosa" (sighing strings). Not only do individual movements display an extraordinary level of motivic unity, Mozart carefully creates motivic relationships across the entire Requiem. The very first melody sung by the basses ("Requiem aeternam"), for instance, is repeated at the very end and also echoes throughout the work; the opening melody of "Dies irae" translates into major mode to open the "Sanctus." Mozart is never afraid, however, of acknowledging his debt to earlier traditions of church music. His fugues deliberately reference Bach, and in the first movement alone he quotes from Michael Haydn's Requiem, Handel's funeral anthem for Queen Caroline, Messiah, and the Gregorian chant known as the "Pilgrim's Tone."