Requiem (Mozart)

The Requiem was commissioned anonymously in mid-1791 by Count Franz von Walsegg, who intended to pass it off as his own composition in memory of his wife.¹ Mozart, already ill and overworked, accepted the commission and worked on the score intermittently, but he died on 5 December 1791 with only the opening movement and parts of the sequence completed.² The commission's secrecy fueled speculation that Mozart believed he was writing his own funeral music, a notion popularized by later biographies and the 1984 film Amadeus.³

After Mozart's death, his widow Constanze needed the work finished to claim the commission fee, so she turned to Joseph Eybler and then to Franz Xaver Süssmayr, a pupil of Mozart.¹ Süssmayr completed the orchestration of the unfinished sections and composed the Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei, largely following Mozart's sketches and instructions. The authenticity of Süssmayr's completion has been debated for centuries, with scholars noting stylistic inconsistencies and possible errors, yet it remains the standard version performed today.

The Requiem is scored for two basset horns, two bassoons, two trumpets, timpani, strings, organ, and four vocal soloists with mixed choir.² Its movements include the Introit, Kyrie, Sequence (Dies irae, Tuba mirum, Rex tremendae, etc.), Offertory, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei, and Communion. The work is notable for its dramatic use of D minor, chromatic harmonies, and the striking Dies irae with its thunderous brass and timpani. The Lacrimosa, left incomplete, is among the most poignant movements, with its weeping motif and sudden dynamic contrasts.

Beyond the famous legend, the Requiem has several overlooked details. Mozart's autograph score shows that he wrote the vocal parts and bass line for the Sequence, but left the orchestration largely blank, a task Süssmayr filled in. The work was first performed on 10 December 1791, just five days after Mozart's death, at a memorial service in Vienna, though only the completed portions were heard.³ The Requiem was also used at the funeral of Ludwig van Beethoven in 1827, and it has been adapted in jazz, rock, and film scores, including a famous arrangement by Wendy Carlos for the film A Clockwork Orange.⁴ Additionally, a fragment of a Requiem by Mozart's contemporary, Antonio Salieri, has been mistaken for Mozart's work, adding to the confusion.

Basset horn

A clarinet-like woodwind instrument with a lower range, used prominently in the Requiem.

Köchel catalogue

A chronological catalogue of Mozart's works compiled by Ludwig von Köchel.

Sequence

A medieval Latin chant genre, here referring to the Dies irae and its associated movements.