Mozart's Requiem Summary

by Andy Tran
At the age of four he could learn a piece of music in half an hour. At five he was
playing the clavier incredibly well. At si he began composing! writing his first
symphonies at the age of eight. "e was constantly traveling all over #urope with his
father! $eopold Mozart! a violinist! minor composer and %ice&'apellmeister at the court
of the Archbishop of Salzburg. The musical feats and tric(s of young )olfgang were
ehibited to the courts! to musical academicians! and to the public. *etween the ages of
seven and fifteen! the young Mozart spent half of his time on tour. +uring these tours!
Mozart heard! absorbed! and learned various #uropean musical idioms! eventually
crystallizing his own mature style.
,ully epecting to find an ideal post outside his sleepy home town of Salzburg
and the detested archiepiscopal court! in -... )olfgang went on a tour with his mother
to Munich! Mannheim! and /aris. 0t was in /aris that his mother died suddenly in 1uly!
-..2. )ith no prospects of a 3ob! Mozart de3ectedly returned to Salzburg in -..4 and
became court organist to the Archbishop. Mozart finally achieved an unceremonious
dismissal from the archiepiscopal court in -.2-! and thereafter became one of the first
musicians in history to embar( upon a free&lance career! without benefit of church! court!
or a rich patron. Mozart moved to %ienna where he lived for a time with the )ebers! a
family he had met in -.... "e eventually married 5onstanze )eber in August of-.26!
against the wishes and strict orders of his father. Then for a time! things began to loo(
bright for the young composer. *eginning in -.26 with the Singspiel +ie #ntfrung aus
dem Serail 7The Abduction from the Seraglio8! Mozart began turning out one masterpiece
after another in every form and genre.
Mozart is probably the only composer in history to have written undisputed
masterwor(s in virtually every musical genre of his age. "is serenades! divertimenti and
dances! written on request for the entertainment and outdoor parties of the nobility! have
become synonomous with the 5lassical 9age of elegance!9 and are perhaps best
eemplified by the well&(nown Serenade in : ma3or! which the composer called #ine
(leine ;achtmusi( 7A little night music8.
The story of Mozart's Requiem begins not in %ienna! where it was written! but <=
miles to the south and its (ey figure is 5ount ,ranz von )alsegg. A wealthy landowner
and businessman! )alsegg's family had made their fortune largely in gypsum mining and
the 5ounts wealth was such that he owned estates in Schottwien! 'lam! Stuppach!
/ottschach and >iegersberg though he is (nown to have resided primarily in Schloss
Stuppach. 5ount )alsegg was an amateur musician and his love for music ran deep. "e
not only played the flute and cello! he was an amateur composer and permanently
employed several musicians. 0t was typical in the eighteenth century for the wealthy to
maintain music ensembles. Some nobles! such as #sterhazy and $ob(owitz even had
complete orchestras at their disposal. *ut )alsegg's musicians served a much different
raison d'etre than those of his fellow noblemen.#very Tuesday and Thursday )alsegg
hosted concerts at Schloss Stuppach in which he and his musicians performed for his
many friends . And this is where the strange! almost pathetic side of )alsegg emerges.
,or whatever reason! )alsegg would commission fresh compositions and pass them off
as his own. ?ne can only speculate what drove this man to see( the attention of his peers
in this manner yet! he paid well for those anonymously obtained pieces! mostly flute
quartets! and insisted on eclusive ownership when obtaining them. ,ranz "offmeister! a
close friend of Mozart! was one of the counts main suppliers of quartets. This harmless
deception continued for years. At the conclusion of his soirees! he would challenge his
guests to identify the composer of the piece they had 3ust heard. @n(nown to )alsegg!
his friends were well aware of his artifice and calmly played along eventually naming the
5ount as the composer. ?n ,ebruary -A! -.4- the 5ount's beloved wife! Anna von
)alsegg von ,lammberg suddenly died at the age of twenty. +eeply affected by his loss!
the 5ount resolved to honor her memory in two ways. "e would build a magnificent
memorial for her remains and he would commission a requiem mass to be performed
every year on the anniversary of her passing. To this end! he charged his attorney! +r.
1ohann Sortschan! with ma(ing the necessary arrangements stipulating that Mozart
should provide the requiem. As usual! )alsegg intended to claim the requiem as his own.
Thus! the first deception was set into motion.
0ntroitB Requiem
:rant them eternal rest! $ord!
and let perpetual light shine on them.
Cou are praised! :od! in >ion!
and homage will be paid to Cou in 1erusalem.
"ear my prayer!
to Cou all flesh will come.
:rant them eternal rest! $ord!
and let perpetual light shine on them.
'yrie
$ord! have mercy on us.
5hrist! have mercy on us.
$ord! have mercy on us.
The music! through the shaping of the music by crescendos and diminuendos! emphasizes
important words such as lord and god. The parts that 0 li(ed was the motifs that appear
repeatedly in all voices. The voices repeat each other through repetition and sequencing
as though to emphasize that everybody is praying to the lord. The main theme in the
0ntroit is :rant them eternal rest! $ord! and the main theme in the 'yrie was $ord! have
mercy on us.
0 thin( that the requiem is a very impressive and thought provo(ing piece. Mozart's
Requiem is much better than other requiems at singling out (ey phrases. Since this is the
last piece he wrote! it is reasonable to say that this requiem an imprint of his last state of
mind. 0 would say that Mozart gave everything he had into this piece! and in comparison
to his other wor(s! this is 3ust at the top of his masterpieces.