Overture Magazine: 2017-2018 Season November-December 2017 | Page 29

MOZART’S REQUIEM to complete the critical work of composing all the vocal parts, the figured bass that controlled the harmony and important instrumental parts —such as most of the first violin parts and the trombone solo for “Tuba mirum”—up to the Sanctus. The first eight bars of the poignant “Lacrimosa” section are believed to be the very last measures of music he composed. Under his direction, the full scoring for the opening Introitus and Kyrie was done, leaving these movements essentially complete. At Mozart’s death on December 5, 1791, his widow, desperate for money, was left with a beautiful torso of a requiem, but one that still needed much work before it could be sent off to fulfill Walsegg’s commission. After first trying out Eybler, she turned the score over to Süssmayr, who had to complete the “Lacrimosa” and the orchestration for the other sections, plus compose from scratch the Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei movements. With the assistance of Mozart’s friend and patron Baron van Swieten, the first performance of the Requiem, with the Süssmayr completion, was given in Vienna on January 2, 1793 as a benefit for Constanze Mozart and her two children. Fortunately, Süssmayr’s additions aside, Mozart himself finished enough of the Requiem to make it a worthy valedictory to his genius. The work’s dark-hued orchestration and the somber key of D minor (used by Mozart for scenes of operatic tragedy) give credibility to the theory that Mozart believed he was writing the Requiem for his own death. His choice of woodwinds is most unusual: two bassoons and two basset horns—an alto version of the clarinet just coming into vogue in the late-18 th century, but no longer in use today; he omitted the brighter-toned flutes, oboes and clarinets. More darkness is contributed by the complement of three trombones — instruments traditionally associated with death in earlier centuries. The opening Introitus has a halting, ominous quality with its slow, aspirated figures for the strings and the prominence given the low winds. The extra-musical impression of Mozart as a young, vital man facing the specter of death with great reluctance seems too obvious to ignore. A contrasting mood of resignation and acceptance comes with the soprano soloist’s gentle “Te decet hymnus,” accompanied by strings singing a melody of radiant sweetness. Mozart follows with a dazzling double fugue for the Kyrie that counteracts the gravity of the Introitus; the composer was a great lover and student of the scores of Bach and grew more interested in intricate contrapuntal writing in the final years of his life. Constanze Mozart claimed that her husband had instructed Süssmayr to bring back the Introitus and Kyrie music for the Requiem’s final movement, the Communio. Süssmayr, for his part, said that had been his own idea. In any case, this device saved Süssmayr a lot of work and ensures that posterity is hearing pure Mozart at both the beginning and end of the work. Though bringing the opening music back at the end gives a nice symmetry and was a common practice in Mozart’s day, one wonders if Mozart — a wonderfully sensitive text- setter — would have really chosen to use the same music for the very different words of the Communio. Throughout the Mozart portions of the Requiem, there are many moments to treasure. The fire-breathing “Dies irae” with its racing violins and powerful homophonic utterances from the chorus: a “Day of Anger” to set the nerves tingling! The ineffably beautiful “Recordare” for the solo quartet: a gentle prayer for Jesus’ mercy, with the two violin sections and pairs of soloists echoing each other’s phrases in closely spaced counterpoint. The fierce, brass-accompanied “Con- futatis” for the male voices contrasting with the wondrously ethereal “Voca me” pleas for the women’s chorus and strings. And finally, the bittersweet beauty of the opening eight measures of the “Lacrimosa,” the last music Mozart wrote — with their chromatic ascent to the cadence and, for Mozart, to another world. Instrumentation: Two basset horns, two bassoons, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, organ and strings. Notes by Janet E. Bedell, © 2017 Looking for Creative? LET’S GET STARTED. Award-winning design and print services. See our portfolio at baltimoremagazine.net/dpd What we do. PUBLICATIONS PRINT ADVERTISING MARKETING COLLATERAL CORPORATE IDENTITY DIRECT MAIL WEBSITE + E-MARKETING N OV– DEC 2017 / OV E R T U R E 27