V.A. Mozart "Requiem"
Requiem - Catholic solemn funeral Mass. It has little to do with liturgical rites, but rather refers to concert works. In essence, the Requiem is the quintessence of the entire Christian religion - in contrasting parts of the character, mortal people are reminded of the soul’s otherworldly path, of the inevitable terrible day of judgment on everyone: no one will escape punishment, but the Lord is merciful, he bestows mercy and peace.
Mozart in this work with extraordinary plasticity conveys the emotional expressiveness of the content. The alternation of pictures of sadness and mourning of an earthly man, praying for God's forgiveness, and the wrath of the Almighty, choral numbers, symbolizing the voice of believers, and solo parts, marking the voice of God, nuances and sounding power - all serve the purpose of maximum impact on the listener.
Officially, the hand of the composer of 12 numbers recognized only the first 7. "Lacrymosa" is considered to be the last part, completely written and orchestrated by the author. "Domine Jesu" and "Hostias" were partly created. "Sanctus", "Benedictus" and "Agnus Dei" with the return of musical material from the 1st part to another text were allegedly written down by Zusmayr and Eibler on sketches and precise instructions.
Performers:
Choir, soloists, soprano, alto, tenore, basso, orchestra.
History of creation "Reqiem "
The history of the creation of this world famous requiem mass is one of the most mysterious, tragic and full of contradictory facts and evidence not only in the biography of the genius Mozart. Her dramatic symbolism was continued in many other tragic destinies of talented people.
In the summer of 1791, the last year of the composer’s life, a mysterious man in gray attire appeared on the threshold of the Mozarts apartment. His face was hidden by a shadow, and the cloak, despite the heat, covered the figure. The sinister newcomer handed Wolfgang an order to compose a requiem mass. The deposit was impressive, the term was left to the discretion of the author.
At what exact moment the work began, it is impossible to establish today. In the well-preserved letters of Mozart, he mentions the work on all the compositions that were released at that time - the coronation opera "The Mercy of Titus", the Magic Flute singspiel, several medium-sized compositions and even the Little Masonic cantata on the opening of the new box of the order. Only "Requiem" is not mentioned anywhere. With one exception: in a letter whose credibility is disputed, Wolfgang complains of severe headaches, nausea, weakness, of the constant visions of the mysterious stranger who ordered the funeral mass, and the premonition of his own imminent death ...
Ailments of unknown etiology began to torment him even in the summer, six months before his death. Doctors could not agree on the causes and diagnosis of the disease. The then level of medicine did not allow to accurately diagnose the patient's condition on the basis of symptoms. Yes, and the symptoms were contradictory.
For example, a messenger who is constantly in the visions of Wolfgang, who harassed his already disturbed nervous system. Very soon the messenger from gray became black - in the perception of Mozart. These were hallucinations. And if other symptoms could be attributed to kidney disease, dropsy, meningitis, then the hallucinations did not fit into this picture at all.
But they could testify to something else - to be companions of mercury poisoning. If this fact is taken as plausibility, the rest of the course and development of the disease fully corresponds to the hypothesis of toxicological poisoning with mercury (mercury). And it becomes clear why the doctors who had gathered for the consultation a week before the death of Wolfgang could not agree on the disease, except for one thing - it was not long to wait.
Meanwhile, many contemporaries testified to the gradual extinction of Mozart. His last public appearance took place on October 18, 1791 at the opening of the Masonic Lodge, where he himself directed the orchestra and choir. After that, on November 20, he came down and did not get up until his death.
The image of a black demonic man shook the imagination not only of Mozart, who at that moment was overly susceptible to such a mystic because of incomprehensible changes in the body and psyche. Pushkin did not ignore this mysterious story with the messenger of death in "Little Tragedies". Later, this same black man appears in Yesenin's poetry (poem of the same name).
There is a version that cannot be confirmed or refuted now, that the Mass in D minor under the guise of an opus without a name was written by Mozart long before the order, but was not published. And that after the order he had only to get the scores he had previously composed and make changes. At least, on the deathbed day of December 4, he sang parts of it with friends who came to visit the composer. Hence the assertion of Zofi, the sister of Constanti, who spent that day with them, that “until his death hour he worked on Requiem, which he did not have time to complete.”
That night a little later than midnight, he died. It is unclear, to say the least - outrageous - the story of his funeral. There was no money at all in the family; Wolfgang’s friend Baron van Swieten gave the amount necessary for the funeral on the 3rd category. It was a century of epidemics, by decree of the emperor, all such procedures were strictly regulated. The 3rd category meant the presence of a coffin and burial in a common grave. Mozart, the greatest genius of mankind, was buried in a common pit with a dozen other poor people. The exact place is still unknown: there was nobody to do it. Already in the Cathedral of St. Stephen, where they brought a simple, barely hewn pine coffin with the body of Wolfgang for the funeral, no one accompanied him - as it is written in the church book by the pastor. Neither the widow, nor friends, nor the brother-masons went to see him on his last journey.
Contrary to popular belief, almost immediately after the death of the maestro, an unknown customer appeared with a score. It was Count Walsegg-Stupah, who was madly in love with playing music, playing flute and cello. He sometimes ordered composers to write compositions that he later issued as his own. In February 1791, his wife died, in order to commemorate her, a mourning Mass was ordered to Mozart. Thanks to the graph, it was not only published after the death of the composer, but also was first performed 2 years later - on December 14, 1793. No one then doubted that he hears a genuine work, the tragic peak of creativity of the greatest composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Numbers:
"Requiem aeternam" ("Eternal rest give them, Lord), 1 hour (listen)
"Kirye eleison" ("Lord, have mercy"), 1h. (listen)
"Dies irae" ("Day of Wrath"), 2 hours (listen)
"Confutatis" ("Outcast"), 6 hours (listen)
"Lacrymosa" ("Tears"), 7 hours (listen)
Interesting Facts
- The composer kept a careful record of all the works, writing down even separate opera numbers under a specific part number in a special notebook. "Requiem" was the only composition that was not included in this notebook by the hand of the maestro. This fact gave rise to many speculations, starting with the fact that Requiem was written much earlier by the author (in 1784) and ending with the assumption that the whole is not entirely his own.
- In general, since 1874, Mozart did not write a single opus for the church, with the exception of "Ave verum korpus". This fact for many researchers is an indication that he could only leave "Reqiem" in draft due to the fact that this genre allegedly did not arouse his creative interest. Although according to another version, the premonition of imminent death contributed to the fact that the order was not only taken to work. The composer in this work has reached the depth of human compassion that is unexplored even for himself, and at the same time this music is so sublime and full of divine beauty that perhaps this is the only time that a mortal could ascend to God in his work. And, like Icarus, after that collapsed to the ground.
- In fact, Mozart was a deeply religious Catholic all his life, he was friends with a Jesuit pastor, and the reason for the sharp contradictions with Freemasonry, which had once unfolded him 180 degrees from the secret lodge, was the anti-Catholic tendencies of the latter. Wolfgang was a thinker and dreamed of combining the best that is in religion with the achievements of the enlightenment of the order. The theme of sacred music was close to him even more than others.
- However, the most famous case associated with the brilliant abilities of Mozart-the child prodigy, refers to a collision with the church canon. In 1770, Wolfgang visits the Vatican. The time coincides with the moment of the performance of "Miserere" by Gregorio Allegri. The score of the work is strictly classified, it is forbidden to copy it, on pain of excommunication. To prevent the possibility of memorizing by ear, an essay is performed once a year on Holy Week. This is a complex in form and harmonization work for 2 choirs of 4 and five voices with a duration of more than 12 minutes. 14-year-old Wolfgang, after a single audition, remembered and recorded the score as a whole.
- On the first anniversary of the September 11 tragedy, which occurred in the United States in 2011, Mozart's Requiem was performed all over the planet. Exactly at 8:46 (the time of the first attack of the aircraft on the twin tower) the team from the first time zone (Japan) entered, then after an hour - the next time zone and team. Thus, the "Requiem" sounded all day continuously. The choice of this particular funeral mass is not accidental - the life of Mozart, who suddenly broke off and so tragically, did not manage to finish the work, is associated with the untimely death of hundreds of victims of the terrorist attack.
- On November 18, 1791, a small cantata, created by him specially for the occasion, was conducted by the maestro in the new box of the Order "Newly-crowned Hope". Its volume is 18 sheets, on the 18th day after consecration, December 5, Mozart dies. Again, the ominous number "18" plays a fatal role in his fate and gives secret signs.
- Investigations and proofs of the authenticity of the notes of the Mass of D-minor are still ongoing. Now, when all the participants in those events are dead, the truth is not established. But the words of Constanza, who wrote in 1827, are fair: "Even if we assume that Zusmayr wrote everything completely according to Mozart's instructions, all the same, the Requiem would have remained the work of Mozart."
Ironically, to those whose grave was not preserved for posterity, his writings served as a monument and mausoleum. Until now, in the hearts of people his memory keeps an imprint of divine talent of such a height that no mortal has ever received.
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