Mozart's Requiem

×

Expand

Image courtesy of Liceu.

Shrouded in an aura of mystery, the enigmatic and extraordinary Requiem Mass represents not only the culmination of a phase in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's late work—his contributions to sacred music—but also a pinnacle in the history of music.

Left incomplete by the composer's untimely death during its creation, this masterpiece transcends its themes of death and divine judgment. Through its dramatic structure and profound emotional depth, Mozart redefines the sacred genre, crafting vocal expressions that evoke an overwhelming and transformative experience.

His disciple Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who had already assisted him in contemporary works such as The Magic Flute and La clemenza di Tito, completed the score around which numerous questions persist: Mozart raised the question of death, but his question remained unanswered. Mozart knew how to express, through this text of the Christian liturgy, all states of mind: from the fear of Judgment (Dies irae) to the hope of God's mercy (Kyrie), from the anguish of useless suffering (Recordare) to the certainty of a hereafter full of light (Luceat eis).

A funeral lament, but above all an extreme prayer, imploring divine mercy—rarely has music been so marked by the genius, expression, faith and suffering of a human being.

For more music events check our online events calendar.