Picture: Bettmann Archive

I’ll admit that it’s a little morbid to feature a Requiem Mass as the piece of the month. But then again, this particular Requiem, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is a most interesting work; there’s much to be said about it.

Written by Mozart on his deathbed in 1791, the piece is for solo singers, chorus and orchestra. Trying to finish the work by dictating the notes and singing the parts to his pupils, Mozart's last utterance was apparently a drum part from the "Lacrimosa." He died without finishing the work, at an age of 35.

In the play-turned-movie Amadeus, Mozart is shown collapsing in tears during a run-through with friends who came to his bedside to sing through the parts, as he realises he is writing his own Requiem. While this bedside rehearsal may be fiction, the rest is not. The piece was commissioned by a mystery client — Count Walsech von Stuppach — who had a habit of commissioning works in secret and then passing them off as his own (Salieri certainly had no hand in this! Read more about how Mozart died in this month’s feature article. ).

Mozart started the commission but was struck by a fever, and at the time of his death (5 December 1791) he had completed the first two movements and parts of the next eight. His pupil Süssmayr finished the last four movements and filled in the gaps. The difference in talent between him and his master is evident.

Listen to the stern “Kyrie” (Mvt. 2), the fiery “Dies Irae” (Mvt. 3), and the “Lacrimosa” (Mvt. 8).

Recommended recording:
Mozart - Requiem: A most sublime swansong to a great composer who should really have lived much longer.