- Dies irae, dies illa, Day of wrath, that day The strings tremble: this is the "tremor" the text will soon name.
- solvet saeclum in favilla, will dissolve the world in ashes,
- teste David cum Sibylla. as David and the Sibyl testify.
- Quantus tremor est futurus, How great a trembling there will be, A drop to almost a whisper on "quantus tremor".
- quando judex est venturus, when the Judge comes
- cuncta stricte discussurus! to examine everything strictly! It breaks off without an ending.
Now singing
Press Play or the space bar: the singers and players sounding at that moment light up on stage, and the words appear here. Meanwhile, tap any group to find out who they are.
Orchestra only, no words
Sounding
Manuscript: the first page of the Dies irae
Leaf 65 of Mozart's working score. The sequence begins here, and Mozart did not live to orchestrate it: he wrote the voices, the bass and a few lines, and others added the rest. To tell the hands apart, the notes that are not his were later fenced in pencil.
Tap an area on the page or an item in the list.
'Everything not fenced in with a lead pencil is Mozart's handwriting up to page 32'. This note was added later, when the manuscript was already kept as a relic.
The top staff, outside the frame: Mozart himself wrote the fast figures of the first violin.
The orchestra inside the frame was added by Joseph Eybler, the first person Constanze asked to finish the Requiem. He worked directly in Mozart's autograph and later gave the task up.
Four voices marked 'Tutti' sing syllable against syllable: 'Dies irae, dies illa, solvet saeclum in favilla, teste David cum Sy-'. The end of 'Sibylla' is on the next page.
Organ and low strings, with the harmony figured under the notes for the organist. Together with the voices, this is the frame from which others could complete the orchestra.
About
The whole ensemble strikes with no preparation. The choir drives the text in one rhythm, syllable by syllable. Under two minutes, then it breaks off.
There is no introduction: from the first bar the choir, trumpets and timpani are all there. The strings tremble with fast notes without pause, and the choir sings in chords, syllable against syllable, as if reading out a verdict. At 'Quantus tremor' the volume suddenly drops, and that quiet trembling is more frightening than a shout. After the last line the music does not settle; it simply breaks off.
Requiem aeternam Eternal rest The silence before a prayer, when words still feel heavy. Mozart begins not with weeping but with a slow walk: bassoons and basset horns step like a procession, and the voices enter one by one, as if people were coming closer in turn. The grief is held back, and that is why it runs deep.
Open movement
Kyrie eleison Lord, have mercy A plea that cannot stop. Two themes cling to each other and the music flows without a breath, like a crowd calling with one voice. Mozart turns 'have mercy' not into a whisper but into an insistent demand, and only at the very end does it break into syllables.
Open movement
Dies irae Day of wrath Sudden terror with nowhere to hide. The choir hammers the words together, the strings tremble, and there is not a single soft note. Mozart shows not a picture of the Judgement but how that day feels to a person: sharp, close, with no right of reply.
You are here
Tuba mirum The trumpet A summons, and then everything falls quiet. The trombone sounds not menacing but solemn and alone, and the voices take the word in turn, as if each were stepping forward. The higher the line climbs, the more personal the fear becomes, until a simple question is heard: what shall I say?
Open movement
Rex tremendae King of fearful majesty Awe before a majesty too great to look at directly. The heavy dotted rhythm is a king's entrance, and the choir cries out his title three times into silence. But in the last bars Mozart strips away the splendour: all that remains is a quiet 'save me', spoken almost on an out-breath.
Open movement
Recordare Remember A calm conversation with the one who can forgive. The voices do not compete but intertwine, like thoughts that have long been carried. Mozart neither frightens nor weeps here: this is the longest and warmest movement, where a person persuades rather than begs in panic.
Open movement
Confutatis The accursed Two worlds side by side: flame and light. The men's voices plunge down into the fire of the strings, the women answer from above, quiet and almost still. Then everything sinks, the harmony wavers, and what remains is a single heart ground to ash, asking to be cared for at its end.
Open movement
Lacrimosa Tearful day Tears for someone else. The strings sob, the melody rises and breaks, as if the voice could not hold. Right here, at bar eight, Mozart's hand stopped, and everything after it is a pupil's attempt to finish his teacher's prayer.
Open movement
Domine Jesu Lord Jesus Christ The fear of the abyss and the light of a promise in one movement. The basses fall deep on the words about hell, the music races away from the lion's mouth, and then the quartet unexpectedly clears. The fugue at the end sounds like a stubborn memory of an old promise: it was given, so it must come true.
Open movement
Hostias Sacrifices and prayers Quiet remembrance of particular people. The rhythm rocks gently, like a slow dance, and the choir sings in plain chords, without any pressure. This is the gentlest place in the work: no one begs for rescue from judgement here; a prayer is offered for those remembered today.
Open movement
Sanctus Holy Sudden light and praise. After a long darkness, trumpets and timpani sound in D major for the first time, like doors thrown wide open. Süssmayr writes a joy that is short and straightforward, without doubt or shadow.
Open movement
Benedictus Blessed Warmth after brilliance. The soloists sing calmly and lyrically, like a greeting to someone arriving in peace. Süssmayr lets the listener rest: there is no fear in this music, only gentle expectation.
Open movement
Agnus Dei Lamb of God A humble plea in which the weight can still be heard. One phrase sounds three times: firm on 'Lamb of God', quiet on 'grant them rest'. Each time the harmony shifts a little, as if the burden were slowly easing, and the third time it brightens.
Open movement
Lux aeterna Eternal light Coming home as a different person. The same music as at the beginning returns, but now with words about eternal light and mercy. The grief has not gone, yet the listener has walked the whole way and hears in the familiar theme not hopelessness but peace.
Open movementWorth knowing
David (the Bible) and the Sibyl (an ancient prophetess) are witnesses from two worlds.
Mozart does not use the medieval "Dies irae" chant that film scores quote. He writes his own.
The Dies irae poem dates from the 13th century and is attributed to the Franciscan Thomas of Celano. After the Second Vatican Council (1960s) the sequence was removed from the funeral Mass: what you hear in the hall is the pre-reform rite.
The sequence poem is long: seventeen three-line stanzas and a few closing lines. Mozart divides it into six movements, from Dies irae to Lacrimosa.
Berlioz, Verdi and Britten set the same text in their own ways. In Verdi, the Dies irae is the loudest moment of the whole requiem, with blows on the bass drum.