- Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, Sacrifices and prayers of praise, O Lord, The choir in plain chords, almost unadorned. A rhythm like a sarabande.
- laudis offerimus. we offer to you.
- Tu suscipe pro animabus illis, Receive them for those souls
- quarum hodie memoriam facimus. whom we remember today. "Whom we remember today." At this point in the service the names of the dead were spoken.
- Fac eas, Domine, de morte Let them, O Lord, pass from death A rise on "pass from death to life".
- transire ad vitam, to life,
- quam olim Abrahae promisisti which you once promised to Abraham The same "Quam olim" fugue, note for note. In the manuscript this is marked "Quam olim da Capo": possibly the last thing Mozart wrote in the score.
- et semini ejus. and to his seed.
A moment of remembrance
Whom you remember
At these words the names of the dead were spoken in the service. A requiem is by origin not a concert but an act for someone in particular. If you wish, write a name. It stays in your browser only.
Today we remember
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
The manuscript: last page of the Hostias
Leaf 99 of the working score. The Hostias is written out to the end, and in the margin stands the instruction to repeat the fugue: 'Quam olim da Capo'. By one account, this is the last thing Mozart wrote in the score.
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The top staff is written out in full, with figures that wind around the choir. The second violin and viola are only begun: a few notes at the start, then nothing. This is how Mozart worked: voices, bass and the main orchestral ideas first, the rest later.
A note in the margin: after the Hostias, repeat the fugue 'Quam olim Abrahae' from the previous movement, note for note. A time-saver common in church music, and, possibly, Mozart's last entry in the score.
Room for the winds and the rest of the orchestra, which Mozart never filled in. Süssmayr completed it from the sketch.
The four choral voices with the words 'let them, Lord, pass from death to life'. The rise on these words is written out in full: it is the moment you hear just before the fugue.
The same instruction, repeated next to the voices so the copyist would not miss it.
The bottom staff, cellos, double bass and organ. Written out to the end, like the voices.
In 1958 the manuscript was shown at the World's Fair in Brussels. Someone tore off the bottom right corner with the words 'Quam olim da Capo' and took it. The piece has never been found.
About
A gentle triple-time rhythm, the most transparent texture in the work. The words "today" and "memory" appear here for the first time.
The choir sings in gentle chords in an unhurried triple time, like a slow, old-fashioned dance. The orchestra stays out of the voices' way: this is the most transparent passage in the work. At 'fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam' the harmony darkens for a moment and blossoms again, like a passage from death to life. Then the same 'Quam olim Abrahae' fugue that ended the Domine Jesu returns.
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.
Open movement
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.
You are here
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
At the words 'whom we remember today' the names of particular people who had died could be read out during the service.
The Hostias is probably the last thing Mozart worked on: its final page carries 'Quam olim da Capo' in his hand.
By the time Mozart was working on the Requiem, he had already buried his father and four of his six children.
The corner of the last Hostias page with the words "Quam olim da Capo" was torn off and stolen at the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels. It has never been found.