- Lacrimosa dies illa, Tearful will be that day, The strings rock back and forth; this sobbing will last almost the whole movement.
- qua resurget ex favilla when from the ashes rises A build-up: the sopranos climb for four bars. On the next line, 'judicandus homo reus', after bar eight, Mozart stopped. Everything after this was written by Süssmayr.
- judicandus homo reus. the guilty person, to be judged.
Mozart's manuscript stops here. From this point on, it is Süssmayr.
- Huic ergo parce, Deus, So spare this one, O God,
- pie Jesu Domine, merciful Lord Jesus,
- dona eis requiem. Amen. give them rest. Amen. Two quiet chords on "Amen". Mozart left a sketch for a fugue on this word; Süssmayr did not use it.
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: first page of the Lacrimosa
Leaf 87 of the working score, in Mozart's hand, 1791. This page holds bars 1-5. Three more bars, up to the break, are on the reverse of the leaf, shown below.
Tap an area on the page or an item in the list.
In Mozart's hand, spelled with a y, as the word was written in his day.
'Mozart's last manuscript. After my death bequeathed to the Imperial Court Library. Joseph Eybler.' Eybler was the first person Constanze asked to finish the work. He declined, but kept these leaves; in 1833 they passed to the court library, now the Austrian National Library.
Two violins and viola. The rocking, sob-like figure is written out only for the two bars of introduction. After that the orchestral staves are empty: Mozart wrote the voices and bass first and left the orchestration for later.
Room for the winds and the rest of the orchestra, which Mozart never filled in. What sounds here in the hall was written by Süssmayr from his sketch.
Canto, Alto, Tenore, Basso, Organo e Basso: the Italian names for the parts, standard in eighteenth-century Vienna.
'La-crymosa di-es illa': four voices, soprano, alto, tenor, bass. This is the moment when the choir comes in after the string introduction.
The last bar on this page. The build-up starts here: the sopranos climb. Three more bars on the reverse, and the manuscript ends at the words 'judicandus homo reus'. Everything after is Süssmayr.
The bottom staff: cellos, double bass, organ. Together with the voices this is the frame from which Süssmayr could complete the rest.
Manuscript: where it breaks off
Leaf 87 verso of the working score, bars 6-8. Mozart wrote the voices and bass here up to the words 'judicandus homo reus' and went no further. His manuscript of the Lacrimosa ends on these three bars.
Tap an area on the page or an item in the list.
Seven staves without a single note, only barlines. Mozart did not write the orchestra for these bars.
The soprano line climbs, marked 'crescendo' and 'for'. This is the peak of the build-up that began on the first page.
The other voices with the same words, and the bass beneath them. The last notes before the break.
To the right, a few soprano notes with the next line of text, enclosed in a frame. Whether this is Mozart's continuation and who framed it is read differently by scholars.
After 'homo reus' the page is empty. Everything heard in the hall from here on was written by Süssmayr.
About
A rocking figure in the strings, like sobbing. The soprano line climbs and breaks. At bar 8 the manuscript stops.
The strings begin with a quiet rocking figure, like sobbing. The choir takes it up calmly, but at 'qua resurget ex favilla' the soprano line climbs chromatically, semitone by semitone, and the force builds towards 'judicandus homo reus'. Right here, after bar eight, Mozart's writing ends. Süssmayr wrote the rest of the movement, and the close is two quiet chords on 'Amen'.
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.
You are here
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
A change of voice: the whole Sequence said "I" (salva me, recordare me). Here it is "homo reus" in the third person and "dona eis", "give them". The voice of the living over the dead.
Among Mozart's papers a 16-bar sketch of a fugue on 'Amen' was found. It may have been meant to end the sequence. Süssmayr did not use it; in 1991 Robert Levin expanded the sketch into a separate number.
The metre is 12/8, rocking like sobbing: the violins begin with two quiet sighs before the choir comes in.
One of the best-known melodies of the Requiem, yet only eight bars of it are in Mozart's hand. Everything that follows is Süssmayr.