- Recordare, Jesu pie, Remember, merciful Jesus, Step 1: I am the reason for your journey.
- quod sum causa tuae viae, that I am the reason for your journey,
- ne me perdas illa die. do not destroy me on that day.
- Quaerens me sedisti lassus, Seeking me, you sat down weary, Step 2: do not waste what you have done.
- redemisti crucem passus, you redeemed me by suffering the cross,
- tantus labor non sit cassus. let such labour not be in vain.
- Juste judex ultionis, Just Judge of vengeance, Step 3: forgive before the trial.
- donum fac remissionis grant forgiveness
- ante diem rationis. before the day of reckoning.
- Ingemisco tamquam reus, I groan like one who is guilty, Step 4: I admit my guilt. The music is sharper here.
- culpa rubet vultus meus, my face burns with guilt,
- supplicanti parce, Deus. spare the one who begs you, O God.
- Qui Mariam absolvisti, You who absolved Mary, Step 5: precedents. Mary Magdalene and the thief on the cross. The music brightens.
- et latronem exaudisti, and heard the thief,
- mihi quoque spem dedisti. have given hope to me as well.
- Preces meae non sunt dignae, My prayers are not worthy, Step 6: I am not worthy, but you are good.
- sed tu bonus fac benigne, but you, who are good, act kindly,
- ne perennis cremer igne. so that I do not burn in everlasting fire.
- Inter oves locum praesta, Give me a place among the sheep, Step 7: the concrete request. On the right, among the sheep.
- et ab hoedis me sequestra, and separate me from the goats,
- statuens in parte dextra. setting me on the right side.
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 opening of the Recordare
Leaf 76 verso of the working score. The longest movement of the Requiem begins with a long orchestral introduction: basset horns, cellos and then the strings.
Tap an area on the page or an item in the list.
The title in brackets, as in the other movements of the sequence. Next to it, a later pencil note: 'Moz.'.
The introduction: the basset horns carry one melody in turn, the second trailing the first like an echo. Hence the sense of two lines following one another. The pencil word 'Mozart' on the left is a later note.
Beneath the basset horns, the cellos descend in quick figures.
The violins and violas arrive a few bars later. Above them a later pencil note reads 'Moz.': this introduction is attributed to Mozart.
Canto Solo, Alto Solo, Tenore Solo, Basso Solo. The voices enter only after the orchestral introduction, on the following pages.
About
The longest movement and the calmest. Four soloists do not compete; they intertwine. The text is a structured plea in court, in seven steps.
The orchestral introduction sounds like two lines trailing one after the other: the basset horns intertwine above a descending line in the cellos. Then the voices enter in pairs and hand the melody from one to another. At 'Ingemisco' it grows sharper, a confession of guilt, and at 'Qui Mariam' it unexpectedly brightens. The movement is long but unhurried: every argument is spoken to the end.
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.
You are here
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
Mary is Mary Magdalene. The thief is the one crucified next to Jesus. Sheep and goats, the right-hand side: from the Gospel description of the Last Judgement.
The Recordare text has seven stanzas, and Mozart cuts none of them. That is why it is the longest number in the Requiem.
Mozart left all the vocal parts, the bass and the main instrumental lines here, including the introduction. Süssmayr completed the rest of the orchestra.
The movement opens with two basset horns intertwining as in a canon: one line chasing the other.
"Quaerens me sedisti lassus", "seeking me, You sat down weary", points to the Gospel of John: a tired Jesus sits by the well and talks with the Samaritan woman.