- Rex tremendae majestatis, King of fearful majesty, Three blows on the word "Rex", silence between them. In the 18th century this dotted rhythm meant a monarch's entrance.
- qui salvandos salvas gratis, who freely saves those to be saved,
- salva me, fons pietatis. save me, fount of mercy. On "salva me" the volume drops and the rhythm smooths out. A plea instead of a shout.
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 Rex tremendae
Leaf 74 of the working score. The first violin and the bass carry the dotted rhythm from the first bar, while the choir has a single word so far: 'Rex'.
Tap an area on the page or an item in the list.
The title without its last letter: Mozart abbreviated for himself.
Dotted leaps and slides, the rhythm of a ceremonial entrance. Mozart wrote this staff out himself.
The second violin is marked 'con Primo', play with the first. The viola part inside the pencil frame was added by another hand.
So far the choir has a single word, 'Rex', three times, with a rest after each. The marking 'Tutti': everyone enters.
The orchestral bass begins alone in the same dotted rhythm, and Mozart wrote 'Rex' above it too where the choir cries out.
About
The orchestra opens with the rhythm of a royal entrance. The choir cries "Rex" three times, with silence after each. In the last seconds everything changes.
The strings begin with a sharp dotted rhythm, like the ceremonial entrance of a monarch. The choir cries 'Rex' three times, briefly, with silence after each cry. Then the voices overlap and argue, but the rhythm never lets go. In the last bars the splendour vanishes, the volume drops, and 'salva me' is sung almost in a whisper.
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.
You are here
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
"Tremendae" shares its root with "tremor" in the Dies irae.
The dotted rhythm is a hallmark of the 'French overture': at 17th- and 18th-century courts this kind of music accompanied the king's entrance.
"Qui salvandos salvas gratis", "You who save freely": in Catholic teaching salvation is not earned but given.
As in the rest of the sequence, Mozart left the voices, the bass and a few orchestral motifs. Süssmayr filled in the other instruments.