- Tuba mirum spargens sonum The trumpet, scattering a wondrous sound The trombone plays alone. In church tradition this is a voice from the other world, not an instrument of terror. It then holds a dialogue with the bass.
- per sepulchra regionum, through the graves of every land,
- coget omnes ante thronum. will gather all before the throne.
- Mors stupebit et natura, Death will be stunned, and nature, Tenor. The voices overlap for a second at each handover, and each new voice starts higher.
- cum resurget creatura, when the creature rises again
- judicanti responsura. to answer the Judge.
- Liber scriptus proferetur, A written book will be brought forth,
- in quo totum continetur, in which everything is contained,
- unde mundus judicetur. by which the world shall be judged.
- Judex ergo cum sedebit, So when the Judge takes his seat, Alto.
- quidquid latet apparebit, whatever is hidden will appear,
- nil inultum remanebit. nothing will remain unpunished.
- Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? What shall I, wretched, say then? Soprano. The turning point: "What shall I, wretched, say?" Until now the text was about the world; now it is about one person.
- Quem patronum rogaturus, Whom shall I ask to defend me,
- cum vix justus sit securus? when even the just are scarcely safe? All four together.
Now singing
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Orchestra only, no words
Sounding
Manuscript: the trombone solo in the Tuba mirum
Leaf 70 of the working score, one of the best-known pages of the manuscript. Mozart labelled a staff 'Trombone Solo' and wrote out the trombone itself and the bass singing 'Tuba mirum spargens sonum'.
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The title in brackets above empty staves: no room was needed here for the winds.
The trombone alone, unaccompanied, marked 'Andante'. The melody moves through the notes of a chord, and then the trombone answers the singer.
The singer enters with the same theme as the trombone. The words are written under the notes.
The string accompaniment is fenced in pencil: Mozart did not write it. Mozart left the trombone, the voice and the bass on this page.
The lowest written staff: the organ and bass part that holds the harmony under the solo.
About
A trombone solo with no accompaniment, then four soloists in turn: bass, tenor, alto, soprano. For the first time in the work, "I" appears.
The trombone plays alone, through the notes of a chord, and the bass answers with the same theme. Then the word passes in turn to the tenor, alto and soprano: the voices overlap for a moment, and each one sounds higher and more anxious than the last. At 'Quid sum miser' an 'I' speaks for the first time, and at the end all four sing together, quietly and composed.
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?
You are here
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
In the 18th century trombones were heard mostly in church and in supernatural scenes, such as the statue of the Commendatore in 'Don Giovanni'. For listeners of the time they meant a voice from another world, not horror.
The trombone solo from the Tuba mirum is one of the best known in the repertoire and is played at almost every orchestral trombone audition.
The soloists enter from the bottom up: bass, tenor, alto, soprano. All four sing together only in the last lines.
At "Quid sum miser", "what shall I, wretch, say", the sequence says "I" for the first time. From here the text speaks not of the world but of one person.