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Sunday, September 28, 2014

Musical Interlude

(If you must have politics, please scroll down)

The poignant "Lacrimosa" from Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor:


Basic information about Mozart's Requiem

About the text:
Latin Text:
Lacrimosa dies illa
Qua resurget ex favilla
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus:
Pie Jesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem. Amen.

English translation:
Full of tears shall be that day
On which from ashes shall arise
The guilty man to be judged;
Therefore, O God, have mercy on him.
Gentle Lord Jesus,
grant them eternal rest. Amen.

4 comments:

  1. Beautiful, indeed! As many know, Mozart died after composing only the first eight bars of the Lacrymosa. The Requiem was completed by Franz Suessmayr.

    Music scholars and would-be critics have had a field day making supposedly well-informed speculations on the merits of Suessmayr's work. Their thoughts detract from the obvious quality of the work, and serve only to raise doubts and add to the confusion.

    No one will ever know precisely what Mozart would have done wit the sketches he left behind had he lived, but as someone professionally trained with considerable knowledge of music, and experience as both performer and composer, myself, I can say with confidence that Suuessmayr's work must have been guided by the same Almighty Hand that guided Mozart's, for the Requiem, as it stands today, has never given the slightest indication that it is in fact a patchwork quilt -- a pastiche -- of musical fragments sewn together by hands possessed of interior skill.

    When experienced it gives every indication of being an organic, fully realized work of Divine inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FT,
      I listened to many performances offered at YouTube before I decided that this one was the one to post. Cleanly done -- to say the least.

      Mozart's Requiem is my favorite of that genre -- although I also love Kodaly's Missa Brevis, particularly the "Kyrie" therefrom.

      Delete
  2. The advice I am giving always to all my students is above all to study the music profoundly. Music is like the ocean, and the instruments are little or bigger islands, very beautiful for the flowers and trees.

    ReplyDelete

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