Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D minor (K. 626)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart @ Wikipedia

I love Mozart’s Requiem! I’ve posted the Introit, Kyrie and Dies Irae below for you to listen to.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Requiem Mass in D minor” (K. 626) was composed in 1791 and was Mozart’s last composition. It was commissioned by the aristocrat Franz von Walsegg for the funeral of his wife, Anna. Von Walsegg secretly commissioned the work so he could pass it off as his own. Unfortunately, Mozart died before completing the composition. Mozart’s wife, Constanze, secretly asked Franz Xaver Süßmayr to complete it so she could receive the final payment from von Walsegg (no doubt to help recover the debts Constanze inherited from her late husband).

So here’s the composition… that Mozart began to write but died before completing, that von Walsegg tried to pass off as his own, that Süßmayr finished without von Walsegg finding out, and that Constanze earned all the money from!

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“Introit” and “Kyrie” by W. A. Mozart from “Requiem Mass in D minor”

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“Dies Irae” by W. A. Mozart from “Requiem Mass in D minor”

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Here’s the text with translation underneath each section…

Introit

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine
Et lux perpetua luceat eis
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion
Et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem
Exaudi orationem meam
Ad te omnis care veniet
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine
Et lux perpetua luceat eis

translation

Grant them eternal rest, Lord
And let perpetual light shine on them
You are praised, God, in Zion
And homage will be paid to You in Jerusalem
Hear my prayer
To You all flesh will come
Grant them eternal rest, Lord
And let perpetual light shine on them

Kyrie

Kyrie, eleison
Christe, eleison
Kyrie, eleison

translation

Lord, have mercy on us
Christ, have mercy on us
Lord, have mercy on us

Dies Irae

Dies irae, dies illa
Solvet saeclum in favilla
Teste David cum Sibylla
Quantus tremor est futurus
Quando judex est venturus
Cuncta stricte discussurus

translation

Day of wrath, day of anger
Will dissolve the world in ashes
As foretold by David and the Sibyl
Great trembling there will be
When the Judge descends from heaven
To examine all things closely

Click here for the full Latin text with English translation.

Wow! Now that’s a song to hear at a funeral!