Customer Reviews

Mozart's Requiem: Historical and Analytical Studies, Documents, Score

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Nothing is left for one to imagine after this reading. The mystery and circumstances of Mozart's great work is described in incredible detail in this book. It is really not an attempt by the author to prove or disprove theory and speculation about the compostion, but rather, to offer the reader the combined evidence accumulated throughout the years. These facts are then substaniated by quoting the source documents from books and essays that were written about the Requiem after Mozart's death. The author also includes letters as written by the key players as the Requiem controversy unfolded. I also very much appreciate the pictures of the original Mozart score and the printed score made available at the end of the book.

I must say that I am not learned in music, and I often found the book to be of difficult reading when musical terminology is used--and it is used quite often. Besides discussing the controversy, the author attempts to define Mozart's purpose and eventual composition of each movement. While fascinating to say the least, the use of musical terms can be overwhelming at times.

In all, I found this to be an exceptional book and I recommend it to anyone who loves the work of Mozart and especially that of his "Requiem."

David Pecnik

This book, by renown Bach and Mozart scholar and Harvard professor, Christoph Wolff is a must have for musicologists who specialize in music of the 18th century. Wolff discusses the several attempts to complete the work after Mozart's death, and portrays Constanze Mozart as a competent musician and entrepreneur who is concerned with the welfare of her children and care for her husband's legacy. Detailed analysis of each movement with the scholarly care one would expect from this august author.

I found the Christoph Wolff book on Mozart's Requiem excellent. It is very thorough and informative. This book is a must have in the library of anyone wishing to perform the Mozart Requiem.

I was drawn to this book after joining an amateur choir that will be performing the Requiem in its entirety, and am reading it with the eyes of a layperson, neither academic nor musicologist. From that perspective I found the book extremely illuminating. I believe it will also interest other general readers, though some familiarity with Mozart's biography and a general understanding of musical terminology will definitely help substantially.

The book is divided into four principle divisions: an analysis of the problems pertaining to our understanding of the Requiem's history and authorship, a short musicological analysis of the mass, a collection of historical documents pertaining to its composition, and a copy of the score that Mozart left behind, along with Süssmayr's score.

With respect to the problems of authorship, the basic facts are well-known. The Requiem was anonymously commissioned by Count Franz von Walsegg, who desired a suitable mass to memorialize his recently-departed wife. He presumably acted in secret in order to abet his proclivity for passing off commissioned works as his own.

Mozart fell ill during its composition and died, leaving a partially-completed score and sundry "scraps of paper" with notes for the uncompleted sections. The widow Constanze, desperately needing the balance of the commission, persuaded Mozart's student Franz Xaver Süssmayr to complete the work.

What we now possess are Mozart's autograph in a substantially uncompleted state, and Süssmayr's work. What we lack are the scraps of paper, so it is now a matter of conjecture how much Süssmayr contributed to the remaining sections. It is generally held that the Sanctus and Agnus Dei are nearly entirely Süssmayr's, as he himself maintained, and as they are rather of inferior quality.

The details of this history are surprisingly engaging on an anecdotal level, and help to bring the unique character of this work into focus. It is widely held that Mozart came to believe during his final illness that he was now writing the Requiem for himself, which may account for its rare gravity and pathos. It is the only one of Mozart's works I can easily think of that is devoid of whimsy.

The musicological analysis is extremely illuminating, and I particularly benefited from Wolff's exposition of the relationship between the music and the text.

I did not spend much time with the last two sections, which are resources primarily provided for specialists. It's interesting to scan through the historical documents, though.

My purpose was to get inside the Requiem, and Wolff's book enabled me to do that. It was a pleasure to read.