Requiem (Mozart)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote the Requiem mass in D minor (K. 626) in 1791. It was Mozart's last composition and is also, perhaps, one of his most powerful and recognised works.

Modern completions

Since the 1970s several musicologists, dissatisfied with the traditional "Süssmayr" completion, have attempted alternative completions of the Requiem. These include:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Franz Beyer
• Duncan Druce
• C. Richard F. Maunder
• H. C. Robbins Landon
• Robert D. Levin

"Traditional" editions have been inclusive; for example, the Beyer edition attempts to revise aspects of Süssmayr's orchestration in a more Mozartean style, whereas Robbins Landon has chosen to orchestrate parts of the completion using the partial work by Eybler as a more reliable guide of Mozart's intentions. The "radical" edition by Maunder dispenses completely with the parts known to be written by Süssmayr, but retains the Agnus Dei after discovering an extensive paraphrase from an earlier mass. The version by Levin is more of a synthesis between the two extremes, by taking the basic themes from the Süssmayr movements and using them to re-compose these movements. Both Maunder and Levin use the sketch for the Amen fugue discovered in the 1960s to compose a fitting end to the Lacrymosa.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~