Mozart Requiem Research Paper

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven are two of the greatest composers ever to write music. Both men lived in the early 18th and 19th century, but their music and influences are still felt today. The men faced similar experiences, yet they both lead very different lives. All together the pieces that these men composed amounts to over 300 published, and unpublished works of art. The people of their time period often had mixed feelings about these men, some “complained that Mozart’s music presented them with too many ideas and that his melodies moved from one to the next faster than audiences could follow, yet the ideas themselves seem effortless and natural, clear and

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giuseppe Verdi both wrote exquisite Requiems. Since Mozart lived in the Classical era, and Verdi lived in the Romantic era, their compositions were written almost one hundred years apart. Though there are similarities in their pieces they differ in many ways.

John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era. Sousa was born in Washington, D.C. on November 6, 1854, to John Antonio Sousa and Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus. Born of both Portuguese and Bavarian ancestry. His father was Portuguese, and his mother of Bavarian ancestry. Sousa started his music education by playing the violin as a pupil of John Esputa and George Felix Benkert for harmony and musical composition at the age of six. At this time he also began studying voice, violin, piano, flute, cornet, baritone, trombone and alto horn. He was found to have absolute pitch. When Sousa reached the age of 13, his father, a trombonist in the Marine

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was one of the greatest composers of the classical period. Mozart was bound to be successful after many achievements at a young age. At the age of 6 he could play the violin and the harpsichord, and he also perfected first sight. And Then at the age of eight he wrote his first symphony, than a couple years later at the age of eleven an oratorio and finally at the twelve an opera. To me that’s a really good resume its so remarkable how he could learn about music so much at a very young age. All of these achievements could not go unrecognized. The archbishop recognized him and gave him a job for his teenage years. But Mozart was too much to handle he wanted to write whatever he want and not the archbishop so he quit. After

     Archbishop von Schrattenbach, who was a great supporter of Mozart, died in 1771 and was succeeded by Hieronymus von Colloredo. Although Archbishop Colloredo was a less generous employer, Mozart continued in his Salzburg post and worked diligently from 1775 to 1777. However, in an effort to secure a better position, Mozart obtained leave from Salzburg, and set out with his mother in 1777. They traveled through Munich, Augsburg, and Mannheim, but Mozart was not offered a post. The next year they continued on to Paris, where Mozart composed the Paris Symphony. In Paris, Mozart's mother fell ill and soon after the symphony's premiere, she died.

     Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s style unlike anyone else. Mozart was a master of counterpoint, fugue, and the other traditional compositional points of his day. He is also considered the best melody writer the world has ever known. Wolfgang perfected the grand forms of symphony, opera string quartet, and concerto made the classical period. “Mozart’s music is characterized by lucid ease and distinction of style....”2 Wolfgang wrote over 600 works which consisted of 21 stage and opera works, 15 masses, over 50 symphonies, 25 piano concertos, 12 violin concertos,27 concert arias, 17 piano sonatas, 26 string quartets, and many more. His operas range from comic baubles to tragic pieces. In his Requiem it illustrates the supreme vocal sounds in any of his work.

Haydn lived with his parents in Rohrau. They knew Rohrau couldn’t offer him the musical training that he needed so they talked with a relative and let Haydn move to Hainburg. In 1738, he lived with Johann Frankh. Johann Frakh introduced him to the world of music. He was somewhere between the ages of six-ten years old when he left his parents. In 1740, Haydn moved to Vienna. He went to Vienna after he auditioned for Georg von Reutter. Georg von Reutter liked him. Georg Reutter choose Haydn and enrolled him at the St. Stephen’s Cathedral. At the institution, Haydn played a variety of instruments. He played violin, the clavier, the harpsichord, and other small percussion instruments. He trained for several years and then worked as a chorister for a few years. Once

In June 1707 he moved to St Blasius, Mühlhausen, and four months later he married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach, with whom he had seven children, including Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel. Bach was appointed organist and chamber musician to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar in 1708, and in the next nine years he composed many of his finest works and became known as a leading organist (p. 315, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Vol. 2).

In 1747 Leopold Mozart married Maria Anna Pertl. Leopold and Maria Anna would have seven children, two of who would survive. Maria Anna born in 1752 who the family called Nannerl . Then in 1756 Wolfgang Amadeus who was nicknamed Wolfgangerl. Wolfgang Amadeus was not his original birth name it was shortened to this from Joannes Chrisostomos Wolfgangus Gottlieb. It is little wonder even two of the children survived; “Given Leopolds insistence that they be brought up on a diet of water and gruel, the wonder is that any survived at all.” (Siepmann, Mozart His life and Music) Leopold Mozart was very musical himself and was a skilled violinist, composer and an author. He wrote a well

His composition has never been recovered. Johannes Ockeghem () completed his requiem composition before 1500. Other requiems from the 16th Century include Brumel, Prioris, Palestrina, Anrio, and Victoria. Between 1470 and 1600 forty-one requiem mass compositions have been preserved. The Baroque period brought about new and exciting changes for the musical world. Requiems from this period include Bournonville (1619) and Brunelli (1619). Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Grillo, and Francesco Usper collaborated to produce the requiem that performed at the funeral mass of Cosimo II de’ Medici in 1621. This requiem was the first to include instrumental sections. The Baroque composers produced 325 known requiem compositions. The Classical period composers produced 250 requiems. These include Pasiello (1789), Mozart (1791), Carlo Campioni (for Empress Maria Theresia), and Giuseppe Bonno, whose requiem is said to use the “longest setting of the sequence in the 18th Century. (Cave)” The Romantic Period produced the largest amount of requiems. Included in the 620 requiems published between 1825 and 1910 are Berlioz (1837), Verdi (1874), Liszt, Sant-Saens, Bruckner, Dvorak, Faure (1887), Henschel (1902). Within the realms of 20th Century music there were 335+ requiems produced. The three most famous are the Durufle (1947), Benjamin Britten War Requiem (), and the Andrew Lloyd Webber (1985).

Thesis: Wolfgang Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor has been admired and analyzed numerous times. Although it has been criticized by many, I believe deeply interpreting this piece will aid in a better understanding of the music during the Classical

Composing works derived from styles already in existence, he created an extremely unique and unprecedented genre of works. Thus Mozart became a trailblazer of the classical age. Music from this period consists largely of a lighter and clearer texture than the preceding Baroque music and is less intricate. One trademark especially evident in Mozart’s contribution to the classical period is the use of homophony. Examples of the homophonic effect are displayed in his piano concerto No. 23 and sonata No 16 in C. In these, the distinct pattern of an indubitable melody can be distinctly and easily recognized above the adjunct chordal accompaniment. Although Mozart contributed primarily to the growth of the classical era, he was also influenced by the works of Handel and Bach. Both were prominent composers of the baroque era. In some of his later works, Mozart indulged more in the incorporation of the previous baroque

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was probably the greatest genius in Western musical history. He was born in Salzberg, Austria on January 27, 1756. The son of Leopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria Pertl. Leopold was a successful composer and violinist and assistant concertmaster at the Salzberg court.

Mozart’s Requiem is “one of the most performed and studied pieces of music in history” (Stango, n.d.). The story behind the start of this piece begins with Count Franz von Walsegg, who commissioned a requiem mass for his wife Anna (who had passed away). Throughout his work on this piece, Mozart began to get so emotionally involved with the piece that he believed that he was writing a death mass for himself. Mozart died December 5, 1791, with only half of the Requiem finished (through Lacrimosa). Franz Xaver Süssmayr finished the Requiem based on Mozart’s specifications from notes and what he had already written. The completed work is dated 1792 by Süssmayr and was performed for the first time on January 2, 1793. Mozart’s intent for this

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart lived from January 27, 1756 to December 5, 1791. Mozart was a very influential and prolific composer of more than 600 works, including symphonies, concertante, chamber, piano, opera, and choral music. Regarded as a child prodigy, Mozart composed and performed in the European courts from the age of five, and was engaged at the Salzburg court at 17. Mozart’s musical style can be classified as Classical, although he learned from many of his contemporaries throughout his musical career. In order to better understand Mozart’s genius it is best to begin looking at his earliest contributions to the musical world as a child. From there, an exploration of his