Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the Catholic solemn funeral mass. This piece is the quintessence of the entire Christian religion. In contrasting parts, mortal people are reminded of the afterlife path of the soul, of the inevitable terrible day of judgment on everyone: no one will escape punishment. From my perspective, the Lacrimosa part reflects the person’s emotions, understanding that despite the end of sinful living, the Lord is merciful, granting peace. In this work, Mozart conveys the content’s emotional expressiveness with extraordinary plasticity. The piece starts from the crescendo emphasizing the worries and fears of the dying person. The ascendant rhythm of this part also expresses the image of the sacral process of dying and connection with God.
The rhythm of Lacrimosa is 12/8, with irregular beats, which introduces a unique experience of death for me as a listener. The movements become weaker and weaker, becoming utterly silent at the end (Agustígula Maciel Amezcua, 2011). The long underlined “amen” divided into two syllables that end “Lacrimosa” puts a final cross on the ended life (Agustígula Maciel Amezcua, 2011). I believe that this point divides the Requiem into two radically different halves. The same happens during idea correction: the negative suffering stage is over, and the positive one begins. In “Requiem”, this is “Domine”, and here there are no pictures of the afterlife, nothing infernal sounds anymore. I percept this part as if the “walking” is over, which began with a child’s formation in “Requiem Aetenam” and came to a breaking march, a struggle, a fall in “Confutatis”, and the last crawling movements in “Lacrimosa”. Therefore, the fragment’s primary impression correlates with the dying person’s previous suffering and seeking divine mercy. It feels as if all the fears are eliminated because of the ultimate calmness in realizing the unity with God.
Reference
Agustígula Maciel Amezcua. (2011). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Requiem [Confutatis/Lacrimosa] [Video]. YouTube.