Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem in D minor KV 626 for soloists, choir and orchestra in the version by Franz Xaver Süßmeyer and the orchestration by Franz Beyer. Sung by the WDR Rundfunkchor and played by the Ensemble Concerto Köln under the direction of Simon Halsey. Recorded live on 23.03.2024 at the Cologne Funkhaus Wallrafplatz.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem in D minor KV 626
Version: Franz Xaver Süßmeyer
Instrumentation: Franz Beyer
00:00:00 I. Introit: Requiem Aeternam
00:03:58 II. Kyrie
00:06:26 III. sequence
00:06:26 No. 1 Dies irae
00:08:26 No. 2 Tuba mirum
00:11:32 No. 3 Rex tremendae
00:13:31 No. 4 Recordare
00:18:39 No. 5 Confutatis
00:20:55 No. 6 Lacrimosa
00:23:50 IV. Offertory
00:23:50 No. 1 Domine Jesu
00:27:29 No. 2 Hostias
00:31:12 V. Sanctus
00:32:50 VI Benedictus
00:38:01 VII Agnus Dei
00:41:12 VIII Communio: Lux aeterna
Insun Min, soprano
Beate Koepp, alto
Christian Dietz, Tenor
Manfred Bittner, bass
WDR Radio Choir
Concerto Cologne
Simon Halsey, conductor
►More about the WDR Rundfunkchor, concerts and current live streams can be found at www.wdr-rundfunkchor.de
Introduction to the work
Hardly any other work is as shrouded in myth and legend as Mozart's Requiem: an “unknown messenger” gave the composer the commission, but he was unable to complete it. His pupils had to complete it, but in the greatest secrecy, which is where the speculation began. One of the few things that is clear today is that it was commissioned by Count Walsegg, who wanted to create a musical memorial to his wife, who died young. The passionate music lover liked to adorn himself with other people's works: He ordered works from renowned composers, which he then passed off as his own. He did the same with Mozart's Requiem. A few weeks after the arrival of the messenger, Mozart worked intensively on the Requiem; he was probably also interested in the proud fee of 50 ducats, half an opera fee after all.
When composing such extensive works, Mozart had the entire composition ready in his head before he set about putting everything down on paper. First he wrote down the most important parts, in the case of the Requiem the choral parts, the organ bass and the essential instrumental parts. Only then did he fill in the empty spaces completely. Mozart had to interrupt this work abruptly because he unexpectedly fell ill and died on the night of December 5, 1791, leaving the Requiem as a torso: He had only notated the first movement in full, the following sections remained fragmentary, and there is not a single note of the last four movements by himself.
Mozart's widow Constanze now had to provide for the family and had to see that she also received the second half of the fee, which had not yet been paid. The client was to receive a complete manuscript with a composition supposedly by Mozart. She commissioned one of Mozart's pupils after another, but they all gave up after a short time. Only Franz Xaver Süßmayr took on the difficult task of not only filling in the gaps in Mozart's score, but also composing the last movements independently. In the end, he copied the entire work, deceptively imitating Mozart's handwriting throughout the score.
Süßmayr was keen to complete the work in Mozart's spirit. He felt perfectly entitled to do so, as a letter he wrote when the hoax with his additions was discovered shows. In it, he justifies his actions, as he had allegedly “played through and sung” the movements with Mozart and they had “discussed the preparation of this work very often”, whereby Mozart had also “told him the course and reasons for his orchestration”.
This letter is still the subject of debate today: Did Süßmayr actually know Mozart's intentions? It is striking that Süßmayr's additions in some places cleverly link individual movements together through motivic references - just as Mozart's style of composing was. On the other hand, however, there are numerous clumsy compositional techniques, some with glaring errors. It is therefore reasonable to assume that Süßmayr actually drew on Mozart's ideas, but implemented them less ingeniously.
Although we only know Mozart's musical text as a fragment, the core message of his Requiem is clearly audible: the music testifies to a hope that triumphs over the threat of death. Even the trumpet of the Last Judgement initially awakens the dead from their graves in an intimidating manner, only to continue comfortingly in a lovely cantilena. Mozart had already put these thoughts into words earlier when he wrote to his father: “Since death [...] is the true end of our lives, [...] its image no longer has anything terrifying for me [...], but rather much reassuring and comforting!”
Text: Judith Nüsser