Rest In Peace

      Mozart passed away in his home 222 years ago today, December 5, 1791, leaving behind his wife, two sons and an unfinished Requiem Mass that would come to be known as one of the most incredible compositions in the history of classical music. Perhaps the reason why the Requiem is so haunting is because Mozart believed he was writing it for himself.
      Earlier that year, a man in gray had come to Mozart's door commissioning a Requiem Mass without giving a name. Later, it was discovered that the message had come from Count Walsegg, a young man Mozart never knew who had recently lost his wife and planned to pass the composition off as his own.
      The day of his death, Mozart shared with his friends his feelings on composing the Requiem: "Did I not tell you I was composing this Requiem for myself?"
      Mozart died at age 35, not two months before his birthday, almost completing the Lacrimosa, perhaps the saddest and most beautiful movement in the entire piece. The Requiem was completed according to his instructions by his student, Franz Xaver Süßmayr.
      Mozart once said of death in a letter to his father in 1787:

"I have made it a habit in all things to imagine the worst. Inasmuch as, strictly speaking, death is the real aim of our life, I have for the past few years made myself acquainted with this true, best friend of mankind, so that the vision not only has no terror for me but much that is quieting and comforting. And I thank my God that He gave me the happiness and the opportunity (you understand me) to learn to know Him as the key to true blessedness."

     May Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart rest in peace!

The Great Mass in C Minor, K. 427....Now on Mozart's Music!

Ladies and gentlemen...I have now uploaded all of the movements to the unfinished masterpiece, Große Messe in c-Moll (The Great Mass in C Minor), K. 427! I posted them here as a playlist so that you can sample all of the movements in one sitting, or better yet, listen to them all through completely! Enjoy and please leave comments letting me know what you think!

Mozart's Wedding Day

Wolfgang and Constanze were married on

August 4, 1782 in Vienna, at Saint Stephen's Cathedral.

Wolfgang and Constanze's marriage certificate.



Saint Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.




The inside of Saint Stephen's Cathedral. 



They had a very happy marriage together. Wolfgang's letters to Constanze -- written either while he was out pursuing work, or while she was at the spa in Baden -- remain tender, loving, and even a bit silly up until the last one.

For instance, on April 13, 1789 while he was in Dresden, Wolfgang wrote a letter to Constanze and told her of all the silly things he would do with her little portrait while he was away from her:

If I were to tell you all the things that I do with your portrait, you would laugh heartily. For instance when I take it out of its prison house I say "God bless you, Stanzerl! God bless you, you little rascal, -- Krallerballer -- Sharpnose -- little Bagatelle!" And when I put it back I let it slip down slowly and gradually and say "Nu, -- Nu, -- Nu, -- Nu;" but with the emphasis which this highly significant word demands, and at the last, quickly: "Good-night, little Mouse, sleep well!" Now, I suppose, I have written down a lot of nonsense (at least so the world would think); but for us, who love each other so tenderly, it isn't altogether silly.

Then, on July 7, 1791, just five months before his death, Wolfgang wrote to his wife who was at the spa in Baden:

You can not imagine how slowly time goes when you are not with me! I can't describe the feeling; there is a sort of sense of emptiness, which hurts -- a certain longing which can not be satisfied, and hence never ends, but grows day by day. When I remember how childishly merry we were in Baden, and what mournful, tedious hours I pass here, my work gives me no pleasure, because it is not possible as was my wont, to chat a few words with you when stopping for a moment. If I go to the Clavier and sing something from the opera [Die Zauberflöte] I must stop at once because of my emotions. -- Basta!

No doubt, August 4, 1782 remained one of the happiest memories in Wolfgang and Constanze's lives.

Better Posts Are to Come...

I can promise you that better posts are to come in the near future. In the meantime, this insignificant post may be interesting to some of my readers! These are the costumes in the film Amadeus that were inspired by real portraits. I'm sorry I couldn't think of anything more interesting at the moment, but as I said, some important "Mozart Dates" are coming up, which means better posts are too.

MOZART

 

EMPEROR JOSEPH II

 

 

CONSTANZE

 

LEOPOLD MOZART

 

 

For the movie, they re-painted Leopold's portrait

to look like the actor!

SALIERI

 

Interestingly, Salieri's suits didn't seem to match

any of his portraits. This was the closest I could find.

Amadeus: Fact and Fiction



Sir Peter Shaffer said of his play Amadeus (and the screenplay for the 1984 motion picture), "[Amadeus is] a fantasia based on fact. It is not a screen biography of Mozart, and was never intended to be." In this post, I recall some scenes from the film and compare them to facts of the composer's life. Fact means, "the movie had this in it", Fiction means, "the movie either made this up, or changed it slightly".

Fiction - After the premier of Die Entführung aus dem Serial, Mozart refers to his future mother-in-law, Frau Weber, as "my landlady". In reality, Mozart had been asked to leave the Weber boarding house 9 months before the opera's premier. (See Life.)

Fact - Mozart did not get along with the Archbishop of Salzburg. The Archbishop mistreated him and eventually dismissed him.

Fact/Fiction - Mozart married Constanze before his father's consent letter arrived in the mail. However, the movie makes it appear as if Leopold never consented to the marriage. Leopold was always somewhat cool toward Constanze, but he did consent to the marriage.

Fiction - Although it would be foolish to say that a proud Austrian such as Mozart didn't enjoy alcoholic beverages, he certainly wasn't an alcoholic, as the movie portrays him to be near the end of his life. His favorite drink was punch, which his friends said he drank in large quantities.

Fiction - Shortly before his death, Mozart slipped into unconsciousness and never awoke. This means that he probably died with his eyes closed, not open.

Fact - Salieri and his co-workers did work secretly to make Le Nozze di Figaro a failure. They asked the performers to request impossible alterations on their parts, infuriating Mozart to the point of threatening to withdraw the entire opera. The Emporer Joseph II stepped in, then, and ordered that everything return to how it was. The performers ended up liking their parts and the opera was a success until a new Salieri opera overshadowed it. As the movie mentions, the opera was withdrawn after only nine performances.

Fiction - Salieri did not kill Mozart, and it was not he who came to Mozart's door commissioning a Requiem Mass. In reality, the mysterious visitor was a messenger of the young Count Walsegg, who liked to commission pieces and pass them off as his own.

Fact - Mozart loved billiards. In the movie there are many instances where he is playing or writing music at his billiards table. Mozart's good friend, tenor Michael Kelly, mentioned in his memoirs that he enjoyed countless games of billiards with him, and never won.

Fiction - Mozart had not one child, but six. Unfortunately, only two survived to adulthood, Karl Thomas and Franz Xaver Wolfgang.

Fiction - Salieri was not with Mozart when he died. Present during Mozart's last hours on earth were his wife Constanze, her sister Sophie and his doctor.

Fiction - Constanze did not attend Mozart's funeral, which was held two days after his death, as she was too distraught.

Fiction - Mozart did not call Constanze "Stanzi", but "Stanzerl".

Fiction - As funny as it was in the movie, the Queen of Night aria in Die Zauberflöte was not inspired by Mozart's mother-in-law!