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Mozart died on 5 December 1791 before finishing his Requiem, a Mass for the dead. Only the opening movement was complete; the rest survived as drafts, and the Lacrimosa breaks off after eight bars in his manuscript. His pupil Franz Xaver Süssmayr completed the version most often performed today.

Mozart / Franz Xaver Süssmayr

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The Requiem had been commissioned anonymously by Count Franz von Walsegg, a wealthy amateur musician who wanted it for the anniversary of his young wife's death and liked to pass off commissioned works as his own. After Mozart died, his widow, Constanze, needed the score finished so she could deliver it and collect the rest of the fee. She first asked the composer Joseph Eybler, who orchestrated parts of several movements before giving up. Süssmayr, who had worked closely with Mozart in his last months, then completed it, writing some sections entirely himself. His version was the standard one for nearly two centuries; since the 1970s several scholars have published alternative completions.

Türkçe oku
Mozart, 5 Aralık 1791'de öldüğünde ölüler için yazılan bir ayin müziği olan Requiem'i henüz bitirmemişti. Yalnızca açılış bölümü tamamdı; gerisi taslak hâlindeydi ve Lacrimosa, Mozart'ın elyazmasında sekizinci ölçüde yarıda kalır. Bugün en sık çalınan versiyonu öğrencisi Franz Xaver Süssmayr tamamladı.

Requiem'i Mozart'a, kimliğini gizleyen Kont Franz von Walsegg ısmarlamıştı. Varlıklı bir amatör müzisyen olan kont, eserin genç yaşta ölen karısının yıldönümünde çalınmasını istiyordu ve ısmarladığı eserleri kendi besteleriymiş gibi sunmayı severdi. Mozart ölünce dul eşi Constanze, eseri teslim edip ücretin kalanını alabilmek için partisyonu tamamlatmak zorundaydı. Önce besteci Joseph Eybler'e başvurdu; Eybler birkaç bölümün orkestrasyonunu kısmen yaptıktan sonra işi bıraktı. Mozart'ın son aylarında onunla yakından çalışmış olan Süssmayr eseri tamamladı; bazı bölümleri baştan sona kendisi yazdı. Onun versiyonu yaklaşık iki yüzyıl boyunca standart kabul edildi; 1970'lerden bu yana birçok müzikolog farklı tamamlamalar yayımladı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Requiem (Mozart)
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