Mozart's Requiem incorporates elements from Handel and Bach, with its opening modeled on Handel's funeral anthem for Queen Caroline and a fugue based on one from his 'Dettingen' Te Deum.
Composition History
Mozart's Requiem was commissioned by Count Franz von Walsegg, who intended to pass it off as his own work to commemorate his late wife.
Interpretation
Harry Christophers, the Artistic Director of the Handel and Haydn Society, uses Franz Xaver Süssmayr's original completion of Mozart's Requiem for this performance.
Recording & Production
This live recording was made at Boston's Symphony Hall, built in 1900, which is considered one of the finest concert halls in the world due to its superb acoustics.
Performer Biography
The Handel and Haydn Society, founded in 1815, is America's oldest continuously performing arts organization and is internationally recognized for its historically informed performances.
Composition History
Mozart's Requiem was left unfinished at his death and was completed by his pupil Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who also worked with Mozart as an assistant on his operas La clemenza di Tito and Die Zauberflöte.
Instruments
The orchestra for Mozart's Requiem features strings with pairs of basset-horns, bassoons, and trombones, creating a dark atmosphere, with trumpets and timpani for occasional bursts of brightness.
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