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Tune of the Day: Lacrimosa by Mozart
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. The eccentric count Franz von Walsegg had commissioned the work from Mozart anonymously through intermediaries. The count, an amateur chamber musician who routinely commissioned works by composers and passed them off as his own, wanted a Requiem Mass (a Mass for the Dead) he could claim he composed to memorialize the recent passing of his wife. Mozart received only half of the payment in advance, so upon his death his widow Constanze was keen to have the work completed secretly by someone else, submit it to the Count as having been completed by Mozart and collect the final payment. The task was ultimately given to Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who completed Mozart's fragments and added his own orchestration and several new movements. In particular, Süssmayr finished the “Lacrymosa” (an incorrect variant of the Latin lacrimosa, ‛tearful’), of which only the first 8 bars were composed by Mozart.
Many thanks to Lily for contributing this wonderful arrangement for four flutes!